Location : Campus, Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi.
Time : 3:40 PM
The main problem of our college, The sex ratio, Its very low. I wonder where all those pretty girls I see everyday all over my stride in the city go when it comes to the admission to our college. Anyway, we guys have got used to that now, gradually when something bad goes on with us ,it becomes a habit to suffer that, gradually we're accustomed to that.
I was playing cricket and when it ended with my side winning the match it was all set to get dark and everyone was afraid of being late as it was the time the icy winds to blow all over. Returned from the play field, I didn't have much time to sit and relax. In fact, I did all that was necessary in the morning itself to flee away to the station as soon as possible. I had to hurry for my train was scheduled to leave the station at 5:45. I will reach the station in 60 minutes flat if I get to the metro station in the next 20 minutes. I always preferred being well in advance for it takes a lot of time to get to the compartment. The Delhi crowd always takes some time to clear up. I locked the room and one of my friends there, named Pappu, who became totally deaf in an accidental fall from the second floor when he was a kid of seven years, came all the way helping me by carrying a part of my luggage to the much-hyped gate of our college.
The walk from my hostel to the gate is a long one, enough to fetch an auto driver an additional five bucks if he drives-in till the hostel instead of leaving at the gate. I hired an auto to the nearest metro station and my friend helped me in putting all the luggage in. I told the driver to wait for 2 minutes as I crossed the road to a shop which dealt with almost everything related to mobile(These guys struck gold for it was the nearest shop for our college and I needn't say the money spent by a college student on mobile and if that student has a girl/boy friend the money gets multiplied several times). I quickly purchased a 50 recharge coupon and ran back to my waiting auto driver who in the mean time has managed to get one more customer a sober kind of college guy whom I had never seen before. We started for the metro station and in 20 minutes I was in the very well-maintained metro station.
Location: Metro station, Delhi.
Time : 4:15 PM
The cute girl in the ticket counter smiled looking at me. I helped her sometime ago with her luggage when she accidentally fell off the escalator and her luggage went flying all over the place. It always feels good to help girls and if they are the cuter ones, the feeling just gets better. She gave me the ticket, a token, to the New Delhi station. I needn't tell her that I was leaving to the station as it was not that difficult to guess for I was quite "armed" with the luggage. I paid for the ticket, thanked her and was about to leave when she replied to me with a little smile which made her look even cuter. I looked back again to get a glance of her but she was busy with her work. I wondered if she could ever come to my college as a student. I walked into the security man who checked my luggage and "allowed"' me to go. These security personnel always had a dirty look at the travelers they check as if they are the persons whom the travelers should be grateful of traveling in the metro trains.
I walked to the escalator where I helped my “not-my-college :(” gal and was again thinking of the dearth my college faced of girls, leave aside beautiful girls. The escalator took me and my luggage to the platform on which the metro train was expected to arrive in 2 minutes. I glanced at my mobile for time and was shocked to know that it was almost half-past-four. My mind immediately did the calculation of time and was relieved at the end of it, which told me I will reach the station 20 minutes before the scheduled departure of my train. The metro train arrived and I was seated in the two-seater at the corner of one of the compartments. I had a quick glance all over the metro train as far as I could see in order to find some pretty girls but to my disappointment there was none. I took out the recharge coupon I purchased at the gate of my college and got my mobile recharged. I wondered what the journey would be like as it was AP express there wouldn't be much a problem in finding someone throughout the journey, I thought. The metro train passed through all the stations one after the other and people kept pouring in. Initially always, people tried to find a seat and when they couldn't, they simply cursed it on their fates and chose to stand by the poles or hanging onto the supports which were themselves hanging.
I received a call from my mother, I could hear and feel all the love for me and her urge to see me. As the metro train ran fast the stations, I happened to look into one of the glasses that was covering my seat. I saw the reflection of a little girl probably four years old. I turned round to see her and she was damn sweet very cute her features well developed for her age. She was standing there looking at me having a look at her. She slowly turned towards someone sitting and who was busy reading a newspaper. She should be her mother. Beside her mother, I saw a stunningly girl standing whose beauty that Evening’s glitter of sky couldn’t match. The stunning beauty was wearing a pair of denim blue jeans and a rather hot top with a shawl covered all over the top portion of her body. We guys in Delhi are quite used to this outfit in the winter season. She looked at me with some confusion, I stopped staring and smiled to myself. I turned my eyes again onto the small girl whose eyes were glowing in twilight. I could feel some wonderful thoughts filling my heart, I immediately took out a paper and started writing down. As I was writing the mother looked confused and took small child more close to her. I just smiled to myself. Here is what I wrote,
“I’m all alone in the crowded metro train,
And watch this little girl feeling secure in,
The hands of her mother drawing her close,
To her bosom as she looked into the daily news.
The little girl now dozed off in comfort,
And her mother could still read the paper report,
Those little hands held on to the sleeves,
Of the mother's shirt, like dew on the leaves.
A beautiful sight, very simple and natural,
But was nothing short of a marvel.”
"Bravo," I said to myself. As the next station, my change-over station, arrived, I cursed my fates for not being able to travel with the beauty a little longer. But to my surprise, the beauty was trying to move from the place where she was standing. I thanked my 'cursed-by-me' fates for I thought she might get down at the same station as I was. But to much more surprise and rather shock, she just took the seat I got up from and all that movement I saw was not to step out of the metro train but was to occupy the seat. I would've given it away with pleasure if she had asked, I cursed my fates again and left for the underground metro train network, which will take me to the station.
Location : Another Metro Station, Delhi
Time : 5:00 PM
Escalators took me down to the underground platforms on which the train which will take me to the station is expected to arrive in 3 minutes. Again my mind did the calculations and this time left me much more pleased. I wondered at the long escalators and the whole construction of the underground metro stations which were of great architecture and perhaps a good study material for the civil engineering students. The train arrived and this time I couldn't find a seat. I slowly walked my way out to a corner without cursing my fates. I stood there and observed the people around. This time I was not looking for pretty girls, maybe I was satisfied with the beauty in the previous train for that day or perhaps I don't wanted another disappointment of leaving one again.
There were many people around from the French-cut macho men to lean guys of my age from the fatty uncles who seemed to be in possession of much fatter wallets or bank balance accounts, to the kitty party aunties. In fact a group of them were so deeply involved in talking to each other that they seemed almost lost with the rest of the world. I wondered what could they be probably talking of, Perhaps suggesting each other on the ways to spend their spouse's money or perhaps the latest styles and improvisations in make-up available in the beauty parlour (seeing them, one could clearly estimate the thickness of the make-up layer they are quite proudly wearing on their rather loose and somewhat wrinkled faces, Whatever). I could also see many people who perhaps had never traveled in these type of luxury. I could clearly see the confusion blended with admiration on their faces. They were mostly shabbily dressed. Even if the aunties had never travelled in the metro before and even if that was their first ride on the metro, they would not only pretend to be acquainted with these but also try to find faults with the maintenance of the metro trains, I thought. I also thought that a metro train(in Delhi at least) is a good place to get the feel of our country and the people for one can observe the diversity of people. There were also people who tried to start a conversation with the fellow passengers even when they knew that they would be getting off the train in a few minutes "People", I said to myself.
Location : Railway Station, New Delhi.
Time : 5:15 PM
The New Delhi station arrived in short time and I got off the metro rain to get into the Indian Railways train, As I was about to complete the ascent of the staircase that would take me to the over-bridge which branched out some staircases down to the platforms, I met a student from our college, ECE student, who knows me well as I am a good friend of two of his branch-mates. He was also going for the same train and we both guided each other to reach Platform No.5 where the AP express was standing. We quickly exchanged our coach numbers but I knew it would be the last time on that journey I would see him. I went to my coach S6 and made my way through many many luggage and people very very larger that their luggage to my berth no.28 (LB). I was very much irritated by the way the fellow passengers blocked the way through out and also by the way the passengers, who had their berth numbers close to me, had kept all their luggage on my berth. It was so crowded a place that I was suffocating in no time and had to literally throw out my luggage onto the berth and get off to the platform to fetch myself a good book I wouldn't get bored of reading whole throughout the journey.
I asked the book vendor for a thin book, but I had ended up with A King of Torts by John Grisham. I had heard of the author. It was quite thick, a little thicker than I would've loved it to be but I had bought it and headed for another session of suffocation. I sneaked in from the window and could still find the place crowded. So, I dodged the session of suffocation and went to have a look at the list of passengers those were very much travelling in my coach. I always, for that matter all the boys of my age, looked at the reservation chart to know the names, berth numbers and all that info of girls ranging from 18-25(mostly if any). This time I saw berth number 8,Himani,age- 21, and berth number 29,the very next to mine, Neeti Bhatia,Age-23 and that's all.
I headed to my berth, probably faster for obvious reasons. By the time I got there, a man perhaps in his late thirties was trying hard to bend his back against his well-grown belly, to take blessings of an elderly lady probably in her early seventies. He tried well and even before that elderly lady had taken her blessing hands off his shoulders, he was back straight on his feet. Perhaps the belly force was stronger. He left leaving two ladies and Neeti Bhatia, the other lady sitting beside the blessing-old-lady was Neeti's mother, a fair lady probably in her late forties. Neeti Bhatia was ok, not so beautiful as the one I had seen in the metro train but she was not even that bad. She deserved a second look surely she was a little on the plump side and was of good height maybe 5'6" but what attracted me the most about her was the sense of her dressing and, even more, the way she carried her dress. "Elegant" would be a good word to describe her look. Her mother was calm, pleasant and seemingly tired and it occurred to me as though she was not one of the kind of the aunties of the metro train.
I slowly adjusted my luggage, a mediocre size bag and a heavy rug, on my berth, the lower one Neeti was fast enough to guess that and she straight away asked me if I could go to the upper berth, one allotted to her mother. I readily agreed for it occurred as a help to me, personally, I liked the upper berth for the privacy it offered and lastly, it was an elegant girl asking with a much sweeter and much elegant tone. I received a call from my Dad.
Location : A.P Express, Delhi.
Time : 6:00 PM
I slowly got to the upper berth and I felt the air in the corner filled with an Orange essence, I thought that berth was a girl’s before mine. I took the slippers also with me to the upper berth(I have lost two pairs of Reebok Shoes, twice in my journeys earlier)I put on a much looser fitting jeans over the one I was wearing for I was very much afraid of the night and the chill it could serve. I was very much aware of the chill and the shiver it sends into the spine for I was going through all that in my room everyday during the stay at the hostel. I was wearing two layers of T-shirts with a sweater over them and in addition to all these, a rug was there for further rescue. I thought, fighting the cold that made my jaws clapping like the hands of the audience mesmerized with an outstanding performance, in Delhi, wouldn't be that difficult. I had a slight supper with all that was provided by the pantry car in the form of a well arranged platter. I opened the book I bought and started reading but I could feel the Orange essence still lingering around me, I could make out a beautiful soul resting on the berth. I took out the paper and started again to write down my thoughts which would be,
“She turned left, She tossed right,
Her fragrance going all sides straight,
She slept here, She dreamt here,
In this smell I'm drifting dear,
All this air touched her hair and her beautiful face,
I'm sure she's so stunning all traffic goes to zero pace.”
“Hmm, Bravo !!” I said to myself again. I was feeling a lot uncomfortable with this jeans-on-jeans syndrome and soon I had to adjust my both the jeans and when I was doing this a couple caught my eye. They seemed to me, a happily married couple both in their late forties or early fifties. The wife was watching me with some bewilderment as though I was doing something that I shouldn't be doing. For a moment, even I thought whether all that I was doing or rather trying to do, was a matter of such bewilderment. Somehow, I tried to convince her that I was wearing a jeans inside and was just trying to get into another With that, I could see that she was convinced, for her bewildered gaze disappeared and slowly started taking out the dinner for both of them. I could clearly see the purely vegetarian dinner, the favorite of the north Indians neatly arranged on a platter for their convenience in eating. It was a packed platter, one from the company specialized in packing such platters. They surely must be die-hard vegetarians. I thought completely unaware of why the thought has ever occurred to me.
I resumed reading the book and this time was far more comfortable with the jeans syndrome. I read the book for an hour or so when the vegetarian aunty looked at me and switched off the light. I understood that it was an order like thing for me to sleep. She is a very interesting person ,I thought, as I began to think of the ways she conversed with me, not in words, but with her expressions and actions. I knew of many people who make their deeds and expressions talk starting from the members of my family, friends to the teachers and many more and one of them, certainly the most prominent for me and the greatest of the art of talking through eyes was, is and will be(forever) 'The One' and only. I retired to sleep and pulled the rug all over my body thinking of 'The One’. May she be sleeping in peace, I prayed.
I had a good sleep all night long. Rather undisturbed sleep except my "fight" to keep the whole of the massive rug I was covering, over the berth itself. A part of it always slid down and I had to pull it back. Otherwise, I had a nice sleep till sometime before 10 in the morning and was not at all surprised to see all the other fellow passengers munching on their breakfasts.
Location : A.P Express, Somewhere
Time : 11:30 AM
I quite lazily woke up and headed towards the bathrooms with all the things that were required to answer my nature calls, wash my face and, most importantly, brush my teeth. When I was done with all those, I slowly returned to my bed, kept all the things safely back in the bag and waited for the pantry employees to bring me some breakfast. You might well be thinking why am I writing all these (so slow). Well, I was very lazy so "early" in the morning and just thought to convey that to you in letter.
As, I waited for my breakfast, the elegant girl and company began to look out for their luggage. They were packing off everything they had brought in, for their destination, the station of Nagpur, was about to arrive in a very short time, I wondered what time it was. Normally, AP train reaches Nagpur somewhere around 12pm. I reached for my mobile which was safe in my inner jeans pocket in the switched off condition to check the time out. I was taken aback for the train was running perfectly on time. My breakfast arrived after a good waiting period and the butter-bread-omelet thing was worth waiting. It tasted good for I was very hungry. Hunger always makes food tastier, I thought.
Very soon the train reached the station where the elegant girl and company had to get down. As soon as the train stopped at the station, I saw a mob which looked quite raged for some reasons of their own and though I was interested in knowing them, I quietly got to the upper berth for I was much more interested in finishing off the novel which I had just started at night. It was just another story regarding the triumph of the underdogs. It went on much similar lines of the Sidney Sheldon's bestseller The Stars Shine Down, I thought, but with a different backdrop.
I didn't order any lunch for I decided to do that at home. The lunch at home is a far better option than the pantry platter if you are not that hungry. I asked the same pantry employee who had served me breakfast the time in which the train would reach the next station and was once again taken aback for he rain was running well on time, but with a relief for my destination was just three hours away.
I closed the novel for I was getting as bored as you are now probably reading this. I packed off all my luggage and headed for a face-wash as the flashes of my father scolding (I don't think this is the right word, may be criticizing) with a certain face that is well known for most sons and daughters like me, for being so dirty. I don't understand how he could expect me to come neat and tidy after a 22-hour-long train journey. Perhaps, this is one of the ways, he(like many other fathers in this world loving their sons and daughters)expresses his love for me and that he cares for me. My father, I think, really doesn't believe in expressing love. I also heard my mom complaining that my father hadn't said "I Love You" in all these years. They are married for some 21 years now with some years in their courtship for theirs was a love-marriage. In fact, they have known each other since their high school days. But the best part of it was that they were die-hard rivals in almost all the aspects in those days. My father, I think, believes in other ways of expressing love and concern, as I told you, about people making their deeds and expressions speak for them more than their words. My father is certainly one of them, I think. You might not wonder how I got to know all that about my parents story. My mom told me some part of the story and left the rest for my imagination for we consider each other as one of the best friends. We talk about almost everything under the sun and she also makes a good dance partner for me.
It took me some ten minutes time to pack off all the luggage and I was done both with the packing and with the novel. The train went past all the stations and entered my state of AP. I sent an SMS to my dad that I was at a particular station and was fine. My station arrived shortly and I was at the door of the compartment when a short but fat person, who occurred to me as a lunatic, blocked the way. I asked him to move to a side for I had to get down but it was impossible for I couldn't pass by his side. There wasn't enough place for me to go through as I pushed myself into his round belly. He slowly gave way for me to get down and no sooner than I had got down the train the train started to move. You can understand my size that I couldn't quite get through by the side of that belly lunatic.
I was received on the platform by two of the employees who worked under my dad, though I expected himself to be there to receive me. We all hired an auto and I reached my house. Well, I’m home.
Location : Home
Time : 4:40 PM
Thank You.
THE END
