Musings of a train journey

“No! I won’t! I won’t!”- me.
“Enough is enough. Take your bag and go out this minute.”- mom.
Teary eyed, with no option on hand, I obeyed mom.
As I think about it today, I really feel how I could have been so stupid to give this reaction for travelling in an unreserved train compartment.
It was about a trip to Trichy. Not until the day of departure did I know that we hadn’t booked our tickets because it was a sudden trip. And so began my first journey in an unreserved train compartment.
Step 1: Getting there about two hours earlier than the train departure time—to get the seats, you see.
Step 2: Train arrival. (very dangerous step!) Brace yourselves as you see the maddening crowd pushing you hither and thither in the wild scramble for seats.
Unknowingly, I was caught in this mad rush too as dad threw three of our bags into the compartment seats to seat the three of us.
Step 3: Comfortably (huh!) seated in the train.
I was saved as I could find a window seat. Mom and dad, however, were stuck with the annoyingly ‘kind’ people who were trying to make place for all those who came into the compartment seeking it.
Step uh, sorry, no more steps, the train has started.
I looked around. (in dismay) a bogie supposed to seat six was sorrowfully bearing 23 people. While women who couldn’t find seats right royally sat on the ground, the men did not have any such botheration. An inch of space available was enough. I looked up to discover (a shock) a man precariously perched on the berth for keeping luggage. Any sudden brake and down he falls.
I glared at mom—a glare enough to shoot almost a hundred questions right from “ Are-you-happy-with-this-place?” to “Is-this-trip-that-necessary?” Mom wriggled uncomfortably.
Unable to bear the agony, I fished out my physics book to read Electrostatics. Absolutely important, I thought. I spent five minutes reading with concentration until commotion broke out in the compartment. A lady had become violent (yeah, really!) as one of the men in the compartment kept dozing and falling on her. It took the ‘judicial’ mind of an old couple to ‘resolve’ the matter.
I returned to reading. “Charge can never..” As though the previous interruption wasn’t enough, new ones came – kids openly peeping into what I was trying to read – they irritated me more than anything else and I gave my fiery eyed glare at them. Shaken, they went back. Very proud of myself, I resumed my reading. “ Charge can never exist..”
“Chips?” a packet of chips somehow made its way into my book. I looked up and saw the mother of the kids offering me food.
“No thanks.” I neatly denied.
But she persisted. My tolerance level somewhere close to its peak, I took a few and murmured a thanks. Seeing this reaction, a few others started offering me goodies to eat. I took pinches of all of them while giving a Did-I-ask-you-for-this look.
Eating over. I fished out the Electrostatics page again. Where was I? Oh yes, charge can never exist. What, I thought.
“My God! What a conclusion I have made!! Charge can never exist?” I looked around for that sentence. Oh, it was “Charge can never exist in fractions.”
Finally page 1 over.
Turning to page 2. The page suddenly turned orange. I looked around and then up. The father of the nosy kids explained. “Sorry ma, Fanta….kids you know..”
I grunted. Near peak of tolerance level reached. I knew I would break any moment. I prayed to God to take care of me. With great difficulty, I completed page 2. Now to page 3.
PLOP! Water. I looked up. The father gave an apologetic look. “Not me,” he said, “ its raining.”
I looked out. Soon it became a downpour. Exasperated, I pulled out my bag and shut and threw my bag inside. Electrostatics! All I needed at this hour. Water soon splashed on me through the window and I tried shutting it, in vain. Sensing my ‘distressing’ a flurry of people came to my rescue and closed it.
The compartment din was soon overcome by the sound of heavy rain. All became quiet and the stillness rocked all to sleep.
When I was awake, half of the compartment was empty. SriRangam had taken them and the train was speeding to Trichy.
Ahh! Finally it came. The rain had stopped long back and trichy was as hot as ever. We got down.
“Akka!!” I heard. I looked and saw my delightful two year nephew running towards me. Soon we were going home. Well, that train journey wasn’t as awful as I had thought. Though pesky, the people I met, mostly from the backward sections of the society were as helpful as ever. These people, I felt, were much better than the ‘highly civilized’ people of the society.
Hmmm…never had I thought I would stumble upon such discoveries in an unreserved train compartment!

Vani Viswanathan
16/06/2004