train chronicles-10/12/2006

As I approach the end of my saga of weekend train travels..I am realizing that they have become a part of me...the times spent in the company of strangers-awkward glances...shy smiles exchanged..nosy questions...and the privilege of watching life speeding by from the insulation of a speeding train’s window!

Now I am more alert...more intent on not missing anything...

This sunday, on my way back...I was really late and reached the station just when it was 10 mins for departure. Luckily I immediately found a seat beside five nerdy looking guys...and my mom by that time bought me a hot cup of coffee.

I haven’t spoken of that ritual still..but we always have something to drink before the train leaves-its usually tea..but sometimes we even have coffee or hot badam milk. This week it was hot frothy strong coffee.

I think the smell of coffee is seductive....strong and I like the feel of hot frothy coffee down my throat. Coffee should be had in company and tea in solitude. As I gulp in the last sip..the train slowly moves..and I say a hurried bye to my mom.

I walk back to my seat and open my book about English History. I am unable to concentrate on the follies of King Richard as I see beautiful golden paddy fields from the window...and suddenly I realized-I have seen these fields when they were green and it was spring In short, I was like a witness to their existence..their passage thru this world! It might seem silly to most but somehow I was hit by that notion...they will be harvested..and same paddy is brought to our houses as rice and who knows...I might eat the rice from the same fields!

What I found beautiful...might also nourish me!

Golden yellow fields..looked like fields of gold...as if someone had collected all the sun rays and put them there...to cheer the travelers!

Inside the train..the 5 guys looked my age…I don’t know their names; so, we will call them imaginatively A,B,C D & F.

They were talking about Russian revolution and Second world war and how Stalin was egoistic....somehow that naive comment made me wonder...who amongst is not?

I had to really discipline myself against barging in the conversation wherein one guy was talking about everything but the one factor which decided the outcome of that foolhardy decision-Siberian Winter.

I tried concentrating on the study of house of Lancaster.... but failed.

The warmth of a lively conversation was something one can hardly resist!

The talk veered towards communism and democracy and oh! how I love such topics!

All the guys were very quick and intelligent. One of them one was very passive and was reading the book "Tao of physics" and responded only when someone pulled his leg.

He was leaving for the US and was already in love with that country.

Among the remaining four two guys were the kind who held very strong opinions-one towards everything and the other two were just intelligent guys(C & D) who flowed like river..whoever provided the most fetching opinion, they would support him.

Sometimes just pure plain intelligence lets you down against sheer will power or excellent communication skills.Now the guy who was supporting communism(A) was just playing with words and though the guy supporting Democracy(B) had very legitimate ideas was not able to express him self very well. As I was listening intently to their arguments about the corrupt India and how undeserving we are of democracy(and freedom)..suddenly I heard a girl's voice...clear and crisp-"Maybe what we should be talking about is not freedom but liberty! A society where in people are not only aware of their rights but also their duties. India is still young if we consider the number of years we have been our own rulers..and we are learning. And when we get there..we will be a nice and decent place to live in!"

An embarrassing silence followed....in which I realized that voice belonged to me!!!! I felt my cheeks burning...and tried to recall if I had ever read about making oneself invisible!

The only saving grace was that the guys were too embarrassed themselves to react in any which way or mind my rude intrusion...and they did a very smart thing..they dropped the topic-maybe to be discussed when strange females didn’t voice their opinions as if they were some wise old aunts who had rights to barge into stranger’s conversations! And in turn,I nose dived into my history book and kept my head bent for the rest of the journey.

At the same time another guy joined them..he used to attend the same tuitions as I did...but he didn’t recognize me or pretended not to just the way I did..Anyways he was very popular for being a geek and also for his jokes which PETA wouldn’t approve of( for those frowning and wondering.. Anti-PETA: non-veg,below the belt kinda jokes)

After his entry one could say it was as if they collected all sensible conversations and threw them out of the windows and spoke silly things which usually make men so adorable. They discussed Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, American accent, getting drunk,nokia cells, state of Arizona, writing CAT and some lewd jokes(eg:whole thing kano... w-h-o-l-e thing!;) ) simultaneously.

A part of me was reading the rise of king Harry from the book in my lap and the other me..was basking in their conversation..her chin in the cup of her palms...laughing at their silly jokes..and adding my bit to their crazy conversations!

Then they decided to play "panja" and it was really hilarious....one guy making all excuses about why he lost and another making bad jokes about chemistry and biology!

After this, one guy tried to explain relativity and after convincing themselves that they were all younger than the people they left in mysore and they started discussing whether Indian alcohol can ever match up to foreign brands!

I could see the camaraderie amongst them...I don’t think they were the best of friends or anything like that...they were just guys who knew how to have fun together. And I wondered..what is that about middle age which kills this liveliness..this energy and the sparkle in the eye..takes away the smile from the eyes and instead places a frown on the eyebrows...Every phase of your life has its own set of worries..from learning alphabets to finding a girlfriend to maintaining a family. ..why then the way we deal with them changes so much?

I saw this grim picture of these guys as pot bellied, bald men...looking tired with sagging shoulders exchanging dreary stories about new cars and old wives..and I shuddered!

In fact the cynical me could already perceive the transition...they were already getting plump..some of them had a small pot belly...but the smiling faces were still there.

I just said a silent prayer for the beautiful youthful energy of these guys to be left untouched by passing years and growing worries or receding hair lines.

Well, then the train was really late...and one more train journey came to an end as I landed on the platform...but I hardly realized it then as I was running towards the pre-paid auto queue!