B for Bangalore

On a Cold Winter Sunday morning of 2002 Platform no 1 in Yashwantpur Railway Station was moderately crowded. Most of the people were waiting for Howrah Yashwantpur Express to Arrive, the group of people that gathered in the Platform were mostly youngsters waiting for their college buddies or Fresh IT Industry Software Engineers waiting for their roommates or close colleagues.

Time has an interesting toll on most human minds. It can travel for 35 Hours in a train without complaining a bit but when an hour delay seeps in the mind gets agitated and impatient.

That is exactly what was happening among the travelers in the train, most of them were ready after having the morning tea to get down at Yashwanthpur and embrace the Bangalore chill weather, the women had plaited their hair nicely, some chanted their morning prayers, young college girls managed to brush their teeth and put the lipstick on reaching out to their handbag’s tiny pocket, boys struggled to find their sleepers and packed them before putting the snickers on to start running as soon as the train stops in the platform for a rickshaw where a lot of bargain and argument would follow.

Among all this hustle bustle a boy in Ac 3 Tier, B1 Seat number 38, Upper Birth was sleeping peacefully. In his dream land, he was standing on a sea beach looking at the horizon and seeing a ship sail towards the far end which seemed to be the end of the world. In the twilight the beach looked not only peaceful but calm. He looked in his left and right no one was there other than a Ballon Seller. He felt almost like being Rajesh Khanna from the movie Anand, the only difference is he didn’t have the death taking disease cancer. He kept looking at the horizon as the steamer went close towards it. Life is good he felt.  Serene, calm and no complains

A sudden thud and someone calling out “Macha, get down, we have arrived” made Adarsh wake up to reality. He could hardly open his small eyes that had a twinkle in them when he saw everyone is so busy around him, trying to do something. Fraction of a second he realized, where he is and where he actually belongs. Quickly he got down to go to the wash basin and put some water on his face. He asked the fellow Macha passenger – “Bhai aa gaye kya Bangalore?” The Macha traveler nodded and said, “Ya man we are just waiting outside the platform for the last 50 mins”

Ten minute from then the Train entered the Platform leading one person towards his destiny. Little did he know it was a new chapter of his book called “Life”

 

Pic Taken from Google