Amazing people

Train journeys are always worth travelling longer they are richer in learning they are, provided you wish to be awake both mentally and physically.
I had been on one of such journeys recently going to Goa from Delhi. The train journey started with jitters of name missing from the displayed chart and being able to find it after a few moments of panic wave and realizing that thanks to new policy of our honorable railway minister my seat no had been altered due to so called high capacity coach being used. Even though I began my journey with pleasing of TC to change my seat I am all alone in my coupe right now and enjoying every bit of it.
The train journey which was supposed to be of 29 hrs went on to become of 34 hrs with some unavoidable incidences in the route. Sometimes Indian railway can’t be really blamed for the delays which are caused. Its India with its multi crore population and living beings you can’t avoid. In fact I am in all praise for railway to arrange for backup to such remote place and get things moving as possible (may be this pleasant comment is due to I was sleeping that too in AC compartment isolated from the commotion outside enjoying liberties which I could afford fortunately)
Train journey began with sharing coupe with a family might be retired couples it was a very nice time with them. They were 2 families, brothers and their families I guess. One of them was very friendly he started conversation himself and that’s best thing with me. So we got into conversation IIT is such a brand that will help you get right from job or even food and care because you are an IITian even if you boast it or not. Luckily one of the brothers 2 sons were grads of IIT B so they were appreciative of it that I am an IITian but not awed by me.
(I would like to mention an incidence here that once I had been to a place to meet an old friend of mine whom I was meeting after years. She had brought a friend to have back up or he really turned up their accidently I don’t know but he arrived their suddenly. And what he did throughout outing was to look at me with mouth wide open with constant expression of “An IITian” (After watching dostana I realized there could have been a different reason to it, to clear few raised doubt I was there to meet a “GIRL”))
So they(these 2 families) had an amazing relation. It was a perfectly matured or old hand at it. Husband cribbing about small things and wife not paying attention to it with a complete “yeh to kya bolate hi rahte hain ” look. Despite this when it came to serving food or giving medicine they were there for each other doing all what was needed. That is the crisp of the Indian social values which keep us together and take marriage much beyond just a licence to have sex terminology.
They got down at Vadodara , ending my lesson halfway and ending my small dosages of fooding in midway of journey.
I was helping them to offload their luggage when there was a new entry to our coupe where only I was the lonely dweller after they had left. He entered on cell phone talking to some one with a typical gujarathi accent “E Prakash wo flat me kisi ka nal khula chut gaya he jara band karake awachu”
I went outside to ateend a call , by the time he had settled and was talking to attendant “are utha dena mereko pakkese ” I don’t know how manieth time he was repeating as attendant was like “Jaan baksh do meri”
As I settled in lower birth before going to sleep on my upper birth , morbid desire to ask him “aap goa chal rahe hain” I could not resist and on top of it when he answered “Vasai” I said I too have to get down their.He was so happy to hear it that before I could complete my sentence , “Are mere ko bhi utha dena ” and started with all crap of “mere ko tension tha utha dena”
It came to me suddenly that I want to eat ice cream (some times tantrums of food habit do help) and luckily train was still waiting for me to eat ice cream,I went running towards shop and asked for a Chocobar these days I have got a special liking for chocobar. Then again I got a call and while I was on call train started moving so I was standing in door and was talking. After finishing call I entered inside this gujju unlcle was looking through blanket opening towards me and said “are kidhar that u, mere ko tension hone lagi thi ki ice cream ke piche chut to nahin gaya aur fir mere ko kaun ithayega”
I was like , “I have boarded the train for the sole purpose of waking you up early in the morning ”
When I decided to sleep on lower birth and setteled on lower birth in which this fellow played a major part in convincing with sure hidden agenda that atleast if I forget to wake him up he will atleast get to hear my movements and will wake him up.
As I was about to get into my bed he asked “ me alarm lagaya na” , I was like “what ” but still managed to give a calm reply of yes. Immediately he took minimal effort to take his hand out of blanket and handed me his mobile and said “is me bhi 330 ka alarm laga dena” in between I got a call so I returned saying dhundana padega and returned it.
That fellow transferred same to the two poor fellows who were standing there awkwardly to get mobile charged and watching our conversation . They were dumbstruck and could not do anything so after finishing I took cell from them and set as per my masters wish and handed over cell to him.
Then he went to sleep so sound that I don’t have words to describe it. Myself being a latenight sleeping freak I could not sleep till 1 am and then I could not sleep because of thoughts of will I be able to get up at 330 am.
But somehow I felt sleepy and slept for about an hour or 2 when a rustle near door woke me up as my coupe was just near to the exit.I got up and went to door asking what happened the fellow standing there with luggage told me “ Vasai aa gaya ,” I looked at my watch and said to him its 0245 am we cant be there so early. He showed me his mobile and said see my mobile is also showing it vasai. I did not have any word against this so I returned inside and was about to settle then these to fellows too came in and said all are saying the same so you might be right.
Then again I tried to make a miserable effort to sleep which was a big time failure. I finally decided to get up at 0320 and woke this Gujju uncle too. He woke up took his bag outside and went to wash his face I guess, he came back and again slept. I could not say a single word, I did not have any.
When I shouted along with few others that “Vasai aa gaya” then only he bothered to get up and went to door and got down not even bothering to smile at me or return a thanks.
It was definitely not for thanks that I wrote this.
How engrossed we are in ourselves that we many a time forget the others. In this case I was a complete stranger who had no importance but many a times the left ones are our loved ones.