Friday 9 May 2014

Moments of Magic

(Sometimes a person enters our lives just for a few moments and in those moments of magic he shows us our destination)

When it all started, I had never thought of a day when I would have to go back through this same route. Everything seemed so familiar, so near, yet so distant. Every pothole that rickshaw hit reminded me that my destination was that much closer and a sinking feeling engulfed me.  Every time the rickshaw hit a pothole, my wife would cling on to me harder in her sleep and that would bring me back from those moody depths. Savi looked at peace as she slept with her cheeks firmly resting on my shoulder and with her arms clinging on to mine. Only a peaceful and innocent heart could sleep like this, especially in the kind of situation we were in. I knew that because I was not able to sleep. It was a rough day for her. It was a rough day for us.



We decided to take a four hour train ride to this place only because it would have taken us seven hours by road. A trip to this place had never even entered my thoughts, but it had never left Savi's and here I was, doing it and that too on a train. I preferred to drive, but seven hours on our roads made the trains ride seem very attractive. We had to spend four hours sitting opposite to strangers, which to me was the most annoying aspect of a train ride. Some of them start talking and before we even realise it, an absolute stranger would know more about us than our neighbours usually do. Travelling by bus was better in this aspect but again the thought of the seven hour journey made the train journey look very attractive.

It all began quite well in fact. It was three in the afternoon when we boarded the train and we were the only ones in the coupe. That was the advantage of travelling in sleeper class for short distances, if we were lucky enough the entire coupe would be ours till we reached the destination. I hoped that this would turn up to be one such day. This was a train travelling all the way to Delhi. I didn't know how long it took to reach Delhi, all that I knew was that I would never travel that long with strangers around my neck. Thankfully we were spared of company when the train started. There was a lot of noise in the compartment. A batch of students were busy arranging their stuff in their seats. There was a whole bunch of them, around 30 in all sorts of dresses that didn't suit them. One or two would occasionally drift  near to our coupe and then go back. Thankfully no one bothered to disturb us and we were left alone. Savi sat right in front me on the window seat. The other six seats were vacant in our coupe. Savi was noticeably tense, probably thinking that something terrible was going to happen. I could sense the plead in her eyes, the plead to the universe to make things fall in place. She would look at me and suddenly look confused. I gave her the usual smile, "the don't worry, everything will be alright smile". As always my smile worked this time too. Just as she was about to say something, I interrupted and said "I will not start anything, I promise". 'Everything will be fine. I just hope that I am not intimidated, I won't tolerate that." To me that sounded reassuring but I couldn't understand if she was reassured. She had forgotten what she had intended to say and then the same plead slowly crept up on her face.


A moment of silence followed and she said "let us just.." when we were interrupted by a couple looking for their seats. They found theirs at the other end of our coupe. We now had the dreaded strangers for company. From their conversation we understood that the husband worked in the army. He was stationed here and they were travelling back to their home town probably near Delhi. The train jerked a little and the husband wished his wife bye and went out of the train. Apparently we had one less stranger for company, who strangely was quite relaxed leaving his wife alone in the train for the multiple day trip to Delhi. As the jerks started increasing the husband waved at his wife, briskly walking on the platform trying to catch up with the train. His wife looked at him but didn't wave. As the lady rose to see off her husband, her hand bag fell down scattering oranges and some personal stuff in the coupe. Her eyes wandered searching for eyes that would help. "Clumsy" I thought as  I turned my eyes to my mobile phone. My wife meanwhile was still trying to say something to me and probably didn't notice the oranges.

As the train slowly gathered speed, two boys from the gang approached our coupe and examined the scene. Without any hint of hesitation they proceeded to clear the mess. The huge cartons that the lady had were properly placed beneath the seats and the small bags were arranged on the opposite side. The oranges were all picked up and handed back to the lady. Satisfied with the effort they smiled at each other. They were interrupted by a female voice behind them. A girl was trying to drag a trolley bag twice her size. With a giggle meant to ridicule her they took the bag from her hand and placed it beneath the seat. The three of them left us in peace and joined the company of their mates. A moment later one of the boys returned with a book in hand and sat right opposite to the woman. Occasionally the two would converse, but for the majority of the time the boy was immersed in his book and the lady in her oranges. I had my phone and Savi had me. She was talking to me all the time and I was busy acting as if I was listening to all that she said. She continued talking and I continued my nodding till we were disturbed by a voice that asked "Can I sit here?" A frail female voice asked the army lady sitting in the other end of the coupe. The oranges in her mouth did not permit her to reply. The boy removed one of his bags kept on the seat, making way for the woman to sit.

She was in her sixties. Late sixties probably. Her belongings were kept wrapped in a bed sheet with its four ends tied together to make it function as a bag. She was sitting on the corner of the seat tightly holding on to the bag with one hand, while the other hand was busy making sure that the "pallu" that covered her head was in its correct place. Whenever my eyes would meet hers, she would give a big smile showing off her brown and broken teeth, which were disgusting, funny and strangely a little depressing at the same time. Her eyes were hoping to meet welcoming eyes of others in the coupe, but clearly she wasn't meeting any. My wife's husband, the boy's book, the army woman's oranges and my phone were more "relevant" to deserve our attention. Seeking comfort in  the improvised bed sheet bag of hers, she opened it.There was hardly anything in it other than some rags. After giving all of us five seconds of anxious wait she took out a small polythene bag that had bread inside. In it were 3-4 pieces of bread. After closing her "bag" her eyes again wandered hoping to meet a welcoming look on our faces. The other lady was embarrassingly caught staring at her. The brown and broken teeth were on display again as she offered one slice of bread to her. Busy with the oranges she refused the offer and in the process spilt all the peels on the floor. She adjusted the saree to dust off the remaining peels to the floor and started to peel off one more orange and asked "Are you travelling to Delhi?" "Yes, I am going to Delhi" the old lady replied with such a glee that made us feel that she was returning from outer space and was super excited to have found a human being to talk to after a long time.

That was the answer to just one of the numerous questions that all of us had asked ourselves from the time we saw her. 'Where the hell is this lady going with that 'bag?' was just one of the questions.  Even though the question asked was out of compulsion we had the answer to one of our questions. No one was going to ask the remaining questions, but she continued answering most of our doubts as if she was able to read our minds . "Do you know Surajkund? It is near Delhi I came from there two or three months back" There is a hospital in this city. A doctor told me that it is cheaper to treat us here. So I came here. But no one knows Hindi here. It is after a long time that I am seeing speaking speaking my own language here. I am so happy to talk to you. "Where are you going?" she asked the army woman. "Can you tell me which station should I get down to get a train to Delhi?"

Realising that the old lady had no idea that the train was actually bound to Delhi, the army woman  asked "Have you purchased a ticket for this train?" The brown and broken teeth were on display again and the answer was understood. "I will get down when they check and then take the next train. I had taken lots of trains to reach the hospital here". She was not bothered if the train would take her to her destination, if her tickets would be checked, if she had anything to eat or if we could be trusted with the small secrets of hers. She was innocently happy about the whole journey, but it clearly didn't make any sense to the rest us, after all this train was heading to Delhi.

The novel that was being read by the boy was now closed as he sat with his closed eyes facing the ceiling. Savi for a change was trying to do something other than just trying to catch the attention of the only thing of interest to her in the train- "me". She was listening to all the "fun" happening around her and that led her to other thoughts which didn't have "me" in it. The phone was still in my hand and I was trying my best to make it look as if I was doing something important with it. All of us there were asking the same questions to the old lady in a language that others couldn't hear. The old lady too didn't hear those questions that were asked in silence. Strangely the answers kept on coming.

As the stations passed more questions were answered. New questions arose and were answered. She was talking as if this day was the last day in the lives of all our us. The army woman ordered for a glass of coffee. The vendor handed over the coffee to the old lady to pass it on. As she passed the coffee to the army woman, she unknowingly answered the one question that all of us were so keen to know. For a fraction of a second she let the guard loose of her head gear and exposed her head to us. Even as she adjusted her saree quickly she gave us a glimpse of her head that barely had any hair on it. That answered the one question that all of us had, why had she come here, why she looked so frail, why did the doctors send her here.... She probably didn't even know what ailment she was suffering from.

The boy suddenly rose and headed towards the direction of the door. I looked at Savi and found the same confused look that I was having on my face. The fact that our station was nearing was the only comfort. After a short while I found myself standing near the door of the train along with the boy. He had a hundred rupee note in one of his hands and a wallet on the other. He put  the note back in the wallet and took it out after some time. I could make out that there was nothing much left in his wallet. Finally in an act of instinct he handed over the note to me and said "Please hand it over to her". Before I understood what happened he had taken his bag and vanished. I was left with one hundred rupees to be "handed over". I thought of adding some more of my own before handing it over. I opened my wallet and found nothing but some one thousand rupee notes. Savi would never approve this I thought. Giving away one thousand to a stranger. My wife would never agree. But technically I was giving only nine hundred. One hundred was given by the boy. Nine hundred looked a lot more presentable to me than "One Thousand". Satisfied with the strategy I went back to the seat as the station was nearing. Once the train stopped I took all the baggage and "handed over" the thousand rupees to Savi and asked her to " Hand over to the lady".  I told her that I would meet her in "that same place" and she just nodded not knowing what was happening.

I got off the train and ran the entire length of it in search of the boy. I went back again in the opposite direction and even checked the toilets in the platform but there was no trace of him. Dejected and disappointed at having lost something of great value I headed to "that" meeting point. Savi was there waiting for me with a look that made me feel that something was wrong. She has not handed it over I guessed, feeling even more dejected.

The next few moments were awkward. I didn't want to hear that she hadn't given the money to the old lady.  "I wanted to hug her goodbye" Savi said interrupting my thoughts. "But I couldn't". When I handed over the money she asked me if it was a twenty or fifty rupee note. "Poor thing has probably not even seen a thousand rupee note till now" she said with a little hint moistness in her eyes that always made my heart go soft.

 "We still have time" I said. We can go back and find her again. "No point" she said, the train will leave. "Trust me on this dear" I pleaded. I will wait with the baggage here, you go and find her. "Leave the baggage here" she replied, the police will take good care of them. I refused. It was her time to plead "Trust me on this". The bags will wait for us in this same place, I know.

Something took over us as I caught hold of her hand and ran back into the station leaving all our possessions in the vicinity of the railway enquiry counter. I ran as fast as I could, leaving Savi a little behind as I climbed the stairs. On reaching the top of the over bridge I found Savi struggling to climb up the stairs. Even in her struggle I could see the eagerness. It was the same eagerness that I saw in her the first time I saw her. It was the same eagerness that I saw the last time she took these same stairs four years ago. It was the eagerness that I had been struggling to find for quite some time now. In spite of the situation we were in I took the liberty of a smile at the only face visible to me in the sea of people. 


How we reached the train, when we found the compartment and how we made way through the crowded compartment is anyone's guess. All that comes to mind now is the sight of Savi sitting near the old lady hugging her and kissing her bald head. Seeing this from the platform I felt as if the entire universe was hugging me. Not wanting to let Savi see me cry, I slowly walked back to "that" place.

The train ambled its way out as Savi caught up with me. "That was so close" Savi said. When you said that there was sufficient time I thought you were just bluffing, she continued. I smiled back and proudly informed her that this was not the first time I was passing by this station. I told her that the engine of the train had to be shunted to the opposite end for the train to continue the journey to Delhi. It usually takes 30 minutes for that. "I was not bluffing when I asked you to trust me", I said. She held my arm closely as we reached "that place".

I was surprised to see that two policemen were in fact standing guard to the baggage. I wondered as to how on earth did she know that the policemen would keep watch on our luggage. "How did you know that"? I asked. It was her turn to look proud as she walked towards the policemen to claim the baggage. I was still wondering even as she collected the baggage and waved for an auto. "How did you know?" I asked again. I thought you were bluffing.

"It was bluffing my dear, it was a bluff" she said. "I just couldn't think of doing anything good without you by my side. I just wanted you to be with me all the time". "The policemen were discussing the need to call a bomb squad when we reached the place. You had to be with me and it didn't matter to me if we lost the baggage". The silence that followed was like symphony to my ears. All I could do was smile at all that was happening. I realised that I was happy not just because she was with me but because I always ended up doing the right things when I was with her.

That same rickshaw was taking us to our destination. The pain was getting more and more pronounced as the destination was nearing. The rickshaw stopped in front of the very familiar gate. Savi was still sleeping. I took out all the baggage from the rickshaw and enquired about the fare. Ninety six rupees sir came the reply in a voice that was both confident and weak at the same time. I gave him a thousand rupee note for which he didn't have any change. It was 9 pm and there was no one to seek help from. Leaving my wife inside the rickshaw I opened the gate, climbed the stairs and rang the doorbell. I turned back to take a look at the scenery behind me. It was dark and  intimidating. The pain reappeared. I could hear the sound of steps approaching the door. The door opened and a familiar face came out. No words were exchanged for some time. "Can you give me change for a thousand rupees" I enquired. He went inside and came back with his wallet in his hand and asked me how much did I want. One hundred rupees I said. "I will reduce it from your dowry" he said as he handed over the money to me with his arms open. It was an invitation that I couldn't resist. The same feeling that I felt when I saw Savi hugging the lady came back when our bodies met in the warmest of embraces. He probably had been waiting for this for a very long time.

I took the money from him and turned back to pay the rickshaw. Savi was standing at the gate looking at all that was happening. She climbed up the stairs as I went down to pay the rickshaw. I gave the money to the driver and asked him to keep the change and proceeded to arrange my stuff in my wallet. It was then that I realised that I still had that one hundred rupees that the boy gave me. I took it out of the wallet and felt the smoothness of the note in my fingers. I could hear Savi crying and saying "Sorry Papa, I couldn't find the courage all these years". She was seeing him for the first time after she had decided to spend the rest of her life with me. That was four years back. It was a similar night. We had met at the same place in the railway station. Took the same stairs up the railway over bridge. 


The sound of the the rickshaw starting brought me back to the present. I had the hundred rupees that the boy gave me. I didn't want to give to anyone. It was the most valuable possession that I had. But it was not meant for me. It was meant to give happiness to an unknown old lady. It had given me much more than just happiness. It was time to share the happiness with someone else. I called the driver and gave the money to him. The old man was surprised. "God bless you" he said, as he took the money and slowly vanished into the darkness. I couldn't help but think of the old lady and  the boy. As I turned back and faced the house I saw Savi in a tight embrace of her father, both of them crying. The night was still dark but not intimidating any more. The driver's last words were true. Seeing those two I knew that I was blessed, a lot more blessed than I could imagine. A lot more blessed than I probably deserved. 

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