Once upon a time, long long ago, so long ago many things happened, do not bother those things! But it was in 2009: six months after my breakup, I planned my travel to Trivandrum.
Gosh! Slip of the mind; let me correct myself, it's up after a break of six months; I planned my travel to Trivandrum since I got a job there. I got a job there because I badly need to get out of Chennai else my nostalgia would have jeopardized me and screwed my 'something' which lies between my right and left ears. Oh ya! Right, my Brain!
Hmm! Bad old days.
It was a Diwali day; I have to leave to Trivandrum to join my new job. With no expectations, no goals, I got into Trivandrum Express. Some sort of melancholy occupied me which drove me back to the day I left to Hyderabad for my first job; she came to my home with some fake reason and made my eyes wet with her tears saying "come back soon" (Which I cannot tell her now) and again waited for me in Chennai station to see and I faked my Mom and Dad, as if I went to get them platform tickets and went to see her where she as hiding near the ticket counter, came back after few minutes caring her in my arms, virtually.
Hmm! Good old days.
Trivandrum Express was about to start and everybody of my relatives, came to see me, me getting back to my journey, sighed by and my Mom shed few drops of tears but I don't want to tell her 'I badly need to stay away from all of you, only then I can go with my life'. Train started, I went and sat in my seat. I saw a pretty girl sitting opposite to me. She wore blue jeans, white tops, tiny ear rings and a pair of shiny gold bangles. She was fare and beautiful to attract any bloody with her awesomeness. Yeah! Fair and awesome; opposite to me. I tried to move my legs to accommodate myself in my seat and mistakenly dashed her leg with mine, so I said "sorry". She didn't react. She turned to her mother sitting next to her, busy talking with her husband, and 'husband' nodding his head as if he could do only that much. Usual right!!?. Her mother didn't turn to her so she again shifted her saccades to her right straining her watching the fast moving panorama, outside the train. I watched her for few seconds unknowingly and she didn't dare even to turn her head to me but her presence created a pleasant and dramatic ambience soothing my melancholy.
I took out my old mobile phone from my bag and immersed my super computer into a terrific nostalgia reading memorable messages she had sent me during my first Hyderabad travel. Slowly my hippocampus rejuvenate to recollect whatever I had had done to my life and my life to me. I wanted to throw out all my memories out of the train along with the mobile phone, but, which I still carry. I closed my eyes to stop memory over flow out of my eyes.
I heard a soft voice in Malayalam asking for water (No, not the Dam water). I opened my eyes to look at her, she got up and trembled to walk in the moving train so I offered my hand to her to catch hold but she didn't care about me and walked out. She came back in a minute I kept looking at her for few continuous seconds this time knowingly. She saw me starring, she leaned on her mother and whispered something in her ears but her mother kept screwing her husband rigorously and didn't hear hear whatever her daughter whispered. She turned away from her mother angrily. I could sense she was angry and the same time frightened. I thought I would not stare at her at least to make her comfort.
Hours slipped slowly;
It seemed driver finally looked into his watch and train speeded obliging Indian railways norms of promised 80km/hr (not sure on the exact data, sorry, please bare my knowledge). She felt tried of being angry and turned to me at last, I half-smiled at her. She didn't reciprocate but downed her head not to look at me. 'Girl' of her kind was always in my dreams.
It darkened and chillness grew respecting the November. Her presence created some warmness in heart but I don't know occultism to transfer that heat to my body. I shivered; I knew I grew weak in my six months home work. Home work!! Yeah, ' wake up, eat late breakfast, watch television, eat very late lunch, watch television, never step out of the home, drink tea, watch television, dinner, sit still till 2 o' clock and fall asleep'.
I had my dinner in my upper birth and cleaned up the place and made my bed. Looked at her to seek a glance at least from her before I sleep, but she was what she was.
I was sound asleep and suddenly I heard noises and voices, so I got down from my birth and saw a strange guy was standing and one of my co-passengers shouting at him in Sanskrit kind of language. I tried understanding what the hell they spoke but every word went above my head in air in my sleep deprivation and that's why my co-passengers Malayalam seemed to be Sanskrit at midnight. The air grew serious, many gathered. I asked my co-passenger "what's the matter?" who kept arguing with the stranger.
"This Scoundrel, sat next to a girl and tried to remove her shawl of the Salwar, who was sleeping three cabins away from us" screamed my co-passenger.
Suddenly the stranger went wild and aroused as if he wants to hurt the passenger who screamed at him. Reacting immediately, I neared him and caught him tight. Thank God my brain worked, in reflection. He was not that strong and also smaller than me so he could not resist me.
From the dark end of the compartment, a tall, gigantic guy came up and stood next to me, I freed the Stanger since he wasn't resisting. The tall guy gave a strange look strangely and suddenly gave him a hot blow in his right cheek. Stanger flew hitting the door and returned back to his position faintly. Everybody around was shocked, I saw a strong swelling near the left eye of the Stanger, well deserved.
"Now, can someone tell me, what he did?" asked the tall guy to the air.
"Bloody! You slapped him without knowing the reason!" I thought. I could only think those questions not ask; he looked gigantic.
No police, no TTR turned for a long time even after hearing all our noise, so people decided to throw the guy out of the train. Hey wait! Before you file a case against me under section 303, let me let tell you what is 'throw the guy out of the train', train stopped in the next station and we pulled him out of the compartment.
I went back to my birth, slept well.
Dawn broke; I got up and come down to sit but was in hibernation mood. Looked out of the window, a name board in the station read "KARUNAGAPALLI" meaning "Land of Black Cobras", sorry for that bad translation but that's all what my brain told me looking at name board in its hibernation mode.
"Hmm! It's a wild start of the day" I thought.
"Patharam, Patharam" a loud voice screamed from the corner of the compartment alarmed me adding throatiness to the wildness for the start of the day. All I know is "Patharam" means 'carfull' or 'be alert' or 'be alarmed' in Tamil. I could not guess why the guy shouting, no screming "Patharam". Finally he approached me and
"Patharam sir?" shouted in a humble voice with Newspapers in his hand.
"Damned! ‘Patharam’ means Newspaper in Malayalam, It seems my learning’s started even before I reached” I thought
Oh ya! I looked out for that pretty girl, she came down from her birth and sat next to me and asked her mother "Why all were shouting in midnight?". I understood her Malayalam question since I could find some Tamil words blessed inside Malayalam.
"Nothing" replied her mother.
"A Thief entered into the train last night,
he planned to snatch the gold chains from girls,
and I fought with him,
threw him away from the train" I briefer her in my Malayalam. Ya, Ya I spoke Malayalam; Tamil mixed with English.
"Oh! Really! So nice of you" she replied in her lovely soft voice and leaned on my lap.
"What are you studying?"
"First 'C' Uncle. What are you studying?"
"I don't like to study dear" I laughed and kissed her. She wiped her cheeks with her mother's sari immediately after my kiss.
Within an hour train reached Trivandrum Central station.
I started my Journey.
- Imedneo; that's for now i had, to write.-
Ouch! Did I write 'Imedneo'! And are you wondering what the hell 'Imedneo' means?
Believe me, it means, it’s quarter to 2.00 AM and I'm dam sleepy.
- I'm done; that's for now I had, to write.-
