Life takes a small pause
If you haven’t read the story previously
https://medium.com/@vikramchan/life-on-track-a-parallel-universe-9aaaad4a14de
and
https://medium.com/@vikramchan/life-on-cloud-9-a-parallel-universe-8cb0e1408c8d
The original photo from twitter and painting by a close friend Sanjay Ghosh
And then she blew her top off.
She was visibly upset that things still hadn’t changed! Someone always occupied a reserved seat and said, “Swalpa adjust maadkolli madam”. She started to ask the man to move out.
The other side of the seats was occupied by an elderly couple who smiled at her. The elderly lady gestured to her husband to move a little inside and asked Kamala to sit. The man occupying seat 17 was looking at all this from the corner of his eyes with his head down. He seemed scared to speak up, his timid nature didn’t allow him to do so.
The book “ How to build confidence and Speak to strangers” he had open on his lap didn’t seem to be helping. He just mumbled,” TT Madam TT” ..
The shouts of water, paani ,neeru , meals, biryani for night were heard in the compartments. Sir mealsuu, everyone nodded with a no, when he asked Kamala .” Nimge?. She remembered her office had asked her if she was ok with meals from IRCTC. Having seen a few documentaries of food on some trains and not having been on one for a long time had made her say yes.
She slowly started to feel at ease with the warmth and the small talk with the elderly lady.
“Yelli nimma ooru”
( Where do you belong to?) .
Ooru Mysuru but ivaga ille Bengaluru.
Nimbdu?
“Naav Malnad kade inda ,wapas hogthaidivi” ( We are from Malnad and are going back home).
The elderly gentlemen opened a pack of kobbarimittai ( a sweet coconut barfi of sorts made from fresh coconut, jaggery, or sugar syrup + some cardamom) that was remaining from the loot that his son carried abroad. He offered it to everyone. “Togoli, maneli maadidu” ( Take, it homemade ) . She had more than finished her quota with the sugary tea but couldn’t refuse this. She cut a small piece that melted in her mouth. The elderly lady gave her tips on how to make one which she frantically scribbled into her notes app.
The man at 17, on the other hand, was very happy with the homemade delicacy, which helped him also start a small conversation around how he was reminded of his mom, those childhood days etc. He mumbled something Mysuru Mysuru that Kamala could not hear clearly, and she ignored him.
It was getting dark, and some folks were getting ready to call it a day. Kamala was again upset that the TT wasn’t still here to resolve the matter. She was so tired mentally that she wanted to just stretch her legs..
The train had stopped at a random station for a long time, and it wasn’t even a regular stop. There was a lot of commotion on the platform.
Her usual curiosity would have wanted to find out what it was, but she wasn’t in a state of mind to do. She finally asked him for his ticket, and he sheepishly handed it over to her. She checked it twice before she pulled out her own. Her lips went dry, and there was an apology written all over her face …….
and then ..
