Train Tales

I was once travelling in a local train, off to a station I had never travelled to before; nervously glancing here and there for cues to act upon next. I saw one lady sit by the door, staring at me ( I think she understood I was feeling lost). She smiled and asked me to join her. Her one leg was swollen and wrapped in bandages. Her clothes were faded and patchy at places. She could easily be mistaken to be a beggar. She asked me to sit. I looked at the spot, slightly dirty and unwelcoming. She continued to stare at me, as though she could X-ray my mind and make bare every single thought running through it!

“Zameen peh Nahi baithi Ho Kya kabhi? Ghar peh kaha baith ti ho? Sofa peh?.”

(Haven’t you ever sat on a floor? Where do you sit at home? On the sofa?)

She smirked!

I smiled back politely, and took the spot she wanted me to take.

She stayed quiet for a moment (I think she didn’t really consider I would take the offer) and then let me have a dip into the cold struggles of her daily life. She had no one to look after her post her accident. Her parents had bluntly refused to pay for her surgery and soon she would have to amputate that leg. Her voice was strong and firm, with barely any remorse or grief, as though she had accepted her fate. She then moved on to her village stories and invited me over to stay with her if I ever happened to pass by.

“Ratnagiri pata hai na kaha hai? Vaha ke Aam Bahut achhe hote hai. Kabhi vaha se guzri toh milne zaroor aana. Mujhe achha lagega!”

(Do you know where Ratnagiri is? The mangoes from there are very good. If you ever happen to cross that village, do stop by and meet me. I will like that!)

I smiled broadly at her and got off at my stop; and as I walked out of the station, my thoughts still lingered over that surprisingly warm encounter.

“The universe is made up of stories, not of atoms!”

Indeed.