I have been travelling in train for ages and everytime I travel, I wish “some cool thing” happens, but I always end up in one or more family people around me, a marriage party troop travelling around us making noise and talking or a newly married couple with their 3 months old baby crying all night or a old man and women unable to walk, asking me to shift to thier birth and so on….
Every time a guy travels in train alone, he always wishes that he gets a good “accompanist”, and that too if its a girl to talk with, it would be great… great in every regards may be….
And for past three months, the travel has gone up by many a times..in CHENNAI- COIMBATORE – BANGALORE route. Pugalur, a town near KARUR is the nearest station to my grandma’s house; has small railway station (where train stops only for two mintutes or so)…
My train MANGALORE express to chennai was at about 7:20 pm in the night. Being quite lousy by nature, I managed to reach station at about 6:30 PM. Due to electricity, there was no power in the station and things all around were dark. I was standing in a small queue at enquiry counter to enquire at what time, would the train arrive ? And there “SHE” stood in front of me with her mom asking where the coach S3 would stop.
It was raining too heavily and the chilness was felt in the air. I too was wet, as I was dropped at staion in bike by my cousin. Dressed in white legging with a green salvar and a similar white ‘dupatta’, she was really great and gorgeous. With a little kajol and hairs tied, she was neither fair nor dark by complexion with a gold chain (or covering) around her neck and yes, ear ring too.
The way she spoke TAMIL too was that typical tamil spoken in ERODE, sALEm, COIMBATORE area with lots of respect in every word she uttered. She was having one back pack kind of stuff and another small bag in her hand.
Train came, we all boarded and it started… To my utter surprise, I too was put up in same S3 and i was just praying that mine shoule be near her seat. Later I was told in train by TTE that seats in RAILWAYS for TATKAL ticket has some quote for each station, because of which all our seats were together. My seat number was 30 ( Upper Birth) and she had two seats, one lower birth (for her mom may be) and the other upper one, exactly opposite to my birth. I was totally freaked out. I didnt know what to do, but I neither had guts to talk with her too.
Her mom spoke with me, asking if I too was going to Chennai and I replied yes. She said , she was going to her brothers house at chennai for the first time. Taking further I got to know that she was studying 3rd year in KONGU ENGINEERING COLLEGE, ERODE. When they said that they were going first time to chennai, the story of ‘engeyum yepothum”, a new tamil movie about a girl in chennai flashed in my mind.
Her mom offered my IDLI and SAMBHAR, which they had packed from their home. I refused to eat, convincing her that I had already had food at my grand mom’s house. She was telling her about her family and stuff and luckily they too happened to be “KAUNDS @ GOUNDER”, which in my subcaste in HINDU Religion.
Lights inside the train were put off and people were to sleep, she was having a mobile in her hand and was texting someone at night( about 9:30pm). I wondered is she was already committed… It was becoming cold and as always rain water was flowing inside the compartment, ( we all know the condition of INDIAN RAILWAYS).
I slept……… and at about 1:00 am I got up as I did not have a bed-sheet and was shivering. It was too cold, Tamil Nadu has never been so cold. she was still awake and starring at my face…
Luckily she seems to have noticed me shivering and unable to sleep and she asked me if I was feeling cold and said that she had a spare bedsheet with her, she offered me one-which she took out from her bag. I did not even think and immediately accepted the bed sheet, pulled over me and continued to pretended to sleep.
In the process of pretending to sleep, I slept deeply. It was about 5:30 Am in the morning, and train had reached that TAMBARAM area- through which enters the Chennai. I generally get down at MAMBALAM STATION and dont wait for the train to reach egmore- which is the terminating station of MANGALORE EXPRESS.
But this time, I made it; to get down at EGMORE STATION. We both had by that time become friends. On getting down at the station, some person had come to receive and as we got down from the train at the EGMORE station, her mom introduced me to thier relatives. They too asked me to which area in Chennai I belong and what was i doing . With a bye and a thank you, they all left. I was just wishing her to turn back at me and smile.
And guess what…? It happened…. She turned back at me after walking few steps and smiled. I knew such scenes happen in movies, but never knew it would happen in my life too. I still wonder where that girl is now and what she is doing now. All that I know is her name is “………………”, studying 3rd year engineering in KONGU, ERODE.
With a hope to see her some day again…
Kumaraguru Loganathan
guruassam@gmail.com
9901491788
WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES
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