A day on the tracks

I hate waiting. And yesterday, that was just the case. We had a train to catch from Haveri (North karnataka) to Bangalore. The train was scheduled for arrival two hours later. Insanely, we were two hours early. This hasn't happened for the first time. My dad is very particular about reaching the station well before time. Never mind if its two hrs or three hrs before the scheduled time. He has this tendency to worry for petty things and keeps checking and re-checking and rechecking! (My sister and I have unanimously diagnosed him with obsessive compulsive disorder :P). He always has the last word when it comes to travelling and if we daughters dont budge, we get to face his ire. So we spare ourselves the trouble and just succumb to his philosophies even if it means reaching the place unnecessarily early.

Anyway, so there I was , sitting at this boring railway station waiting for the train. And I was entertained immensely by a lot of things and I thought why don't I pen them down!

I had two things to my rescue. One was the gripping novel, "Gone with the wind" (which I was dying to lay my hands on and finally did) and the other one was the eternally faithful mobile phone of mine) . So I started reading the book sitting on one of the waiting seats and was simultaneously watching all the trains come and go.( wishing if only it was my train!).  I took a break from the book and looked around and I accidentally happened to see a bunch of guys that was making a lot of noise on the other side of the tracks. They appeared to have arrived just then. They looked like people who have just joined college and experts at eve-teasing. I was disgusted all the more and before I could look down on my book , one of them caught my eye. In no time, I found all of them staring at me. Hell, this was the last straw! I got back to reading and cursing my fate. Why do I have to go through two tortures at the same time? I just ignored them and was counting the number of trains that came and went by. When one of the trains had stopped and had acted as a temporary shield from those guys, they didn't give in. Couple of them peered at me through the window of the train on the other side! These people are talented , I thought! Now there was no other go. I had to crane my neck so that I could read and read uninterrruptedly.

Time was running very slowly.

My dad found out that we had to get on to the other side of the platform because that's where our train was supposed to arrive.  Lo and behold, those boys now had a frolicking time as their prey was coming right before them. They could ogle more now! I picked up my luggage and we got onto the bridge to get to
the other side. When I descended and passed by them , they sniggered and hooted.(Ofcourse, my parents were too busy enquiring about the train to notice). A surge of anger hit me. I felt like punching one of them but this isnt uncommon, I told myself. I managed  to "IGNORE" and got back to reading.

Time was still running slowly.

My mom started sulking at the sight of the pigs picking on the waste on the tracks. Oh, how gross a sight that really was!  Suddenly, a wave of optimism struck me. If not for those pigs, imagine the pile of shit that mounted on those tracks!! Kudos to those pigs for effective waste management! Pigs did play a great role in maintaining cleanliness for Indian Railways, afterall! Finally after what seemed like ages, my train arrived(It was half an hour late).Those guys had left in one of the trains much before mine arrived. Phew!

My train had its own share of entertainment specially reserved for me. I hoped that the journey atleast would not be as boring as the waiting was and went to my seat only to find that opposite mine there lay two men, one of whom was around my age but almost half my height and the other was double both my age and
my weight! Beside me sat my mom and dad and all three of us started reading book, newspaper, anything to kill time. The old man opposite me (read "the double trouble") started throwing awkward glances (Again, I was to endure glances from strangers!). I threw him a contemptuous look and resumed my reading. The train accelerated and the wind on my face was roaring! It was such fresh air that it lifted my spirits. The air which was so extinct in the bustling city of Bangalore.

An IRCTC man strolled along shouting "Chai,Chai!" and my folks and I bought the hot tea and sipped it happily. I thought of those IRCTC vendors. Those sellers spend their whole day in the trains traveling all day only with the aim of selling more food, more tea and more coffee. Life treated people differently and yet, inspite of being blessed with all the good things of the world, we never fail to complain. I  put on the player on my phone and listened to Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" . It was perfectly fitting the occasion. I was staring out the window when the song was playing (which flows as lyrics of the song) and I thought no matter how much I ran away from the hustle-bustle of my city, I longed to be back home, back to Bangalore which was better than any country-side or village or hill-station. For you can spend a day or two in such places but you are so used to the fast-paced life of the city, you feel aloof if you are away from it for long. I got to know new names of many stations and observed that one station was amazingly clean. Its the Birur station which nears Shimoga, the district in the malnad region of Bangalore. Man! Our men in Bangalore had something to learn
from the people who managed this place. It was devoid of any plastic, paper, other garbage and of all the things, it was free of the stench which is so prevalent in every railway station that you come across!

The journey was physically straining. My feet were swollen and my body was numb without any movement. In short, I had muscle cramps and I was waiting to see the wide tracks of the central railway station at Bangalore. After what seemed like ages and those unendurable glances from that old man, the train finally
reached Bangalore. Once we were home, my mom cooked instantly (Hats off to her for such patience even after that long tiresome journey) and I just ate silently as my stomach was refusing to be full and my eyes were refusing to be kept open.

Once I was done, putting all my thoughts for the day behind, I crashed on my bed.

P.S: As for that old man who was gaping at me, I thought of only these words for him. "Buddhe! Bhaad me jaao!".