TRAVEL, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience”
-FRANCIS BACON
The father of English essay..
Very true words of him. And here I begin my part………
Life is journey .....but the place one venture does get monotonous but people around are one of a kind to give a thought to …
Train...Even before the word strikes my head I could literary smell the dirt laid proudly across the never to meet rails. With a awestruck mind, I do feel how people could be immune to such a plague that actually leaves me in a dilemma where to flee from this disastrous odour!
It was 8 pm in the night when I reached the station of tanjavur. Even though the station was under renovation it looked clean and shiny. The train I was supposed to board was the only train to Chennai. As the clock ticked down the crowd started to get thick in this thin platform. The reserved section of the platform was organized and in peace , but the general section or unreserved section was getting warmed up to sprint in before others do. Making them thorough professionals in this hour of necessity.
Most the people standing there at the platform were with their families and all were busy making their family talks as if a family dispute over property was taking place which was pretty irritating then to witness!!. Each family being conservative, deeply religious and distinct had their own preparedness for this rat race. When the announcement was made regarding the trains arrival, people started to grab what is more valuable and precious to them and to my surprise some spouses were holding on each other than their luggage, some busy taking their material substances than there beloved offspring’s, while some showed devoted protection of their loved ones and some naughty teenage boys making the best out of this thick rush!!
As and when the train came to halt people got down to business and pounced on the train’s entry gate with full throttle. At this juncture the history of pushing n pulling was repeated over and over again ,women nailing their thick head into a space where putting ones finger could get congested was a rare view. Being civil then would have cost me a day’s wait which was too heavy to bare so instead I opted to be rouge and got lost in this rush. Some how the whole train setup seemed to me like a kinder garden musical chair play where the contestant with the best reflex wins himself a seat to sit. With the soothing appeal made by the passengers who rushed to win a seat made the standing passenger bare a dejected look, cursing upon their late reflexes. This general compartment was so packed up that even the thought of sitting on the floor was a question far beyond to be answered. In a desperate search for comfort and security men were curiously looking out for place to seat there families. But what prevented them from doing the act of adjustment was their conservative outlook.
As the time started to dig into the deep late night people started to put their conservative guard down and with the realization of need and necessity they temporarily inherited the act of adjustment!
The compartment mostly comprised of families, especially women and children who dropped their shyness and lay across the floor as if it was their bedroom hence making themselves comfortable. These women who laid on the floor totally projected the motion of the train with their bouncing-bellie- wobbling-grooving to the commotion set in. It wasn’t a treat to watch this sight but it did remind me of the fresh jelly straight out of a refrigerator which is so sensitive that a slightest of touch will set it in motion!!It was not just these ladies and kids who slept on the floor but some men did give a company who were to be believed like a perfect stranger for these ladies and yet they dint mind at this course of the journey where sleep started to drug them to dream. Men in an attempt not to make any touch to theses companions of sleep rolled &wrapped themselves up in such complex postures that even BABA RAMDEV would find it difficult to tune into such a breathtaking posture!!!!
Not until then I was thinking whether there were any infants on board that these little infants marked their presence with a loud cry which more or less seemed like a growl!!! Instantly these little beasts were fed and cloth cradles were formed to tame them else the compartment will groove to the baby rap on the beats of train track movement. Suddenly to my astonishment that I saw a lot of movements in the train as rocking these cradles were now the utmost priority for all else nobody will even get to blink an eye!!!
As the train stopped at some stations people took the initiative to rock these cradle irrespective whosever this kid belonged to.
Even in this difference of caste, creed, sex and religion people dint forget humanity and brotherhood and reached out each to other where all were strangers ..a family beyond blood indeed....
Such bonding is specially seen in India which is immensely populated with people of different race ,culture and particularly in Tamil nadu where poorer section of the society are deeply religious ,conservative, simple , uneducated . Yet to see such mutual understanding in such place where politics has created boundaries rather than bridges to fill up the gaps is a sigh in itself that the being of love and peace is still withstanding this treachery of evil.
And when my station came the thing that I realized then was that these little journeys...these little bonding which takes us far from the clutches of hate,revenge,fueds,war, …frees us from these boundaries …a freedom much enjoyed by birds than us..
And here is where I understood that life is a gift and everyday has to be cherished… loved …lived In peace so that love, peace, brotherhood prevails …a freedom in diversity...a unity in diversity.
