There are so many things in life for which the children are indebted to their parents. And, I feel additionally indebted to my parents for two things. One, they taught me the taste of gathering knowledge by sitting in one place, by reading books. And, two, they told me that one can gain wisdom by widely traveling too. Every time I learn something or the other during my journeys, I remember my father’s words about how traveling can teach a person so many things, which even the books may not teach. Traveling can give a person some amusing experiences, some unforgettable experiences and, at times, some not so pleasant ones. Luckily for me, my life has taken to living out of the suitcase (or, a duffel-trolley, to be precise) and of late, a considerable chunk of my life is being spent within the belly of metal beasts (read, trains and buses).
Talking about trains, who doesn’t love the train journey, especially the ones where one has access to the window seat? The sight of green farmlands, trees, telephone poles, platforms, faces that wait in the station, in the railway crossings, the strong wind that blows across the face and ruffles one’s hair (a pleasure, which I am afraid I might miss if I become bald). During childhood, I used to believe my father’s words that the trees and telephone poles all along the railway track keep running behind, because they were afraid of me. That was well before, well, I learnt Physics in school. But I am sure most of us thought the same too.
Well, to come to the point of this write-up, have you seen the characters that travel alongside you in the train? My experience of about a decade now has brought so many characters again and again into my life. And, here I am, trying to ‘immortalize’ them, by writing about them. I doubt whether I will be the only one that had the ‘pleasure’ of acquaintance with these characters. If you happened to have some similar experiences, well, let’s laugh together. If not, and if you happen to be one of those characters depicted here, well, let me tell you, for the safety of my nose, that this is purely a work of fiction and does in no way resemble any person dead or alive, traveling or otherwise.
Here they are:
1. Lone Ranger - This person usually happens to sit like a hermit, resigned to the tragedy of having to travel alongside the lesser mortals in the compartment. S/he usually does not mingle with the others and keeps to her/himself, by listening to music, reading books or simply staring out the window. These Grumpy Jacks neither talk to anyone nor see the others. They travel with a cocoon of their own. At times they eat, most times they don’t, depending on the duration of the journey. Even when they eat, they munch silently, neither share, nor accept. They behave like the air – you can feel their presence and you can’t feel their presence. If you can understand what I mean.
2. Philanthropic Paul – This is that one altruistic soul that each and every compartment will DEFINITELY have. S/he travels for the sake of others. No, no, no! I neither mean the Ticket Examiner nor the security personnel. Our Philanthropic Paul is just another traveller like you and me, but he is the one who is always there when people need to bring down a shutter, struggle with the latch, fail to turn on the fan or prepare to adjust their seats. He always lends a hand even before you can think about asking for help. He always has a smiling face. I purposely used the masculine noun here, because women don’t always keep a smiling face during journey. With the way the things are in this country, you can’t blame them either.
Talking about trains, who doesn’t love the train journey, especially the ones where one has access to the window seat? The sight of green farmlands, trees, telephone poles, platforms, faces that wait in the station, in the railway crossings, the strong wind that blows across the face and ruffles one’s hair (a pleasure, which I am afraid I might miss if I become bald). During childhood, I used to believe my father’s words that the trees and telephone poles all along the railway track keep running behind, because they were afraid of me. That was well before, well, I learnt Physics in school. But I am sure most of us thought the same too.
Well, to come to the point of this write-up, have you seen the characters that travel alongside you in the train? My experience of about a decade now has brought so many characters again and again into my life. And, here I am, trying to ‘immortalize’ them, by writing about them. I doubt whether I will be the only one that had the ‘pleasure’ of acquaintance with these characters. If you happened to have some similar experiences, well, let’s laugh together. If not, and if you happen to be one of those characters depicted here, well, let me tell you, for the safety of my nose, that this is purely a work of fiction and does in no way resemble any person dead or alive, traveling or otherwise.
Here they are:
1. Lone Ranger - This person usually happens to sit like a hermit, resigned to the tragedy of having to travel alongside the lesser mortals in the compartment. S/he usually does not mingle with the others and keeps to her/himself, by listening to music, reading books or simply staring out the window. These Grumpy Jacks neither talk to anyone nor see the others. They travel with a cocoon of their own. At times they eat, most times they don’t, depending on the duration of the journey. Even when they eat, they munch silently, neither share, nor accept. They behave like the air – you can feel their presence and you can’t feel their presence. If you can understand what I mean.
2. Philanthropic Paul – This is that one altruistic soul that each and every compartment will DEFINITELY have. S/he travels for the sake of others. No, no, no! I neither mean the Ticket Examiner nor the security personnel. Our Philanthropic Paul is just another traveller like you and me, but he is the one who is always there when people need to bring down a shutter, struggle with the latch, fail to turn on the fan or prepare to adjust their seats. He always lends a hand even before you can think about asking for help. He always has a smiling face. I purposely used the masculine noun here, because women don’t always keep a smiling face during journey. With the way the things are in this country, you can’t blame them either.
(to be continued...)
