It was a late summer night. It could be as humid as it could
be.
I was traveling from Bombay to Delhi via Rajdhani on a
personal trip to India for a week. It was an uneasy feeling when you wake up on
the moving train, in the middle of the night, all thirsty, with an AC running
on full blast.
The station was Ratlam and the train took a 10-minute pit
stop. I stepped out and looked for the vendor for the water bottle. I found one
and walked towards it. As I was walking, it suddenly occurred to me that this
is the same station where the scene for "Jab We Met" happened.
I got excited and suddenly all the scenes of the movie
started playing in my mind, in the fast forward motion.
I reached the vendor and asked for a bottle - Rail Neer,
that's what was offered to me and as I paid for it and waiting for my change, a the girl half scared and half excited, panting came running and before I could
finish my transaction, asked- bhaiya jaldi se ek coca-cola dena!
I realized she was wearing the same clothes as was Geet aka
Kareena in the movie. But the way her hair was falling on her eyes and the way
she was sweeping them up, looked like she didn't care about them and was more
worried about the train.
I suddenly asked the vendor how many more minutes for the
train before it starts again? The vendor, trying to multitask, said 5 minutes
looking at the digital clock in front of the coaches. She decided to slow down
and sat at the bench close by and then glanced at me as if asking me to sit
near her. As I sat near her I was thinking in my mind, am I really getting into
this, I don't want to leave my train, I don't want to go to Bhatinda or where
ever she is going, but the time seems to have frozen.
She started telling her story. She was returning from Bombay
where her husband killed himself for another boy. She was living with her
husband's family in Delhi. Husband had a boyfriend in Bombay before marriage
which he did not tell to anybody. She wanted to complete her MTech from IIT and
hence was forced to stay in Delhi while her husband was having all the fun, Her
dead husband. He was not able to muster enough courage and has now ruined two
lives. I quietly asked her, although none of my business, what's her plan in
life and she said, move on. She wants to complete her Master's and start her
own business of redefining the print industry.
Suddenly I jolted from my sleep. I asked the co-passenger
where are we and he replied New Delhi. Once again all the scenes from last
night came running in my mind. I quickly gathered my stuff and ran out of the
train in the hope to get the last glimpse of the acquaintance I made last
night.
