Hi friends, again I have been
away for quite some time due to my hectic schedule but I am back with another
one.I have realised that usually what
I write about is philosophical and excerpts of my thoughts on the bigger
perspective on things, but today, its different. I actually am missing a dear
friend of mine with whom I have been suddenly out of touch and hence, I am in a
mood of flashbacks.
Today I am going to tell you all about some amazing people
that I have met in my life in the most unexpected way and how they have turned
up to stay in my life. There are so many of such friendships that I have been
lucky to have but the ones that I am writing about today are the ones that I have
met in the train. Yes I have to thank Indian Railways in more than one ways. Apart
from providing us with the cheapest and most reliable mode of transport, they
have given me friends for life. This post is in two parts, the part one of
which is about this boy whom I will call ‘ The Boy with a Golden Heart’
Being a medical student who studied away from home,
travelling in train was the most practical form of transportation for me back
home. The travels were quite frequent and usually with me as a single traveller
without a company. And like all worried parents I would get a list of do’s and
don’ts of travelling alone from mine, the most important one in capitals being
DO NOT TALK TO STRANGERS. And as an obedient child I would nod and agree to
each and every instruction given to me and follow it by the book. However during
the first year of our college, our prelim exams got preponed and I was stuck
in the campus after the exams for almost a week. I decided that I wanted to
travel back, plus there was some family function that was coming up in Mumbai so
I decided it was a good idea to travel to Mumbai and then from there go back
home. Although I booked the tickets, it being a vacation season and short
notice, I didn't get a reserved seat. Persistent to go home though, I decided
to board the train any which ways. My plan was I would look for a kind looking,
elderly lady, keep my luggage in the space beneath her seat and request her to
allow me to just sit on the seat while she could snore her way to her
destination.
It was such a stupid plan. Because it was an overly crowded train
with so many people without a reserved seat and no kind elderly aunties on the
train, I realized soon after I boarded the train that it was a pathetic idea. However
since I had already boarded the train, I had no other option but to try my luck.
So with a heavy backpack on my back, I started trying my luck. The first lady
that I asked was travelling with her family. She looked in her fifties, with a
kind look on her face. With puppy eyes and a cute smile, I went up to her,
introduced myself and told her, “Aunty, can I please keep my bags below your
seat and sit here? I will not bother you.” She looked at me with kind eyes,
then she looked at her son (I think he was her son), he narrowed his eyes,
frowned and moved his head side to side to signal her no. She said no to me
with regret in her eyes. I got really disappointed but kept trying. I must have
cruised through at least two coaches and about a dozen aunties’ denials later, I had
started getting scared and tensed about the 13 hour long journey ahead of me and how would I
be able to stand the entire time in the train with so much of luggage on my
shoulders. I started thinking how foolish I was to just jump in the train
without a reserved seat. But then suddenly a young college boy came up to me. Well,
knowing how the college guys usually are, I didn't even look at him, and there I
shifted in a defensive mode. I didn't want to react or say anything. I kept
looking away from him and moved ahead. But he was too good a person to go away.
He called me, saying “Hi, are you looking for a seat? You don’t seem to have a
reserved seat.” I didn't respond at all and looked away. It was very rude, but
he was determined to help me I guess. (God must have told him, ‘Go help this
poor girl’). He said, “I have a seat that I am not using, you can sleep there.”
Before I could say anything, he added “I and my college friends are travelling
back home and my seat is not with them. We guys are anyways going to have fun the entire night and not sleep so my seat will be vacant, and you can use it.” Suddenly,
my eyes lit up with relief, my defensive body language changed to more relaxed
one. I told him, “Really! Do you really not want to sleep on your seat? Are you
sure you can give it to me?” He re-assured me and took me where his seat was
supposed to be. He even offered to help me carry my luggage. He helped me
arrange my luggage and said I could be at peace now. I was so happy that I could
travel without any difficulties now. I thanked him profusely and then he left. I
said my prayers and thanked God for being kind enough to me and sending him to
help me. Well I went off to sleep.
Suddenly the train came to a jerky halt. It must
have been some signal or something in the way. I was startled and suddenly woke
up from the sleep. When I opened my eyes I saw that boy sitting slouched (he
was tall enough not to fit in the cramped up space) trying to doze off on the
lower berth. He was actually in this position, which I was supposed to be, only
so that he could help me. I felt really bad for him and guilty as well. I got
down from the upper berth that was actually his, and tried to wake him up. I told
him, “I am sorry, you must have wanted to sleep but because of me you couldn't.
Please go up and sleep and I will be fine down”. He said that he was fine and
had just come. (though I suspected that was a lie, but I didn’t say anything). Then
we sat and started chatting. He told me about himself, where he was from and about
his college and his friends etc. and so did I. We kept talking almost the
entire journey then. Later when it was time to get down, I took out one of the limited
edition glass painted mugs that I was carrying as a present for my parents
wrapped up in a shiny golden wrapper and gave it to him, for being so kind and helping and
making my dreaded journey so comfortable and fun. We exchanged contact details
and as our station came, we went our own ways.
This was a day some 10 odd years
back and I can proudly say that it’s been decade and we still stand strong as
friends. We did meet a couple of times after that, but our major communication
was through phone calls and messages. There was a time when he realized that it
was inappropriate for him to talk to me for obvious reasons (I never ever had
to tell him that, but he was smart enough to figure that out on his own), and he
silently backed out and tried maintaining minimum to nil communication. We still
would manage to have updates about each other’s lives. There was a time when I needed
a friend, a shoulder to cry on and I knew, one phone call to him and he would
be there for me no matter what. He would lend an ear to my woes, he would pass
crazy comments on my situation and he would do what it takes to make me feel
good again. and he would have his share of happy-sad stories of his crushes and relationships. We are from different backgrounds, be it education wise, city wise,
career wise or be it in anyways. Who would have thought I would meet this amazing
person on a train journey and be friends for life? I could never have met this 'Boy with a Golden Heart' ever in my life, had it not been that crazy decision of mine to board on that
train without a reservation.Life brings you
wonderful surprises when you least expect them and he is one of those wonderful surprises.
PS: This is my favorite story and after I narrate it, a
plenty of times to my friends and have been asked by a lot of my friends, if I have any
romantic feelings or a crush on him. And my only reply would be "I would never risk my precious friendship
with him by making it complicated with the things that could be so volatile and
fickle. He is my confidante and he wants to stay that, I would want him to stay
that, my best friend, who I met on the train."
