Aboard The Train!!
The pregnant mother in the ‘Ladies’ line got to purchase
tickets earlier than those in the general line. Women have long had a separate,
preferential line in the Indian queue system. It was dark in the evening before
their train was announced on a certain platform. The father went away briefly
to help fill some reports about the incident with the taxi driver and his
friends. He returned.
Looking at the obviously pregnant mother and her little
children, they even got some preference in climbing on to the train. There was
a mad rush and most seats were occupied by the time the family of the little
boy reached the correct platform. But looking at them and the mother, the
people made way and let them sit. There were very few children on the train.
Some were there with the families of those that worked on the train and cooked
for others.
The family of the little boy still carried their luggage on
their lap, or under their seat or feet. In fact the children and mother got to sit
near the window. She put her luggage as
a cushioning back rest. The one item they could not keep – the radio, was put
on a thin ledge near the ceiling, on a narrow luggage platform. It was the only space on which normally no
one could fit. It was so narrow that none but a tiny child could fit in it, but
no one would want to put a child up so high without any suitable restraint or
padding.
There were people sitting everywhere, jam packed, More than
twice the number of seats (more of benches really). I suppose the British
marked the seating and spacing according to their idea of size and comfort for
a big boned, fleshy, ‘average’ European body, when designing the Indian
railways. The skinny, thin, small average Indian body is much smaller and their
idea of private space is even normally non-existent. So, five or six people
would easily sit squashed next to each other on a seat meant for three. Many
sat on aisles. The top rack for luggage was also used for people. Most carried
their luggage with them or sat on them. People sat in the aisles. Many men
climbed on to the top when space inside ran out.
There were food stalls operating on the platform. Music was
blaring interrupted often by news. The people in the carriage let the family spend
some time together by giving the mother and children some space near the
window. They could adjust their positions later. An older couple and a group of
young labourers, returning to their home states offered to help care for the
little boy, his sister and mother when they heard that they were leaving
without their father.
They knew it was quite possible these could have been their
last meeting alive. Everyone seemed to value human feelings more now. They
seemed to value human life too above material luxuries. They were however very possessive about
materials essentials for survival.
The father stood outside the barred window of the train. The
little boy and girl held his hand and played with him. The mother sat facing
them.
Suddenly, there was news on the radio that the Indian army
had captured a large group of Pakistani soldiers in busloads, without firing a
shot. A big cheer broke out in the platform. There was also news of Indian
soldiers being captured and loss of life on both sides. There were reports of
towns that fell to the enemy on both sides. There were reports of tank battles
with various tallies of damage and destruction.
A group of soldiers were milling around the platform,
listening to the news. When they heard the report of the capture of busloads of
Pakistani soldiers, apparently, by some of their own regiment, they were
jubilant! They drank, sang, shouted and danced. They brought out sweets and
distributed them on to anyone around. Onlookers joined in too. It seemed that
the war had unleashed a torrent of human feelings. People laughed and cried,
celebrated and mourned, one after another, sometimes one along with another.
They would not be like this normally.
He remembered: One young soldier among them went to the food stall and bought a tinned
box of chocolates and biscuits. He was quite drunk. He came up to the window
through which the mother of the little boy was looking out. He came up to her
near the window. He stood next to the boy’s father. Tears streamed down his
face.
He turned to the mother and offered her the box of chocolates and biscuits.
“Behen (Sister)! Yeh le lo (Take this!).
Aaj main bahut khush hoon (I am very happy today). Bahut khush. Mere bhaion ne bahut bahaduri se kaam kiya hai (my
brothers have acted with great courage).
The mother was shocked
at this and pulled back with fear and shock showing in her eyes and expression.
However the young man did not do anything else. He just had a pleading look and
kept saying, “Behen! Behen! Ye Maa aur bacchon ko do (Sister, give this mother and the
children). Sab ko kehena main duty ke
baad jaldi lautunga (Tell them I will return
soon after my tour of duty.)”
The mother of the little boy looked at the
father. He told her gently, “Accept it. He really does mean well and no harm.
You will hurt him deeply if you refuse.”
The mother accepted the
box offered through the bars. The little boy and his sister looked at it
eagerly. The box was opened immediately and its contents distributed around to
the all. The soldier waved to them and
went away to join his group, as a couple of his mates came up to help him. They
were less drunk. The mother liked the beautiful and colourful tin box very
much. She put it away in her hand luggage. It later became a valued family
treasure.
The father of the
little boy said to the mother, “It appears you remind him of his own sister. He
is drunk and thinks you are his own sister. It looks like he has been through a
lot. It happens sometimes.”
All Aboard!!
There were many soldiers and military personnel traveling.
Railway police and supervisors went around making space for people by throwing
out any excess or unnecessary baggage or luggage on to the platform. They
started their rounds from one of the train to the other.
Suddenly, the whistle blew. There was a waving of coloured
shielded lanterns as signal. The engine bellowed and with a creak and shudder
started to move slowly, literally inching its way.
The family was at the back of the platform. The father waved
and started to walk along the window. The little boy suddenly realised the
father was not boarding the train. His face fell and he shouted, “Appa, Appa,
come on. Mummy, Appa is left behind!”
“Yes, dear, say bye to him. Wave to him. Smile for him,” she
said almost choking up herself. The little girl waved dutifully. The father
continued to reassure the son, “I will see you in Delhi or your grandparents’
house soon. Don’t worry. Take care!”
The train still crawled. Everyone who had some loved one
behind shouted farewells.
He remembered: The railway police came
over to their carriage and inspected the people and luggage. They spotted the
big package with the radio up on the top shelf.
“Whose is it? They
demanded.
Someone pointed to the
little boy’s mother. By the time she turned, one policeman had already removed
it and went to the door next to them and tossed it out on to the platform.
It was remarkable how
fast a pregnant, ill woman could jump out of her seat and reach the door with
all those people in the way. Her family still recounts this incident.
“Our radio!!” she
screamed, “My children’s radio!! They love it so! Please let us take just that
one.”
Before anyone could
stop her she was out on the platform and ran up to the wrapped radio.
The little boy was now
upset to see both his parents on the platform and the train moving away. He
started to cry. His sister consoled him.
The father bounded up
to the mother, picked her up in one hand and the radio on the other. He was a
very tall, long legged man. In a few bounds, he seemed to drag the mother and
the radio and was soon at the door of the train that was so overladen that it
was still crawling at the rate of roughly an inch every second. With a mighty
effort, he helped the mother back in through the door and as she went in, he
requested the railway police to allow her to carry the radio, but they put it
under the sink next to the toilet near the door.
The father jumped off
the running train that was crawling along. Soon he appeared, walking briskly
next to the window near his son. Soon he had to break into a run. He waved
goodbye and the little boy kept looking at his fading image with sadness.
The people in the carriage who saw this sheer act of madness
or foolish courage somehow understood the love this woman had for her
children’s radio. They let it be. Who knew if they would all make it alive to
their destinations? Who knew what would happen to this mass of humanity on this
train?
Epilogue
The little boy, his sister and mother made it safely to
Delhi. The trip took three days. The train travelled mostly at night. They then
stayed with their friends in Delhi for a week before heading down south to
their hometown. The father was still up north until the war was over. Just as the hostilities were concluded, he
was granted leave to go and visit his family. He hurried down south. The mother
gave birth to a healthy little boy soon afterwards. They soon moved to a
different town where the father was posted.
The family in Amritsar made it through the war with a lot of
difficulties. The old great-grandfather passed away peacefully on night during
the war. The friend of the family who fixed their radio was killed in a bombing
raid, soon after the family had left Amritsar. He had died at his desk, on duty
in that special house. He had literally saved the lives of the little boy and
his family! Harpreet and Munni fulfilled their destiny and were married a few
years later.
Now, in addition to memories, there is a beautiful
confectionery tin and an old valve radio set that the family will never part
with!
~~ THE END ~~
Copyright (c) Kannan Narayanamurthy 2015
All rights reserved
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