Jeev was sitting in a train. His first time. After eighteen years of being on earth!
He was born within a family of well-to-do doctors. Both his parents were extremely busy medical professionals, top of their field. That meant a life full of comfort with everything that he wanted and lots of love as their only child. Naturally, with a busy schedule, they always flew to any destination or did a car trip. Trains were always disregarded.
Those years of a cushy life were past him now. Jeev had stepped into a business school for his undergraduate course. In his first year, he had landed an internship with a big consumer goods MNC. They had posted him in a town in the hinterland to learn the ropes of the trade. A town where no aircraft went and he had to take the train…
Jeev was not sure about the experience. He had heard stories from his friends about their enjoyable train trips. He had always wanted to go on one and now, he was finally getting a chance.
As he sat down on the berth in an air-conditioned coach, he searched for a seat belt but couldn’t find any. It was perplexing, he couldn’t figure out how to secure himself. Still in his thoughts, he was jerked forward as the train started moving. Thankfully, he found and held on to the bars next to his seat and didn’t fell off it.
Pulling himself back, he settled down again. That is when he noticed the folks sitting opposite him for the first time properly. They were looking at him with some wonder. So was he, for this was the first time he had someone sitting opposite him in a long journey.
The lady in that group figured he was dazed or perhaps hungry. She offered him some sweets with an encouraging look, mumbling “Have it dear, these are home made”. It seemed to Jeev that she was trying to treat him as her own young child. Although he didn’t like the idea of him being treated like a child, one look at the sweets and his heart melted. Who could resist Bengali sweets? He reluctantly broke into a half smile and picked up one piece from the box.
It was an overnight journey and as the evening progressed, he noticed other finer details. He was amazed that he could stretch his legs fully on the berth, with no need to sit upright all the time. He was provided bedding to comfortably sleep and as he observed others go through their rituals of setting up their bed, he learnt that art too. Soon, his feet were stretched out, his back propped up against the pillow, with a bedsheet and blanket covering his feet. He could get used to this travel mode for sure!
Jeev opened his laptop but then started noticing nearby folks playing a board game, some reading books / magazines, others chatting away to glory. He started looking out the window, enchanted by the countryside scenery along the tracks. The young child opposite him was doing the same. They both looked at each other, nodded, and continued their exploration.
An hour or so later, the train halted. A few passengers got in, a few vendors selling tea too. Jeev hadn’t had tea like this before but he was intrigued by everyone clamoring for it. He signaled to the vendor to give him a cup and took out a card from his wallet. The vendor stared at him bemused. He had never encountered such a scene before. He blankly stated, “I need the ten rupees in cash, otherwise give me back the cup”. Jeev didn’t usually carry small bills in cash but thankfully had a couple of tens in his wallet, they saved the day for him!
He soon learnt from other fellow passengers that the transaction mode that worked fastest in the countryside was lower-denominated bills and if he didn’t have any, it would be a good idea to get some from the bank. He made a mental note of it, this was the first time he had been asked for ten rupees.
For the first time in any journey, Jeev had made an effort to carry his luggage. His bag was now stowed under the berth. As he looked around, he saw the others had taken extra care to lock their bags up. Not sure, he looked on. His fellow child companion offered an explanation, “This is to ensure no one can steal our bag”. Jeev was oblivious to the idea of someone stealing luggage, he had only once lost his luggage on a trip and that time too, his father had been given a reimbursement by the airline and his luggage had arrived a couple of days later.
He wasn’t sure if someone would be interested in his bag! Anyways, as he lay down to sleep he wrapped his arm around the bag’s strap. That way even if someone did try to steal it, he would wake up.
As he drifted into his sleep, he didn’t realize when he turned to the other side, swinging his arm and restraining it against the bag’s strap. Swore with pain, he half woke up and sweared to himself to get a lock the next time around. The night passed by without any incident. Jeev continued to be disturbed due to the train’s movements and got up multiple times. Thankfully, he could sleep off quickly each time.
As the morning approached and the train rolled onto his station, with half dreamy eyes, he heard someone call him out. The lady on the opposite berth was trying to wake him up, for she realized the train had reached his destination and he was still sleeping. He somehow realized she was waking him up and got up, only to realize the train was whistling to leave the station.
Hurriedly, Jeev got hold of his bag, put on his shoes, and thanking the lady, jumped out of the compartment just as the train started moving. Standing still, he took a long deep breath and looked on, as the train left the platform.
The platform was bustling. Same energy as he had seen when he had boarded the train. Same ease of effort as he had experienced with other fellow passengers. Same obliviousness to his mind as he had felt since last evening.
It was indeed an experience of a lifetime for him…
