Araaku

The valley of Araaku lay nestled in the folds of Anantagirigiri hills on the East coast of India 130 kilometers from the port city of Vizag. It possessed a two line railway station where a train called Araaku Express arrived every morning from Vizag with a load of tourists and then again in the evening to take them back.

 B. Prasad boarded both the trains everyday without fail. He would arrive at Aaraku every morning and go back in the evening. He would get back to Vizag for he fancied himself as the DM of the city and his presence at Vizag was essential to keep the town running. He pitied his co-passengers, small traders of coffee, spices and honey, and excited tourists. He pitied all such people who had nothing substantial to do in life and anything less than what he was doing was not substantial in his opinion. So as far as the periphery of his vision extended he saw only useless and inferior people not worth his attention or time.

People usually did not dispute his opinion of them. They did not bother him either. In fact if they saw him coming in the aisle they quickly stepped away to make way for him. It was very very rare when anyone openly defied and annoyed him and that was what happened on this particular day in B-12, the last coach of the Araaku Express as it was Vizag bound with a loadful of tired tourists, eager traders, and B. Prasad. Jatin Rao was a young official posted in Vizag, in the third year of his service. He and his friend, Samarth Lal were sprawled on the two lower berths facing each other when the shirtless B. Prasad came and planted himself at the edge of Rao's berth. “This fellow was there in the morning also.” Lal commented at Prasad “ Aree haan! Railway mangement....too bad....letting these kind of people hop on and off the trains” Jatin Rao replied to his friend “They can be a danger to passengers. Railway guys, they keep sleeping and when something happens they will stand with long faces”Lal agreed with Rao. B.Prasad fumed on the inside. “Your DM is standing in front of you and you are sprawling like this? Stand up! And pay your due respects or you shall be heavily penalized!” Prasad's voice was heavy.

Rao and Lal exchanged perplexed looks and then Rao's eye's shone with a twinkle of mischief. He sprang to his foot, straightened his torso and saluted Prasad “Sir!” Lal rolled down from his seat in a fit of laughter. A momentary satisfaction that had come on Prasad's face at Rao's salute was gone now and he was enraged. “Mocking me haan? Let's reach Vizag and see your fates” Prasad stormed. “We are utterly sorry Sir!” Lal said as he rose from the floor. Then he stood with a straight torso and mimicked his friend's salute. Pleased and satisfied Prasad motioned them to sit. “You just now saved your ass from getting fired” Someone called out from the top berth and this time the cabin full of young tourists roared with laughter. “Mocking me all of you haan? Your parents never taught you a thing about respecting senior officials.” 

“Where did you lose your shirt Sir,” a young lad called out from the RAC berth. What a considerate boy, Prasad thought pleased. “It blew off in the wind during a tour,' some one replied and the cabin again roared with laughter. B.Prasad tried to remember where his shirt was. He had been shirtless as long as he remembered. And these young men were too disrespectful. He wished he could teach them a lesson. “My shirt is none of your business! You rascals! Even Mahatma Gandhi never wore a shirt” “Even Salman Khan doesn't were a shirt” Lal replied and they laughed again. “Mocking me again haan!” Prasad suddenly became angry. “No Sir we are full of respect for you!” Roa said “Again mocking. I know I know. You all think I am crazy. I am not. I am smarter than all of you” Prasad retaliated.

“No Sir not at all. But tell us why did you go to Araaku. Sight seeing? All alone?” “Not sight seeing. I went there on important official work” “What work Sir?” “That's official top secret” The cabin roared again with laughter. “Outside it grew dark and the hills of Anatagiri picturesque and breathtaking in the day time assumed ghostly proportions. On the lone track Araaku express chugged through tunnels, and over deep gorges. At times it halted on tiny single benched open air platforms where not a soul was to be seen. People would get down at these platforms to stretch their limbs. They would coming running back into the train when it whistled and the platforms would again become quiet like death, their silence intercepted only by the howling of foxes once in a while. The T.T appeared and asked for everyone's ticket. “T.T is coming Sir! Go and hide in the toilet” Rao said laughing “There you will be able to ponder also more peacefully” Lal added and both of them laughed. “Mocking me haan?” “Sir how can we mock you. You are our senior most officer.” Rao said “ We are giving you a sincere advice” Lal added Prasad felt relieved.

These were good boys after all. But he had no need to hide in the toilet. The T.Ts never bothered him. They always made way for him and he saw fear and reverence in their eyes. He was after all the DM and they did not have the courage to face him. When the T.T arrived Lal and Rao's , they handed over their tickets to him. Then Roa said addressing the T.T “Why do you allow these insane people to board the train. Such a nusiance to other passengers” Prasad felt betrayed. He had thought these were good boys. “Aree! What to do? What can one do about them?” T.T said causally as he glanced at their tickets. Prasad had expected the T.T to defend him but even he did not seem to have any respect for him. Prasad grew very sad. He wanted to run to his mother and cry. But his mother was nowhere. “Throw him out when the train slows down somewhere in the forest.” Lal adviced the T.T. 

Prasad grew furious. They had been mocking him all along. He was angry, sad and scared. He sat there with his head hung low. The train chugged through ghostly hills and most people in the dimly lit cabins fell asleep. Vendors and hawkers who had been frequenting the compartment earlier with their assortment of fruits, chana and packaged food also seemed to have dozed off now. Lal and Rao who according to Prasad should have been thrown off the train by now were smoking cheap cigarette and humming some song in a pathetic voice. “The train is again slowing down” Rao said suddenly. The train slowed down and came to halt in the middle of nowhere. Rao and Lal cursed the railways and got down to stretch themselves. So did some other men in the train.

When the train whistled a couple of minutes later all the people hastened back into the train. So did Rao and Lal. As they reached the door, which was the back door of the Araaku Express' last bogey they found it closed. Lal pushed it, but it did not open. It had been locked from inside. The train had started to move. Lal and Rao cast an anxious glance towards the window. Prasad was waving at them. Grinning. They ran with the Araaku Express pleading to Prasad “Sir! Please open the door Sir!” The howled, and the foxes in the hills howled too.