Co-Occurrence

Dadar Station Welcomes You!!

Kind attention Passengers!!

Train No. 1019, Konark Express from Mumbai, Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Bhubaneshwar will arrive shortly on Platform No. 3.

It was 3:10 pm and Ramana came out of the waiting room as soon as he heard the announcement and started moving towards Platform No. 3. As soon as the train arrived, he boarded the train and settled down in his seat next to the window. Though the co-passengers were busy socializing, he showed no interest and only looked through the window. Mumbai’s ever-busy local stations, fast-moving local trains, slums and slum dwellers playing around, tall apartments is what he could see for the next few hours and gradually his tiring eyelids dropped down taking him away from the real world.

A remote village in the Araku Valley of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. Ramana a young boy of six years sitting under a tamarind tree gazing at the setting sun and its reflection in the flowing river was eagerly waiting for his father who works as an agricultural labourer to return home. As soon as he spots him from a far off distance he ran eagerly similar to that of a calf waiting for the mother to return. Father took him in his hands and both reached home, a small hut not very far from the tamarind tree. Ramana lost his mother when he was two years old and since then he was taken care by his grandmother whose love and affection towards him is beyond words.

Throughout the day he doesn’t have much to do except waiting for his father to return home and that’s when the day begins for him. He waits for his father to answer all his questions which he could not ask his grandma as she kept herself busy in earning whatever little she can to support the family by selling brooms made out of coconut leaves, garlands made out of the flowers she grows in her garden, sweets prepared out of groundnuts, sesame and jaggery. One night he heard his grandmother speaking to his father about his admission to Grade I in the government primary school. His father agreed to the proposal and on the next day met the headmaster of the school and secured admission for Ramana in Grade I. He started going to the school and had made friends keeping himself busy throughout the day. Years rolled and grandma too passed away when he was eleven and that’s exactly when his primary education too has come to an end.

The Primary School Head Master advised Ramana’s father to allow his son to continue his education further. With no one left to take care of him at home when father is away, the Head Master felt that he better takes admission for him in a Government Residential School. Things worked in his favour and he got admission in the Social Welfare Residential School for Boys. Initially, life was not that easy for Ramana to stay away from his father but gradually he made friends and got acclimatized to the new environment. His father used to come to see him once a month and every time he comes, he carries a lot of snacks procured from his village mithai bandar. His only message for him throughout has been ‘listen to what your teachers say’. Ramana always shared whatever little he had with his friends and he grew up to be the most favourite of all his teachers and friends. Ramana visited home thrice in a year i.e. during Dussehra, Sankranti and Summer holidays. During those days, he used to accompany his father to the agricultural fields and support him in his work.

Years passed and Ramana qualified in SSC with first division and secured admission to Intermediate in a Government Junior College. He completed his Intermediate in Science and was determined to pursue his higher education in Agricultural Science. Fortunately, he secured a seat in Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Bapatla, AP. With his hardwork and determination, he completed his Masters and secured a job in IFFCO, Kalol, Gujarat. Before taking charge of the new assignment, he decided to go to his native place and meet his father. He wrote a letter to his father informing him about his arrival without mentioning about his new assignment. He thought of giving a surprise to his father and everyone in his village. All letters are addressed to the school headmaster who then calls his father and conveys the intended message.

The village postman delivered Ramana’s letter to the Head Master. He read the letter and kept it on the table. Knowing well that Ramana’s father would return from work only in the evening, he had no choice except to wait. In the meanwhile, the headmaster has been rushed to the town hospital as he suffered from cardiac arrest and never returned. The message of Ramana’s arrival thus remained unknown to his father.

On the same day at around 1 am, the train in which Ramana was traveling at a speed of more than 90 kmph got derailed. Most of the passengers including Ramana lost their lives in this major accident. None from his village except the head master knew that he was arriving by Konark Express and his father is of the opinion that his son is safe in the college at Bapatla.

After the head master’s death, his family decided to leave the village. While packing, the head master’s daughter Lakshmi who had been the classmate of Ramana accidentally finds the letter. She reads the letter and realizes that he is supposed to be in the village by now. She enquires about him but gets to know that he did not turn up. She tries to call him on his number but receives no response from the other end. She calls the college authorities and they respond saying that he had been to his village to meet his father. Immediately she rushes to the railway station to enquire whether a passenger by name Ramana has travelled by Konark Express on the said date. To her dismay, the authorities confirm the fact that he has travelled by the same train from Mumbai which met with an accident between Pune and Secunderabad. Beyond that, she could not get any more information from the authorities. She decides not to share this information with his father and thus continues with her enquiry. As soon as their family moves to Hyderabad, she probes further into the matter and finally comes to know that he is no more.

Ramana’s father visits the post office regularly to enquire if he had received any letter from his son and goes to the STD booth to dial his son’s number hoping that he takes the call. The same routine continued for days, weeks, months and years, but his prayers remained unanswered.

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