Life's Journey Cut Short

It was a lazy Sunday morning in the Raghavan household. After a hectic week, Nitya looked forward to waking up late and enjoying the scrumptious brunch prepared by her mother. Nitya was the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Raghavan, a beautiful, intelligent and confident girl.

After finishing their brunch, the trio moved to the living room.

"Amma, Appa I need to tell you something". Nitya spoke in a wary tone.

Warning bells sounded in Mrs. Raghavan's head. She anticipated what was going to come.

"You have all our attention " said Mr. Raghavan smiling indulgently at his only daughter.

" You know my colleague Palash, right. He had come home too last month. We have been seeing each other for the last one year and would like to take our relationship to the next level"

Her parents were too stunned to react. They had met Nitya's colleague Palash Bagchi but never had read more into it.

" You have always given me the freedom to make my own choices.....be it my academics or career. Now I have chosen my partner with whom I would like to spend my life with" continued Nitya.

" Do give us sometime to think over it" said Mr Raghavan. Nitya got up and went to her room. Raghavan looked at his wife who was still looking very dazed by Nitya's revelation. A Tamil girl wanting to marry a Bengali boy was something they found hard to digest.

They had full confidence in Nitya's choice and were always eager to see her happy. After much discussion they arrived at a conclusion that they would visit Palash's parents once and then move things further.

A month later Palash had gone to his native place Kharagpur and informed his parents about Nitya. He managed to convince them with great difficulty. Nitya and her parents decided to travel to Kharagpur and meet them. Accordingly they arrived at Kharagpur and checked into a hotel. Later they visited Palash's house and were received warmly by his parents. Palash's father was a professor and hit it off well with Mr Raghavan who himself was the principal of an engineering college. Mrs Raghavan was impressed by the their hospitality and their modern outlook. Palash's parents too took a liking to Nitya who was a combination of beauty and brains and came across as a very sensible girl with the right values. Both families were happy with the alliance and decided to take the next step once Mr Raghavan consulted his astrologer.

Nitya and her family were bidding their farewell when Palash secretly pushed an envelope into Nitya's handbag. The next day they boarded the Coromandel Express for their return journey to Chennai. Palash had come to the station to see them off. Happy and contended they settled down in their seats. While her parents were discussing the wedding arrangements, Nitya chose to read a book.

She was engrossed in reading when she heard the ping sound of her phone. She opened her handbag to take out her phone when she noticed the envelope. Curiously she opened to see a lovely handmade card with a poem written on it. Palash had poured out his love out in the form of a beautiful poem. Nitya was totally overwhelmed by his gesture and decided to call him.

Before she could dial the number, the train had collided with another and she was flung afar with the impact. Screams filled the air as many lives were crushed in one of the worst ever train accidents in Balasore, Odisha.

When the news reached Palash he immediately left and reached the accident site. The scene which met his eyes shook him to the core. The dead bodies trapped were being pulled out and kept in a hall for identification. While the injured were being transported to hospitals, relatives and survivors walked around in a frenzy looking for their loved ones. Palash first went to the hospital where the injured were taken. He couldn't find Nitya anywhere. Then he was asked to check the dead bodies. With a prayer on his lips Palash steeled himself to enter the place where the bodies were kept. In the corner lay Nitya's lifeless body which was crushed beyond recognition. The bright blue salwar and her anklets helped him to identify Nitya. Her parents too had not survived.

While this is purely a work of fiction, there are many like Palash who have lost their loved ones in the tragic accident. I was deeply upset seeing the visuals and reading about the accident. A picture of a love note lying on the tracks inspired me to write this. God give strength to the families of the victims .