Train Chronicles: Nostalgia

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More often than not a train compartment and the railway platform, showcases a plethora of emotions. Thanks to low cost airlines, train journeys are now mostly for middle and lower middle class people or for someone who wants reach a remote location. 

An aged elderly man with a smile, which fails to hide the pain beneath,bids bye to his loving daughter as she is off to the hostel after Diwali holidays. He keeps waving his hand till he could see the last glimpse of his dear daughter. The daughter gets back to her seat and absent mindedly keeps flicking through social media sites. There is a bored expression on her face, one of those rare days when the virtual world seems uninteresting.

A mother alone with a 2 year old , getting endless calls from her husband probably, about how the kid is doing. At the very onset of the journey she looks tired sharing minute to minute details of her wellbeing and safety and also looking after her 2 yr old son. The little one wont stop climbing the steps to the middle berth. Looking at him we dont need a biology book to understand our ancestors were apes.

Someone is super happy to be placed at the side upper berth. Easy to climb and a much coveted quite little corner for a young 20 year old. The smile says it all , she is having a conversation with someone special and intermittently the tone of her voice keeps changing from soft, to kiddish, to excited , to bored to sensuous. She is dreading the fact that her phone will soon be off the radar.

Well the next scene can be a little too much for over sensitive people. A middle aged man and woman are sitting really close and the woman is resting her head on the man's shoulder. Come on woman, did you get only this train compartment for Public Display of affection? 

Wait a moment, hold on, a 4 tear old climbs down from the middle berth and clings to the man and says " Dad am sleepy , lets go sleep". The woman is wearing toe rings and all other jewellery which marks she is married and in a soft voice talking about 4 other members in the family. The picture is clear the couple has hardly any private time to share because they stay in a joint family. The train compartment and the next couple of hours after their son goes to sleep are long awaited ones for them. We will probably not understand how much it means to them

It seems like the whole compartment is a canvas painted with emotions. The more one explores and observes the more interesting is it gets.