Travel Memoir - An Anecdote

I still remember the date as 9th June 2003 probably When i started my Agra - Ahmedabad journey with melancholic feelings: I had left behind my wife and infant son with my in laws. To add to my woes , Avadh Express was delayed by as much as 6 hours and finally started at 0700 Hours PM. The very first sight of my co-pax travelling with their spouses reminded me of my missing link. However the pangs of separation were short lived until I started amusing myself interpreting the behavior of the people around me. An enthusiasm for clinical psychology had imbibed into me the way of gathering and assimilating inputs from observed behavior.

The following is an instance of this. It was 2-Tier AC and this time there were two families in my compartment, one middle aged couple in their mid forties and one family with only son of 4-5 years. I had the side lower berth and another occupant, a lone traveler like me, occupied the upper berth. No sooner the train started than co-occupant stared out of window and remarked “Isn’t it running too slow?” followed by “this part of the country has always been neglected by Railways”. The train has hardly crossed the platform and how can he say that? I was amazed. Did he expect this train to become airborne? Well, I got the reason for such an outburst from the smell of alcohol emitted during such monologue. Thereafter he immediately climbed up to his berth, unfolded his bed spread and went into isolation after stretching the curtains. I could still feel some activity above me as few drops of water with alcohol percolated through the space on the wall-side. Maybe he carried the desire to feel the pace of the train in the manner he earlier contemplated.

Couple of minutes passed by and I could hear him snoring. Well, the lower berth was all of mine during the rest of the travel. Little did he poke out of his curtained space, except, for once during checking of ticket and sometime during culmination of the journey. Thereafter, I had no option of looking outside as the tinted windows didn’t give much of exposure to the outside world in the dim of the light, but I could see the diagonal side of my compartment through reflection with an interesting audible communication between the mother and her kid. The same was accompanied by whispering expressions conveying uneasiness of the adjoining couple. The young kid made the compartment look like a mini akhada and his mother constantly reminded the kid about different areas in the compartment, designated by her as “out of bounds”. The term “Out of Bounds” are the designated areas where one is prohibited to enter/venture and is observed compulsorily by all the (gentlemen) cadets during SSB Selections and by the selected ones till the day of passing out parade (in Defence forces). However, with my experience, I can rightfully conclude that many of my friends who always violated this basic norm are leading important battalions /contingents/squadrons in Indian Army/Navy/Air force. The ability of taking risk, with application of sound mind of course, is inherent in Defense forces.

The interesting communication I referred to above can be understood from the episode which followed during the subsequent journey. The kid while playing noticed fluorescent colored headphones and immediately came to me and asked “yeh kya hai uncle”. I removed one of the earphones and put it in his ear. He was overjoyed by the sound of loud music. [IT IS SONY]. I put off the headphones and went into a small conversation with the kid in English. “What is your name”. No sooner I asked I could feel sudden waves emanating from him and connecting his mother, when she immediately reproduced my question, “your name beta ….aapka naam kya hai”. “Aniban” he said. “ANI-R-BAAN” immediately clarified his mother. “That’s beautiful and in which class do you study”, I asked. He smiled but no utterances. I repeated the question twice and also asked the name of his school this time. He again smiled and looked at his mother.

This time his mother delayed in interpreting because she had just unfolded her legs down and was getting into stature so as to support her son in facing ensuing volley of my questions and ensuring that none went un-reciprocated. “In which standard do you study… Ani kaunsi class mein padhte ho”. “In which school study beta… kaunsi school mein jaate ho”. Mother intervened. “uncle Junior kg mein…… Sat javier school mein” joyously replied the kid. Hearing the reply, I could see mother filled with pride. Thereafter, the kid climbed up on the upper berth and with legs drooping down, started giggling at the adjoining couple. I went upset by the way female in the adjacent seat looked up at him in disdain. She should be in some pain, I could modestly deduce. “keep your legs up… beta apne legs upar rakho” “dust falling… mitti gir rahee hai”. The boy sincerely obeyed his mother’s every command. “what would you eat…. Ani kya kha-oge”. “Eat Guava… Amrood kha-oge”.

She continued with the same linguistics with her hubby also. “Please put it up…..upar rakhdo” and many more, I remember. Lot of such dual language conversations followed in the night until he slept in his mother’s lap. Following morning, 0800 AM a sudden shriek woke me up sounding “Pad-se”. I could hear a Gujju pax in the adjoining compartment alighting from his side lower berth and rushing towards the kid in my compartment. This time also, mother did not fail and immediately followed “Gir jaaoge…fall down”. I exclaimed “No way” and tried to come into conscious state of mind from a sub-conscious sleep. She needs to improvise her Grammar, Rest is OK, I concluded. Anyway journey ended and I came back home alone.

The HINGLISH and bi-linguistic usage by the mother raised many questions my mind. Was she trying to impress upon the surrounding persons through such a language as measure of her civility OR was she trying to be snobbish that compelled her to put such dual linguistics in use OR was it a plain way of teaching English as a language to her kid. Well whatever, I shared this experience with my wife, and she embraced the concept and now speaks similar language with our young kid. As a matter of fact, I found it the best way to teach the language. But yes, I have discouraged her to use such dual communications in public, so that no observer is impressed in the manner, I was, 7 years ago….