The girl from the Train
It’s not every day that you bump into someone through public transport that you can go ahead and talk to. This wasn’t one of those everyday people you see in the Local train in Mumbai and know them by their Station names and travel times. This was different than any of the stereotypical cases, it was different way beyond expectation and prejudice for me, because I wasn’t someone who belonged here.
This was a ride I generally did not take, it was one of those days when I was lazy and just didn’t mind travelling a mere 2 stations just for a cosy seat and a nice ride back home.
How many times do you sit in a train and are all sorted about how this one ride is going to be? No matter how huge hearted and easy going you might be there is always that saturation point, isn’t there?
That day it had rained, Mumbai is the city that redefines rains for all those who stay through its monsoon. While it were all dirt and gross for me, that day was different. I was going to meet someone who was to be there for long and long enough to seep into mind, heart and further on…!
I blame it on my hometown for giving me such an approach but since I can’t change the past let me put that day as it happened.
From the corner of the town to small suburb it takes a mere 52 minutes and which is some time you can stand and reach your house where you know you can crash to the awesomness of a hot cup of tea/coffee.
That day didn’t give me my regular coffee as I reached late. It was because of that one girl. A girl who I didn’t speak to for a good whole 40 minutes just because I felt that the guy who was sitting with her was her boyfriend. Well my bad, I should have then this day would be different.
Nonetheless I did pick up courage by the 3rd last stop to destination. All it took was some good decoding of memory to start a conversation with this perfect round Black eyed girl. (Eyes are what I see first in a person since the eyes are what I stare into all through a conversation).
Metaphor her face to that nursery rhyme that goes something like rosy lips, dimple chin….blah ble blu!
The one energetic face that I remembered from the first 20 days into my college life and the one face I thought were of someone older than me and on a higher position was this one sitting next to me in a totally unexpected ride – The Mumbai Local train! I’d thought that this sweet girl was the leader of the contingent that represented her respective college at our festival.
Sadly she was just a very enthusiastic participant. I was there on the recipient side when she was yelling her lungs off at the fest. All I did was look at the energy that she bought into her group of people. I give like 1/4th of the winning credit to that energy.
Well to my surprise the same girl was sitting next to me, with one respectfully smiling friend by her side, and her boyfriend just bid, goodbye to her.
How, What , why would I say anything to a completely stranger out of the blue on a train that both of us had taken to head back home, after a tiring day at our respective college?
What were I supposed say not only to start a conversation but also make her reply with the same enthusiasm as me. Well with that one right thing I would get this lady straight to the point and reply with the same energy. It was that magical contingent name. The one word, which made her- rest her throat for 2 days cause of the intensity of the cheering. One hell of a director’s name and I said it not knowing the consequences. All that fit into the above 2 paragraphs up happened within a mere 2 seconds and 3 blinks. 2 words and she came to life all over again.
Speaking as in came to her naturally. Listening came the same way to me and the smiles that were thrown randomly into the air were just there adding to the delight. Delighting the way I’d thought the conversation would have gone. I didn’t lie. I said it like I hadn’t pictured it in my head and I was there spot on. Talking to a girl I knew through one meet at a festival in which I hadn’t even spoken to her at. She was just over with the happiness of the win when I bought it back and when u have positive memories with some event you don’t mind talking about it. Her hard work, her effort was all that she could tell me. Her friend was there smiling off to memories that they had because of something we had organised. Names were not that came first in our conversations. It was moments and images from the fest. Well I thank it for relating to all those from the other colleges around.
That ride wouldn’t have been the jackpot if it weren’t for her also to be getting down at the same stop as me. And yes it were surprising how 2 people doing the same course from 2 well known college and staying in the same bloody area of a city didn’t know each of them existed. Mutual friends existed but that one ride made us realise how small the world were.
I don’t know how to go around the clichéd way so I did ask for phone numbers within a mere 15 minutes. What went through their minds is what I’m unaware of but I did regret that decision later.
Nonetheless I took a detour from my general route just to see off this 15minute friend of mine. One conversation I remember quite graphically is what happened that day in a very weird and crazy manner. One side of my own small area that I hadn’t been to was where she lived. It was two corners of this place.
Names came in later while the exchange of numbers happened. I’d been a fool in not registering how a very different name that this one had. It wasn’t one of the common ones for me at least. It wasn’t until I asked her to pronounce her name for me was till when I got her name wrong.
Till date I curse myself for not having that conversation in a better place than a corner of a state highway, by a flower shop, that stood in front of a this place that also sold some nice smelling fried stuff.
The conversation itself will take a large toll cause those 20 to 25 minutes were the largest amount of time I had laughed once I were in Mumbai – a city that never slept, didn’t have time for all lazy souls like me and despite being all that was a place where you could bump into such awesome people. J
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