Thank You Lalu Prasad Yadav
1st Half -
"It's been an hour, trains still hasn't come, damn it. I
hate him. " Rahul said, tapping his feet.
"Hate who?" I asked him.
"Lalu Prasad Yadav." He replied.
"And why the hell is that so?"
"Railway Minister. Isn't this enough to hate him."
"By the way, he isn't current Railway Minister. Check your
facts, Engineer Rahul Grewal, B.Tech, Surathkal." I said.
"Okay okay, Engineer Armaan Mallik, B.Tech, Surathkal."
Here I was at Mangalore Railway Station. I was going to
Bombay, Sorry Raj Thakray, to attend cousin's marriage, and Rahul hade came to
drop me. These trains are always late, Indian Railways sucks, but less than my
college Profs. Rahul and I had studied at same school, in Delhi, and now in
same collage.
"3 hrs have gone, huh."
"Arey, it will come, why are you so tensed? Chill." I said.
"I had told you to travel by air, you would had reached your
home by now playing with hot air-hostesses. But no, I will go by train. Now,
wait, and just wait." He shouted.
I ignored him, he was angry just because a day-night match
of India vs. Australia was missed.
"Anyway, have you checked tickets? Give me the bag." Spoke
Rahul.
"3 times, I have checked, yaar. Even ISRO doesn't check
their satellite plans so much."
"That's why half of their plans fail. Have we come to wrong
platform?"
"Shut up."
"Well Armaan, I have to give you something. I had thought
that when train will come, then I will give you, but now here it is."
"What?"
"Riddhima," He said giving a photograph of her, "Remember?"
"How do you have it?" I was surprised.
"Had copied it form school records, for you."
"Thanks yaar,"
"And here is, her handkerchief. For you." He gave me a
handkerchief.
"Wash it, then smell it, 3 years have gone" He said when I
was smelling the hanky.
"Just shut up." I said and looked at the photograph.
"Don't be so sentimental, she must have been married till
now. In school you didn't do anything, and now smelling her hanky." He quipped.
"Okay, Armaan, I am going now." He said again, "Hey, do you
have Rs 20? For auto."
"I have 50," I said.
"Oh shit. Okay, give it. I have to take taxi now." I gave
him.
"Thanks for coming dude, at this time, will you get taxi?"
"No problem. I will get."
"Bye, take care."
"Buzz off, you stinking man." I laughed and hugged him.
One hour had passed since he went back to hostel. The
station was pretty empty at that winter night.
A girl came and sat beside me, and started reading
magazines.
"Do you have any other magazine?" I asked her for time-pass.
She gave me India Today, without looking at me.
"India Today, any other? Means Debonair, Maxim, something
something. " I said, and she snatched away the India Today.
I stayed quiet for 5 minutes.
"Can I get some water?" I asked looking at water bottle kept
next to her. She gave me. This time, looking at my face, for 2 seconds though..
Here she was, she was. I looked at the photograph again. And then at her face.
She looked up and said, "Now what?"
"Nothing, thanks." I kept back the bottle.
Yes, she was there, Riddhima. I remembered Rahul's words
about her marriage.
"Are you married?" I asked her.
"Excuse me?"
"I am also unmarried." I felt relieved.
I touched her, to check whether she was really there or not.
She turned angrily and shouted, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"
"Sorry, I was checking if you are ghost or something."
"Just go and sit anywhere, but not here. Disgusting." She
said.
"You are saying me to sit there?"
"Yes. Go."
I sat down on the next bench. I wasn't in my senses. Seeing
Riddhima after 3 years had made me gone mad. Hell, she doesn't remember me. I
went back towards her.
"Now what?" she looked up and asked.
"India Today, can I get it." She turned her head away
without responding. I came back.
"Are you going, or coming from anywhere, or just passing
time on station?" I asked her, sitting at my place only.
"Mumbai. Why? Your
family members come to station for passing time?" she asked back.
"Yes, and they don't bring any luggage, like you also
haven't." I quipped.
"Luggage?" she said and looked around, "Where is my luggage?
Where is it? Oh God."
"Oh, you haven't brought luggage really?"
"Shit, my visa, my passport, money, tickets. Everything was
in that. Oh god." She spoke worriedly.
"Can I help you?"
"Shut up. You have kept my bag somewhere, yes you have. Just
tell me where." She shouted at me.
"Yes, I have kept. In my pockets, take it. Take it. Am I
looking like a thief?"
"Don't try to look like a kid, you have kept it. Else, how
did you know that I don't have my bag?"
"Common sense, ma'am, common sense. I didn't see any luggage
with you that's why I asked you."
"Jeeeeeeeeeeese, why does everything wrong does happen to
me." Spoke Riddhima, trying to make a call, unsuccessfully.
"What happened?" I asked her.
"Low balance."
"Take it, this is also Nokia."
"Nokia?"
"I mean, I have balance."
She took it, "Connecting People." I said.
She chatted with someone on phone and gave back the mobile.
"It was local call naa??" I asked.
She sat as if her world was devastated, and started crying.
"Hey, let's be realistic. This is India, here people aren't
found, so how will your bag be found? Forget it, accept the truth and move on."
"Move on? And where? Move on how? My tickets, money......"
"......and clothes." I added.
"Yaa, everything is in that bag." She spoke, "I am f**ked."
"No," I spoke, "No,"
".......simply f**ked." She said.
"No, please don't say that."
"What?"
"That word, it's a depressing word."
"Any, let's report in the Lost and Found Dept." I advised.
"Why? As if they do anything. And you were also saying that
nothing is found here in India."
"How can you be so pessimistic yaar? Let's try. Any way
Thomas Edison once said that There is value in disaster so that you can start
all over again."
"Start all over again? Is this some kind of joke?"
"Edison was not a humorist, he was a scientist. I don't
think he said that to get some cheap laughs."
"Listen, I have no time for your crap, please shut up."
"Wow, help them and then they shout at you. Girls are so
mean. "
I stayed there without talking for 3 minutes. I also went to
the Lost and Found Dept. Room. Wrote report and came back.
"Have you checked you pocket? You must have kept tickets
there?" I said.
"I said naa, I kept them in my bag."
"I always carry them in my pockets. Atleast check your
purse."
"Shut up."
"All girls keep their things in purse only. You say, why you
didn't keep there?"
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............" She stood up, "Go away."
"There is something stuck on your dress," I said looking at
her back.
"Oh Shit." She said.
"No, no. It's not shit. It's just some oil. Bench is not
cleaned. Damn this Indian Railway. I hate it, I hate it yaar. I hate Lalu
Prasad Yadav, his wife, his one dozen children, his buffaloes and and......... "
"And I hate you." Riddhima spoke.
An Announcement was made that The Mumbai Train was running
at 8 hrs delay. That means 4 hrs more.
"Thank God. Thank God. We have 4 more hrs to find the bag. Thank
God, and Thank you Indian Railways...........Thank You Lalu Prasad Yadav."
Thank You Lalu Prasad Yadav, I said mentally.
INTERMISSION
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Edited by Swasmit - 13 years ago
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