FF- Naku's Call, Epilogue, pg32,note on pg 33

FF:  Raj Gharana : https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/1579381

Naku's Call

Dutta stood in the crowded station of Dadar, Mumbai, his driver stood next to him still with a face of disbelief, are you sure you would like to travel this way, he asked for the 10^th time, ha bhai ha, what is your problem Ram Singh, 3/4 of the nation's population travel in trains... Dutta was disgusted...

Koi problem nehi hai, Dutta Sir but 3 tier me aur aap...Ram Singh looked at the his boss, at 26, Dutta was man with uncontrollable energy, who jumped from one party to another, sometimes dancing away the night in the nightclub, a man who dated several women together, much to the disappointment of his parents he refused to take much interest in the family business, only went to office when he felt like, inspite of all these Ram Singh loved his boss because he was a kind man, took care of Ram Singh, loaned him money and often gave a patient hearing to Ram Singh's domestic problems.  In turn Ram Singh was his driver cum body guard cum guardian at times.  Once he had a bad crash, Dutta was forbidden to drive anywhere by his parents...Ram Singh drove him but in the late night it was he who drove sleepy Ram Singh home most days only to switch over near their house so that the guards do not inform his parents....

Aap toh ek jagah 5 minute chup chap nehi baith sakte aur yeh journey to 6 ghante ki hai...

Woh mujhe maloom hai aur kuch?

Nehi, aur kuch nehi, apna saman kha kheyal rakhiyega aur kisi se jhagra math jejiyega...

Aur

Jake keya ticket checker ko bol ke ayu aapke liye ek A.C a seat rakhne ke liye...aapka agar man kare toh...

Oh god I hate to be treated as a overgrown child, ghar me mummy papa aur bahar tum....

O.K. O.k.  Shanti Shanti...Ram Singh murmured hurriedly, he did not want Dutta to lose his temper before his departure.

The train entered the platform, Ram Singh was prepared, he jumped into the designated coach and quickly sought for Dutta's seat, it was the side berth, Ram Singh put Dutta's suitcase under the seat, looked around and made face, god only knows how Dutta Patil will travel for next 6 hours in this couch with these people...

Dutta wearing a simple blue jeans with black T shirt gestured to Ram Singh to get down as he took his seat, he loved these side berth, specially if you happen to travel alone....the train moved, Dutta remembered his younger days, his father hadn't been such a big businessman then, they stayed in a two bedroom hall kitchen near this locality, every summer holidays, his mother, his sister and him went to the village, where is Bua stayed, as children they loved going there as her Bua's was a joint family with many members and lots of kids to play with.  From two pigeon hole size bedroom flat to a big spread out house, where they rang the bell during dinner so that all members assembled at the kitchen cum dining room across the courtyard...Dutta's grandparents also stayed within 20 k.m. from Bua's house, while his mother went to visit her parents, the children stayed put in Bua's house as it was more fun there....

Gradually his father made it big in Mumbai, now they have their own mansion but it was nothing compared to Bua's, Bua did come to visit them once or twice but went back after 3 /4 days, itna bara ghar lekin koi member hi nehi, kaise rehte ho tumlog was her excuse.  Heart of hearts Dutta knew Bua felt uneasy with the high lifestyle they had now, she was not used to so many servants at her beck and call, speaking in soft voices and having a plastic smile while welcoming guests at their house...

Dutta settled himself, he listened to the hawkers selling their wares up and down the train corridor, he tried one or two item, tried to make friends with the guy sitting opposite but he seemed to be more interested in sending sms's then to speak with him, my god times have changed thought Dutta, he remembered his journeys in the past, in no time they became friendly with their co-passengers, they with the children and his mother with woman next to her, sharing household problems with total strangers, aur abh people are either listening to music on their ipods or smsing their whereabouts, isse achha to mai car me hi jata, he thought...but then he did not want to flaunt his wealth in front of Bua, they were ordinary people, though they were proud of his father's achievement, Dutta knew they were really uncomfortable in front of their brother's new found social status...

Suddenly there was a commotion, a group of boys got up with a lot of noise and hullagulla, they quickly got into the coach, asking people to push a bit so that they can some room for themselves, once seated they start conversing about the match which they played a little while ago, analysing and dissecting the same...

Areh what they thought, said one, sun ke toh aya Rakesh bahut bara player hai, chauke chakke marna uski baye haath ki khel haye...chun chun ke marte hai....

Ha aur aaj dekh bhi liya....

Ha woh logo ko keya maloom uske pass Rakesh hai toh hamare pass Vikas hai...kiyu sow gaya keya the boy pushed the one sitting next to him...

Nehi, the boy replied....tere ko bula na me woh umpire ghoos khor hai.... woh LBW nehi diya...

Woh Mohan Umpire, abh chhor bhi yeh baath, ghus khor hai toh keya huwa humlog jeet gaye na, abh finals tak pahuch gaye...areh yaar tujhe finals me chahiye, abhi se bahano ka mala taiyyar kar...

Abhi se, tabh ki tabh dekhi jayegi....

Lekin chachi ji...

Dutta gets immersed in their conversation how they won the league matches, how one player became sick and how Vikas joined their team yesterday so that they could play the match today, Dutta looked at the guy called Vikas, still in his teens, he looked too soft to have hit those sixes and fours the boys were describing,  soft and slender, his hair was a bit on the longer side, but then nowadays schools were too lenient he felt, when he went to school, the headmaster made sure the hair did not cover the ears, if it did, he took a scissor and cut them himself so that right after school the student went to the barber to have it in proper shape...

Areh yeh kaunsa station hai....next is ours Vikas get ready...

Ha ha...do minute, Vikas picked up his bag and went towards the toilet...

Dutta looked at his watch, two more stations to go, thank god because of these boys his 3 hours were spent, another 45 minutes will be bearable....just then he noticed a girl very familiar coming towards him...

Kaha dekha isko mai...Dutta thought....as he saw the girl taking the seat which Vikas had just emptied two minutes ago...

Before he could place the girl properly the train slowed, station approaching, when the girl got up, areh agar train bahar hi rukh jaye to humlog idhar utar jate, koi agar dekh lega toh mushkil ho jayegi...Dutta's eyes grew big, she had the same voice like Vikas, the girl noticed his expressions but the train had stopped, before Dutta could react, the party of boys with the girl jumped off the train crossing the railway lines, in the fading lights of evening, Dutta saw the girl giving one last glance towards Dutta before running away with her friends...

+++