Travels On The Footrest

The day was like anyother day, the sun up and shining , the earth down and brown and sky clear and blue. The only difference was , I was up at 6Am waiting for the connecting train to come.Having nothing else to do was wandering around , looking at the strewn books, flipping thru the old magazines and glancing around for a peek of some beautiful face which i was never to see again. Expecting to see pretty girls at 6 in the morning sounds stupid but isn't life about surprises which spice it up, anyways am an born optimist in this field ;)

The train came as usual, i tried to look as sophisticated as i could and sat in my sleeper class seat. I kind of like that class, middle class people like me trying to make it big, acting all reserved but in heart of hearts waiting to tell the immediate neighbour about what their fantasies are. Anyways all those things dont matter to me much, for all i do on the train is sleep or when i open my eyes flip thru the magazine or sit on the footRest, listening to music.

The day passed slowly, the sun came up, the train kept rolling and the oldlady sitting next to me had already told me that her grandson is in the states was making big money.I smiled throughOut, telling how happy i was for her but in my heart thinking ... "Who gives a sh**". More was yet to come, i knew next she will tell me about her intelligent granddaughter, and how can i forget that she hasnt bitched about her daughter-in-law too.I looked around saw two men discussing the elections that had just been held(I like India, here we have elections once every three months in some corner or other so that people have lots to remain excited about all thru the year), another old man was busy snoring in the upper berth oblivious to the happenings around and a pretty young girl going though her book, ignoring everyone else in the vicinity and avoiding my stares too.

I knew nothing was going to happen there, so i begged excuse from the old lady, picked up my walkman and left to sit in the secluded footRest.The walkman was screaming "Country Roads Take me home" and i was getting nostalgic with memories flooding by. I was passing over some old bridge , there was water all around, all blue and it looked so lovely.I took out a one rupee coin and threw it in the river while wishing for the sun, an old habbit which will die with me.Looking at it i think that wishes are the hope which make us humans walk through all difficulties with ease, all the dreams which we think will be fulfilled are the anchor which makes us at bay in this storm of life. Big words but is what i think it is.

The river had made way for the lush fields greenery all around, farmers tilling the field their wives helping them, kids playing in the mud, looked so beautiful. The dark fields, the lush new plants, the toiling farmers with sweat on their brows, the dutiful wifes looking at their husbands with concern , and the kids oblivious to all poverty playing and floricking in the mud. Some of these kids were waving at the train, i waved back.The train moved on to newer grounds, different colur of the ground, different people some with smiles on their faces ,some with faces stamped by frown, people who will remain nameless to me, people whose sadness nor happiness i can share, but people who exist somewhere oblivious to me as i remain oblivious to most other people. I kept on looking having nothing else to do, kept on waving back at the kids with glee, and kept on waiting for my destination to arrive.

The fields had made way for the vast plains, with trees in sparse. The sun was becoming hotter by by the hour, but i remained rooted to my footRest looking ahead for newer sights to be seen. In the midst of nowhere under some shrub i saw a tiny little baby lying on the hard ground crying aloud. There was not a soul in sight,hoped that maybe his/her parents were working on the other side of the tracks. The train kept moving , and i kept looking back for someone to pick up the crying baby but there was none. In the distance a kite was hovering above hoping to swoop in to pick up its prey, not knowing what to do, i stood up hoping the kid was saved.

I came back to my seat, the old lady was still talking about her kids and grandkids, the men were still discussing elections the pretty young lady was still acting busy in her book but the world had changed for me.I closed my eyes to the world raised the volume of the walkman and slept.

With 1000 more Kms to go my journey had ended, my travels on the footRest had come to a stop, yet again.