We the People

When you travel, you are exposed to the outside world, you gather some valuable experiences, you like something, you hate something. You travel by so many means, bus, train, hand pulled rickshaws, autos, trams, metros, cruise, flights, everything adds up to the pages of your life. In one of our train journey, there were five fellows with us in the same compartment. Four adults and one kid, one of the guys told that he is hungry and then his wife opened a box, having many boiled eggs. One by one she was peeling them off and passing it to them, there were two guys and each of them had 6 boiled eggs. Yes, I counted and was equally shocked, how can anyone have something so much? Another time we saw a newly married couple, who were ill-mannered, they did not know difference between bedroom and railway coach. Some people boast of their knowledge, money and power and some are so quiet that you doubt them to be terrorist. You will see people fighting with each other, you will see them reading books, you will see them taking contacts, you might see relationships getting build, you will see guys trying to impress girls, and so on, journeys are a whole new world.

That time there were no ATMs, so for the total number of days of the trip dad and mom used to take cash with them. For a 30 day trip, they used to take approximately 50 thousand cash. The first day when we left from home, whole cash was with us, once we reach the first destination, and we go to the inspection quarter and keep the money there securely they were a bit worried. If cash gets stolen then there is no option than to come back. Before the trip mom used to tell us to be quiet and not talk in the train about the trip. While going for the north east trip, we were in train for siliguri, the plane area before darjeeling, and one chaayewala came, and mom asked me whether I wanted to take tea, I told, “not here, I will have tea in its original place (meaning Darjeeling tea)”, mom gave me an angry look. If people come to know they could make out that we are having lot of cash with us.

One more incident happened with mom in train. I and di went with my dad’s sister to Calcutta to attend some marriage of relative of her side. And meanwhile my parents went to Mayihar and khajuraho. One couple with two kids were sharing the same compartment. That lady asked my mom where they were going, mom told Mayihar, mayihar is a religious place of Goddess durga, many people go to that temple and ask for wishes. Since only my mom and dad were travelling, that lady thought that my mom does not have kids and they are going to mayihar to ask God for a child. That lady had two kids and both were very naughty and were jumping throughout the boggie. She started telling, “bachhe to bhagwaan ki den hai, acha hai darshan kar ke aayiye, apki goad bhi bhar jayegi”, my mom stared her and then told her she is simply going to visit the temple and not for asking kid, she already has two daughters and both are quiet grown ups. Then that lady scolded her kids for shouting so much and she also became quiet.