Been There, Done That....

Tinnapatti, is a small picturesque town, some 20kms from Salem (in the state of Tamil Nadu), the existence of which was unknown to many until that Monday morning.

It was around seven in the morning, when I discovered that the train I was travelling in hadn't moved an inch for the last two hours. From where I sat, the name of the outpost 'Tinnapatti' was visible. The place looked splendid in the misty morning, having borne the brunt of heavy rains throughout the night. There was lush greenery all around the tracks and as far as the eye could see. The colour, the chill in the air, and the occasional babble of voices seemed too scenic to be true!

'The train isn't going to move for the next five hours', said S,the chap sitting in front of me, and I was jolted back to reality..'There seems to be a problem with the engine'..'Of course not!' said someone else. 'All other trains are also being diverted on this route...probably no signal for this train..' he offered...None of all this seemed to give any indication as to when EXACTLY we would reach Bangalore.

It was half past eight, when I checked for some signs of network detection on my mobile.. 'That Hch dog!! I'm going to kill it the moment I see it', I thought! 'We can think of options only when we reach Salem', said S. 'It's better to go by train, I heard roads are flooded' said another chap..I realized there was nothing much I could do. Going by bus, didnt seem convincing, so I stayed put in the train hitting the 'call' button every now and then... A passenger train (to Salem) arrived on the adjacent track, and stopped. 'oh good! we have company' said the jolly-looking girl from the next bay! When a green beamed this time, there was an altercation between two gangs,Gang 1-mostly passengers from our train, who didnt want the other train to go...Gang 2-passengers from the other train who wanted the train to go...'So..no one WANTS our train to go?!?!', there was bewilderment in S's voice when he heard the news...'Well, we're not sure if our train is upto it..you know..They talk of engine problems among other things, so the best argument is not to let that train go' said the 'newsboy'!

It was quarter past nine when we heard a shrill whistle. Nobody budged. The small kid in the next compartment had climbed down and was playing on the grass-carpeted area near the track..His mother stood close by keeping an eye on him. Passengers standing outside continued their 'discussions'. Our train inched forward amid cries of joy from those inside the coaches...Those outside hurried back..!

'Salem?!!?! WHAT are you doing there??!' cried my mother when I called her from a booth..The train diversion story followed. 'Take care and keep calling whenever you can!' said my mom before I hung up.

As the train chugged off (really! it had a diesel engine!), the boredom bound everyone together and soon we all found ourselves chatting like old friends. Every five minutes Tinnapatti would find a mention in someone's wisecrack and everyone would roar with laughter. We bought what was left out of the lemon rice packets at Dharmapuri station and rejoiced at our ability to push through the crowd to get hold of a packet. We solved sudoko from three odd papers and discussed everything under the sun. It suddenly was not 'I dont have water!'. It was 'Thank God! We have two bottles for the ten of us..we'll get more at the next station!'.

I was amazed at the way human instinct worked. If the train had reached on time, no one would have even bothered to say a 'hi' to the people in the same bay. It was so business like..you- a passenger; me-a passenger; there ends the matter. But now, there was a new parameter in play, it was not only you-and-me-passengers, it was also that we-are-in-the-same-pathetic-situation! This sort of connected people.

It also seemed to me that there was more optimism and cheer in the air, atleast less pessimism, when people tackle situations as a group. Well, it also depends on the intensity of the situation in question.

'Tinnapatti?!?! Is that what you said?!' asked my dad when I spoke to him late in the evening ..'Yes..I'd Been There, Done That!'

A Conspiracy

Harsha sat with his head buried in his hands. He looked up every few minutes to see what was happening around him. His mother was busy in the kitchen and his dad hadnt yet returned home...The headlines blared from the TV..Harsha looked away and in a fit of desperation, jammed the remote control to switch the TV off..He went back to his reverie.

'Hi da Harsha!' I called out as I entered. He looked up and nodded. 'Not well or something?' Again a nod, indicating a 'no'! I walked upto the kitchen..'Chithi,(Aunty), what's wrong with that fellow?!' I asked her...'He's not telling me anything..You ask him..' So, I went back to where he was sitting...'What's the problem da?'

He got up, scratched his chin and took long strides towards the other room. 'I dont know how it happened!', he said in a sad tone...'It'll be a great help if you told me WHAT!' He looked at me with scorn in his eyes..'You wont understand! Surely not! After all, you've never been in my situation..' 'Ok...so what are you talking about?'...'You'll know soon..if you stop interrupting me!' 'Alright..go ahead!'

'See Anu, I didnt know they'd ditch me like they did! It's soooo unfair..' he said with feeling. 'oh! kids' stuff' I was about to say, but checked myself! 'I mean, it's not like I expected too much, but atleast something for my contribution...' 'Like?!' I asked. He turned suddenly and glared at me, like the villains do in movies! 'You and your antics!' I thought..! He grabbed the newspaper and pored over some article...'Tooo bad..' he said.. 'Teenage blues...' I thought and chuckled! 'Stop giggling!' that was an order! 'I am going to tell you something serious!' 'How would you feel if you worked really hard on a project..and in the end, the others didnt even mention your name..!! I did the ground work for them..and today, they get all the top honours..' He was pointing to the paper..I took it from his hand and scanned the whole page. No mention of any school competition or anything like that...'Which article is it?' I asked...'Dont tell me you're so dumb...' he chided.. 'It's the only article in that page...' I turned the page..It had a detailed description of the Nobel Prize winners' work and the significance of their contributions to modern science. 'You mean THIS?!' He nodded...not a slight change in his expressions...'I see...'I played his game..'It's an international conspiracy..am telling you...!' I burst out laughing...'Please stop this nonsense and go and study...Do I have to tell you that the board exams are just around the corner?!', chithi exploded. 'I knew it...it's a conspiracy..everywhere!!', Harsha mumbled as he went to his study...'What a build-up!! I thought there was really a problem or some such thing!',said chithi, with a look of disbelief!

Memories..

Every morning, at about half past seven, I see the kids in my apartment complex leave for school waving a bye to their mothers...The scene, invariably, reminds me of my school days and the millions of incidents that are mere memories now...One such is here....

It was a Friday evening. The day we had to dissect rats. That day, it took longer than usual to complete the procedures and at the end of it, I was relieved..and exhausted. I trudged along, with a couple of friends and stopped at the end of the street. 'It's not fair we have to repeat that prism experiment..we didnt copy right!' 'Quarterly round the corner and I am scared!!', 'Lara is setting the chemistry paper..' and so on...By the time it ended, it was half past five, a good two hours after the school bell rang!

I was wondering what Unit Test we had on Monday as I climbed up the stairs. I saw the door wide open and heard excited voices from inside...'Must be guests', I thought. 'Anu! you're late' cried my mother..'Dissection and some discussion after that..' I told her and eyed the guests..The girl looked familiar... 'Meet Mr.K, and his daughter' said my dad. He turned to the daughter and said...'You might have seen Anu..she's in class..' 'I know..' the girl said..'12E1 right!'..'Ya right..', I mumbled..'She'd come to my class during the election' said the junior...'Election?!?! I didnt know you were..' she didnt let my dad complete..'Oh..she was hitting the cupboards with plastic bottles and screaming...' she said, matter-of-factly..I was aghast!! A quizzical look crossed dad's face... 'It's the regular kind of campaigning'. I chose the words with care... 'Oh..I was wondering what happened to all those extra bottles I kept in the refrigerator!'. That was my mom. 'My friends wanted some..so I took a few from the fridge!'..The girl was clutching her stomach and laughing...joined by my sister..I glared at her... 'Is the election over? or will you be needing more bottles?' asked my dad. 'It's over and our candidates didnt do too well...'

On Monday, K's daughter came to meet me..'I hope I didnt say anything I wasnt supposed to...' she said. 'Not at all!'

while(1);

An endless wait. That's how I felt while waiting to cross the road.

The vehicles zoomed past me. They seemed to pick up speed just when I thought it was the right moment to sprint across to the other side of the road! No sooner had the red come, the green followed, leaving me no chance to cross! 5 minutes, 10 minutes and now it was going to be 15...

Years ago, I hadnt given much thought to crossing a road. It was a simple series of steps. Look right, left and quickly cross over when you find a sizeable gap between oncoming vehicles. Well, the last point requires a bit of judgement. It takes a little of practice to determine when you can cross and when you cannot. For instance, when you see a speeding motorbike, it's wise to stop. On the other hand, if you were close to a bus stop, and a bus just halted there, you can cross in peace.

On this particular day, however, all tactics seemed to fail. I looked right, and couldnt find a gap, kept looking and looking and looking...When I turned to my left, there were some five others who had joined me in the ritual. I looked at the girl beside me. She gave a bright smile..'Waiting to cross?'. She sounded enthusiastic. 'No..I am counting the number of vehicles which have a number plate with digits that add upto 7', I wanted to say, but thought the better of it and decided not to be rude and merely nodded my head. I noticed two constables standing a few yards away. They were chuckling with delight looking at the helpless lot. In a flash, a fellow ran across, making atleast 4 drivers give vent to their anger!! I stared,scared! I wanted to scream 'Stop' at the top of my voice and walk gallantly across....

In the 17th minute of the wait, as I stepped forward, I found the drivers slowing down...'Ahh...magic!' I thought. The constables' lathis and a shrill whistle had done the trick..! Once on the other side, one of the constables gave a toothy grin. 'I wanted to see how long you guys would wait!' he said... 'Verrry funny!'