Surreal but nice

 
You must have spent it with friends and/or family. I’m talking about the moment when the minute-hand of the clock just overtook the hour-hand in your watch for the first time in 2010. Guess where I was? On a train or should I be specific in saying that I spent my New-Year in an ordinary sleeper class coach of ‘The Invincible’ Indian Railways! I wasn’t alone, I had three college mates who were well wrapped up in their respective berths and probably wondering how we lost the debate…Nevertheless both me and my ‘never-say-die spirit’ were alive and kicking! Even with the pain of a ‘No-Service’ display on my cell phone on such a night I made it a point to note how the 72-odd people were spending their New-Year…

Suddenly there was this sound of loud claps and someone singing a Bollywood number in a horrible tone. Before you presume it was someone celebrating the New-Year let me tell you it was someone begging right in the midnight and they were a group of eunuchs. I handed them a ten-rupee note and one of them blessed me. Maybe it was because I was scared of their abusive behavior.‘They are a menace I tell you!’ my fellow passenger commented. I didn’t say anything and even though I agreed within my conscience didn’t. I thought what is it that forces some-one to beg and yet collect money out of threat and that too at the onset of a New-Year? Then came the recollection-Every form that I fill the column of sex has two options only. I’m sure you have your own version how these people (if you consider them so!) tormented you. But have you ever thought how much we torment them? Every little child born as eunuch is found hours later in a dustbin or in front of the door of a NGO. We are scared of them as if they were the devils straight out of Arabian Nights! As the group passed away my compartment I smiled within for the simple reason that I was blessed by a human (and not an eunuch) right at the start of a New-year! You may say that the blessings were bought by the ten-rupee note but I don’t mind buying it from someone who has faced society’s wrath from birth! Imagine yourself in such a condition and I assure you blessing someone would be very difficult!

As they passed away our compartment I could hear the faint noises of the crackers being blown-up outside from the tightly shut windows of the train. And suddenly I looked up to see a kid peeping from his momma’s lap. Cute he was and so was his smile! It’s true that whenever a kid smiles at you he takes way all your worldly problems with him and you discover that the world is indeed easy. Same happened with me. He was in the upper berth and I wasn’t sure of his intentions as he stooped lower and lower. Maybe he was planning to take a jump showing his true adventurous instinct and why not? He belongs to the coming generation of this roaring and super successful Indian youth! Taking a plunge and venturing into unknown waters is in his blood! After all you, me and everybody bank on this little kid to take a jump and leap ahead. He has such an important job on his shoulders! He’ll carry us in the future on these very shoulders. As I got excited his mom tapped him gently on his back and pulled him back. Not this time! But I signaled him that we all are waiting for him to take that giant leap and winked at him. He smiled back and I know he’ll jump someday!

As all this silent conversation was going between the kid and me, the train halted in an unknown station. It was 12.30 now and half of the people were sleeping. A group of four friends boarded the train. All were in their early twenties singing a weird ‘Happy-new-Year’ song. However weird it may be, the camaraderie and the passion were on full display. I admired their crazy celebrations and enjoyed within knowing that some bonds are never meant to be broken. I’m sure they will remember the night as much as I would. But for entirely different reasons of course..

As the clock approached one in the morning with vicious slowness my eyelids started giving in to the tired mind! I don’t know when I wrapped myself and lost myself in my first dream of 2010.