She gracefully stepped out of her chauffeur-driven Audi , and walked into her office- a part of her daily chores. Her Audi and her princess-like lifestyle surrounded her with a balance of admirers and haters. Her seemingly fairy tale life presented her to the world like a damsel picked straight out of a Disney tale.
In her today-like-yesterday, tomorrow-like-today life, last
Sunday was a remarkable one. No, no, it wasn’t the Prince Charming. Gourmet
Lunch? Late Night Party? It wasn’t them either. Possibilities of a surprise mail, or a workplace success story
could also be ruled out.
The “remarkable” day was about her travel to a friend’s
place. Until now, Sri had barely seen life beyond home, Audi, school,
workplace, family, and occasionally, an airplane. What could have been a more wonderful
escape to a whole new world, than a journey on a local train, amongst thousands
and millions of those exposed to the phenomenon, called ‘life’!
Traditional local trains in Kolkata are characterized by
their green and yellow bodies, and an exclusively allotted foul-smelling bogie
for the vendors. Like all other trains, they have their five-digit number codes
and a defined schedule. However, they gain popularity in terms of their
destinations and the crowd they accommodate in their brief journeys-Bongaon,
Krishnanagar, and Bardhaman being the showstoppers in the local train world.
In the train, she managed to place herself in an area of 20
square centimeters. Unlike the seclusion in her usual modes of transport and
the places she travels to, the train was packed with people of varied shape and
taste, and voice and mannerisms, with more and more people trying to
accommodate themselves in every possible inch of space available. The sound of
the train and the crowd was music to the lonely soul.
Amidst all the madness, the hawkers stole the show. They
probably are the people who have mastered the art of salesmanship, unlike the
MBA degree holders getting harassed by the crooked corporate. The hawker’s
description of the taste and health benefits tempted Sri into buying a plate of spiced(dust was also
one of the spices), hygiene- proof guavas to feed her naïve soul and
soon-to-be-upset tummy. The list of qualities of digestive tablets, fried peanuts
and candies was fascinating. What a pity, our health sciences never taught us
what the hawkers teach us every day!
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that every man in
possession of lustrous bald will be in want of a comb”.
The local train also seemed to be a place for buying other
non-food products at unusually attractive prices. You would get to buy a really
cheap fidget spinner, and you would get a pen and another pen, and a comb, and
also a screw driver free with it. And the way the hawker spins his story is
amazing, no Holmes can beat the sinister in what the next free product could
be, and how all the products are related!
Amused and liberated, Sri carefully noted down the
information about the various diseases and the doctors on the pamphlets pasted
on the train walls. Getting off at the station was effortless; someone pulled
her down to the platform. Some familiar face J
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