A Travel------an unforgettable nightmare

MUDASIR MAJEED PEER

Absence makes the heart grow fonder……The proverb possesses jam-packed credit for inviting the home-reminiscence to my mind. It has been a protracted spell of study away from home. The memories of home dominating the mind to the deep. Heart feeling the dearth of home-pleasures. Eyes craving for stealing glance at kiths and kens. Undubiously a home is the real paradise for every person as I can feel, having myself caught is this hell which again and again reminds me of my home.

The thoughts of going home not ready to budge even an inch from my mind. Trying so hard to thrust my mind to focus on some other issue exclusive home. But of no avail every attempt turning out in vain. Elapsing time with much difficulty. The wait same as the wait of oyster in her travails. Waiting for the day in an impatient way to come so that i can go home.

Thankfully and eventually my study session is on the home stretch. Now it’s the time to go home. The thought of home-going blowing away the cobwebs. The wretched lump of dejection now seems to be fading away from mind. Ahhhh…..it’s the time to move home.

Finally I ended up the exams. At the evening of same day I got buzz from a friend that some more natives of the same place from where I hail want to accompany me. The thought of winning the company of some more pals added more bliss to heart. At night I started packing. Filling my haversack to the top with the stuff I had bought for home. The idea of going home rubbed off my sleep. The night finally bade goodbye. At the dawn I took a bath and gussied up myself.

My friends had assembled at the said location and in a few minutes I also joined them. We were about to hit the road. We took up a taxi and left for railway station. The rail was to leave at 12.00pm. We were yet to purchase our tickets. After reaching station we purchased tickets. “Oh! Its general class ticket” said a friend. Traveling for the first time in general class was a ghost experience but the idea of home going underplayed this all we finally stepped into the rail. “Its 12.40pm now 40-minute up the said time the train is yet to take off, yelled a friend”. In a few minutes a screech pierced our ears. Thank God finally the rail took off.

Catching a seat in the general class is nearly equal to signing a contract for a Bollywood movie. The general classes of our rails depict the complete scene of political congregations. Men and women sitting neck-to-neck each other leaving no space for gender respect. A seat which can hold a maximum of 4-passengers has to hold double of that. A person traveling in a general class has to assume the shape of a statue till he reaches the destination. The boxes of general class more or less present the picture of that wagon which is satiated with lambs intended for slaughter. Men having held their children tightly on shoulders creating a scene of double story building but without a bisecting floor.

The biggest tragedy in traveling in general class is getting a space for toilet. It is very awkward to walk through a congested assembly up to the toilet. Some most of people think it wise to not piss or defecate in the toilets of general class only for one reason that is to escape the embarrassment.

The shocks were striking me again and again. I could well understand why the people traveling in general class are prone to diseases. While the travel my sight was caught by a peculiar fact which I was unaware of. I saw most of people chewing pan, some old women sucking BERI, some holding cigars and reeking smoke profusely. Amidst this environmental disaster I saw an old man who had blown off more pan than he could chew, moving his mouth full of viscous liquid prepared from pan and saliva, I was watching him so keenly. All of sudden he spitted this viscous liquid forcefully on the wall of box, due to the speedy movement of air inside the box, some of this liquid slapped my face and I lost the control over myself and burst into anger then offered him some curses also. The air inside the box was giving off a pungent smell.

About half of distance we had traveled and night reached. Now i started feeling more uncomfortable, dying with the fear of night travel in such a contaminated coach which I never had seen even in dreams. When it was complete dark people started resting themselves flat on births to take a nap. This seen turned out to be even more shocking. It was difficult to guess whose wife or whose sister or whose mother is sleeping with whom. Meanwhile this blatant outrage I saw a women with almost 70% bare body sleeping and her cute baby screaming and trying to get hold of her sari. What could have been more tragic than this pitiful scene “a nascent life at risk but mother absorbed in slumber”. At the same I got encountered with another SAAS (mother-in-law)-dominating Bahu (daughter-in-law) story. The mother-in-law having her belly jutted out like a pregnant sow, laying her legs flat over her Bahu’s legs warning her to not disturb her while sleep. This Saas-dominance reminded me of HINDI soap operas.

Coming across this tragic panorama I forgot my sleep. The heat inside the rail-box was intense as I was baking in kiln. My body was exuding sweat profusely. I was searching for a relaxing breeze. But where to get that. It was just begging the Satin to preach the justice.

And finally the night faded away…….ahhhhhhhhhhh! I could c a silver lining, I could feel the breeze throughout and ultimately I could see the sun-rise.ohhhh! Thank God; it’s my station. My steps are now down on my homeland. This is my land…my paradise……my world…..my bliss…….and my identity.

(The story is factitious)