Seat number 27

Warning - Long Post

Chapter 1

Red lights. Traffic. Cars honking. Dust. And finally after I finished my third cigarette I reached the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The struggle from Mahim to CST wasn’t half struggling as compared to the struggle I struggled to reach my platform. Phew!!! Just on time for my train – Duronto Express

B2/ Seat no. 28, ideally should have been an easy find. But not when a pack of family, friends, relatives, neighbours, etc. come to bid farewell to that one traveller. Thanks to Mumbai locals I knew the USP of elbows and knees. After battling my way through the aisle I reached my seat. I kept my luggage on the upper-berth and took the window seat.

“Excuse me! Is this your luggage?” a soft voice said. I nodded, but before I could say anything she continued “That’s my berth, please remove your luggage, seat number 27 is mine”. With reluctance on my face I removed my luggage. Her hiccups told me that my abuses were delivered.

After a short nap, I felt the urge for a cigarette. I saw someone smoking at the door. As soon I asked for a lighter, my drowsy eyes decoded the hazy face. The answer to my nightmare was there. So you smoke? I asked in the politest way possible. Politeness was a virtue unheard for Miss Seat 27. She lit the cigarette for me, threw her cigarette and walked away.

Dinner was served. Miss Seat 27 refused to leave her prized upper berth. Once I was done with dinner I went for the mandatory post-dinner cigarette. And I met her again. For a change, she spoke to me, she asked, “Do you have an extra cigarette? I offered her a cigarette.
“Why are you upset?” i asked
“Nothing?” she said
“You can tell me, I might understand”
“You don’t even know me why the fuck will you understand”
“I guess you are still upset because people who know you failed to understand. For a change why don’t you try a stranger?”

The impossible happened. She smiled. My name’s Tanya Roy. She introduced herself. The mild breeze amalgamated with a few puffs of Classic Milds made me an audience to her sob story. Like every story, her had an interval as well. On this occasion the TTE announced it.

But her story continued, on seat number 27. Hitherto, she seemed charming. By the time her tale of woes ended she had tears in her eyes. A break-up led to her resigning- led to her loneliness – led to her taking a break. Since we were from different professions, there wasn’t much I could do. But her tears triggered a voice named humanity. It was then that I realised that she wasn’t really looking for a solution.

Invariably, we are so eager to solve other people’s problems that we forget, that the other person might not need one. All she needed was a pair of ears. That’s all I offered. I listened to all her woes, allowed her to cry. After her tears dried away, she hugged me. All of a sudden the boisterous me faded away and made way for a subtly caring guy. I sat by her all night. Lights went off. ACs turned chillier. Train screamed louder. Yet I could listen to all her words and the ones that hid behind her inhibition.

“Good morning” she said waking me up. I woke up to realise that I had slept on her berth, and she on mine. It was the most beautiful day of the life. I couldn’t see the bright and sunny day, the pleasant musical breeze outside didn’t touch me, yet it was a beautiful day. I told her about my profession. In fact I logged on, to make her read my blog. After all I am in advertising. I know how to sell, even myself.

For once I hoped the train gets delayed. For once I didn’t want to reach home. For once train was on time. Damm! The jostling Howrah station could not dampen her shrill words. “Goodbye” she said. We exchanged numbers and I left with an anticipation of meeting her soon.

Chapter 2

Thanks to my driver I reached Jamshedpur in 4 hours. I was meeting my family after a year. My alacrity knew no bounds. Dinner was served. Meeting your family annually means you get a lot of love. And it also means you get a lot of food. Mom made me eat until I had tears in my eyes. And then she thought they were tears of joy because I was eating home-made food after a year. And then she made me eat more.

The journey from my dining table to my bed was quite a struggle. Somehow I managed to lie down. But, nothing could tire the social animal in me. I logged on to Facebook, only to see that Tanya had sent me a friend request.

Next morning she called. She missed me. She said that she will go back to Mumbai. She said my words helped her redeem and she will give life another chance. She had booked tickets for June 1. I realised that my tickets were for May 28. I requested her to prepone hers. It wasn’t an easy job but she preponed her tickets. Surprisingly she got seat number 27 once again.

Days went by and our bond grew stronger. In those 10 days, I got habituated to her. We spoke every night, and I couldn’t think of a night beyond those 10 days.

And then on May 26, 2010, she confessed her love to me. I was ecstatic. No words matched my dance and no beat matched my song.

I told my sister about her. Tanya was so beautiful, my sister had to approve her. Just couldn’t wait to meet her again. For the first time I couldn’t wait for the day when I’ll leave home.

Chapter 3

My train was scheduled to arrive at 2:30 AM. But I reached the station at 12 AM itself. Just couldn’t wait for the train to arrive. My family was with me to bid farewell. My sister was eager to meet Tanya. Of course it was fairytale love story. The one’s I grew up watching in numerous Yash Chopra flicks.

As time passed by I grew impatient. My curiosity freaked the guy sitting at the Enquiry Counter. I was constantly looking at my watch. It was 1:15 AM. Another hour and I would be with her.

Suddenly my train’s name vanished from the digital ticker board. I was dumbfounded. I ran to my friend at the enquiry counter. “Boss Gyaneshwari express ka kya status hai” He asked me to wait as he was trying to figure that out himself. I called Tanya. Her phone was not reachable. I cursed the network provider. I grew impatient. I could not sit still. Voices around me grew louder. I was unable to decipher them. I logged on to Facebook to tell the world about the incompetency of Indian railways.

Tears rolled down my eyes as I read a status message. “RIP travellers of Gyaneshwari Express”. All of a sudden the voices around me grew clearer. I deciphered the chaos. Gyaneshwari Express had been derailed. I called Tanya numerous times. She had to be safe. There was a reason we met. There was reason I helped her recuperate. There was a reason we fell in love. Our story couldn’t have ended here. Every railway staff was thronged with questions they didn’t have an answer to. My family did try to comfort me. But an unfinished story can never be consoled.

It took me a few days to figure out that she wasn’t one of the survivors and eternity is a time too short for me to forget her. Never thought I would fall in love. Don’t think I can again.

Some moments overwhelm you in such massiveness, that it is hard to express your feelings in words. And here I am, with a heavy heart, grappling for words. I feel like killing myself each time I remember, that it was me who convinced her to prepone her tickets to May 28.