I was waiting since long at the Patratu Railway
station for the train which was late by four hours; the actual time of arrival
was 5.23: AM and now its half past nine but there was no sign of the train. I
came here from Jamshedpur on Monday afternoon by bus via Ranchi to visit one of
our prospective clients who had invited us to participate in their Tender
Opening exercise of industrial consumable products. They kept the second day
for the final negotiation meeting with the Tender Committee, which was to be
attended by the three lowest bidders and we happened to be the L-1 vendor.
After a long discussions and tough negotiations, we
closed the sales deal in our favour with the client in a win-win
situation. They wanted delivery of the material strictly as per their
monthly schedule and we requested for hundred percent payments against
delivery. They accepted our payment terms with third party inspection clause
before despatch which we agreed without any hitch, simply because we were fully
confident about our product quality.
I was staying at the company Guest House for two
nights and on Wednesday morning I was going back home to Jamshedpur. Luckily
the JammuTawi-Hatia-Tata Express train was running late, hence I decided to go
by this train. It was more than an hour since I was waiting at the Platform but
there was no intimation of the train yet.
Finally the train arrived at the platform around
eleven o'clock and I boarded the AC coach. After two minutes
halt the train started, while checking my ticket, the ticket collector told me
that this train will be divided into two parts at Moori Railway Station which
will come after two and half hours; all AC coaches will be attached to the
train going to Hatia Railway Station. Therefore, I must shift to the
sleeper coach at Muri station to continue my journey towards Tatanagar.
There was no option but to continue my journey in
the same train and with a heavy heart I shifted to the sleeper coach at Muri
station, which was almost empty. As informed, at Moori station the train was
divided into two parts, and all the seven sleeper coaches and AC coaches were
attached to the train going to Hatia and the remaining eight sleeper coaches,
one general coach and one parcel van were attached with the train going to
Tatanagar Railway Station.
After thirty-five minutes, our train started again.
I was sitting near the window seat when I saw one middle aged tall fair looking
gentleman running towards our sleeper coach; he was carrying one soft luggage
in one hand and a book in another hand. I rushed towards the entrance gate
and took his soft luggage with one hand and simultaneously pulled him
inside the train with another hand. Meanwhile, the train had already
picked-up the speed.
The said gentleman was still breathing very heavily. He
thanked me and we both sat down on our respective seats. First I offered
him my bottle of water, which he politely refused, at the same time he took out
a water bottle from his luggage which was having very little quantity of water
inside. He drank all the water available in the bottle and kept the empty
bottle aside. He thanked me again for all my help and started reading his book
an English fiction: Atlas Shrugged written by Ayn Rand, one of my favourites. I
also took out my book and started reading. But somehow, I could not concentrate
on my book. I was having a very strong feeling that I knew this gentleman but I
could not remember where I had met him before.
We had hardly travelled thirty minutes or so when
suddenly the train stopped. When I looked out from my window, I saw no station
nearby and the train was standing on a vacant land. I could see nobody on
either side. Ten minutes had passed but the train was still not moving. I saw
my co-passengers getting up from his seat and moving towards the exit gate,
after few minutes he came back to his seat and started reading his book again.
He wanted to say something but I was busy reading my book hence he kept
quiet.
Half an hour had passed since but the train had
still not moved. I could not control myself and decided to find out the reason
of the delay. I got down from the train and saw lots of passengers also
standing on the opposite track and gossiping with one another. I moved towards
the Guard’s Cabin which was at the rare end of the train. When I reached the
guard’s cabin I saw nobody in the guard’s coach, I started wondering where he
might have gone. I kept waiting for a few more minutes and I saw him coming
from the other side. On his arrival I enquired from him about the reason of
unscheduled halt in this desert land.
He replied to me in Bengali language that he came
to know from the railway crossing staff, whom he has just met, that somebody
had stolen the fish-plates and some parts of the rails are also missing
in-between the track; hence our train had stopped. The railway track mobile
staff had noticed this and they immediately informed the concerned stations and
saved so many lives and railway property. Otherwise, there could have been a
big accident. The railway’s repairing train was coming within half an
hour from Muri station and they would take approximately two hours to get the
track repaired. It was three o'clock in the afternoon and by the time
I will reach home, it will be late evening. I was getting worried and I could
see no hope to reach home early under the presence circumstances. I was thinking
seriously and started moving towards the sleeper coach. On arrival at my seat I
could not see my co-passenger, I thought he might have gone to the toilet and
started reading my book again.
I had finished reading one page of my book when I
saw him coming back with empty water bottle in his hand, he was sweating
profusely. After he settled down in his seat, he interrupted me with a straight
question: “Why this train stopped in-between, any idea?” I looked straight into
his eyes and narrated the entire version of the train-guard.
He shook his head in dismay and said: “Oh my God,
we would have been in big trouble, how long would it take to complete the
repair work?” I replied: “At-least two hours or more”. I could see him getting
tense and worried, his fair skin was shining with reddish glow and he was
uttering a few words to himself which I could not understood and requested him
to repeat his question again. He then introduced himself and told me the
purpose of his visit and the reason of his travelling in a sleeper coach.
When he told me what his name was and where he was
working in a company in Jharkhand. I immediately remembered who he was?
He was the Managing Director of a particular company where I had met him in the
past. Since his company used to take turnkey projects of material handling
equipments, he must have come to attend the negotiation meeting with the same
client where I have visited.
He informed me that he was sitting in the AC-First
coach and when the train started; his co-passengers informed him that the AC
train is going towards Hatia and not Tatanagar. Therefore, he immediately
jumped from his train which was still running in a slow speed. By the time he
came towards our train this train had also started picking up speed; hence he
was running to catch this train.
I also briefed him about myself and the reason of
my travelling with him in this train. In the beginning he was behaving very
strangely and keeping to himself. Maybe his position and his big status was the
reason of his adamant and egotistic behaviour but in the present circumstances
he was having no choice hence he started communication with me under
compulsion. I offered him my Bourbon biscuits packet and water bottle which he
accepted without any hesitation this time.
I saw lots of passengers going towards one
direction, I told my co-passenger to wait in the train and I also rushed
towards the same direction where all the other passengers were going. I was
surprised to see a small Hut which was over crowded and I was immensely
surprised to see an old tribal woman frying snacks and one old man sitting next
to her preparing tea in a big aluminium tumbler which probably was not washed
since ages. Everyone was asking for tea and snacks; the old lady was serving
her clients with one hand and in-between was also frying those snacks with
equal speed. I also saw one hand-pump near the Hut where lots of passengers
were drinking water.
First I paid for one plate of snacks and tea which
was served in mud-bowl, I rushed towards the train and with lots of hesitation
handed over the same to my co-passenger. Although I was having my doubts that
he would accept my offering but to my surprise he not only accepted it but also
started eating without raising any doubt or suspicion. I went back to the
Hut once again and bought snacks and tea for myself. I finished my snacks and
tea standing near the Hut. Later, I filled both the water bottles from the
near-by hand-pump and came back to my seat. I offered him his bottle of
water and kept my bottle on my seat.
He took out his purse and offered me a fifty rupee
note for snacks, tea and water. With both my folded hands I returned his money
and requested him not to bother about it anymore, simply because I paid rupees
ten only for snacks and tea; water was free. If he was having five rupee he
could give me; otherwise he could simply forget it because I don’t have
change for his fifty rupee note.
I could visualize that my co-passenger was very
upset and equally surprised to see the chain of events happening since
morning. He was trying to connect the dots between the incidents but failed to
justify the sequence in which it happened in today’s journey. For him, it was
neither his Office nor the Board Room where everything happens the way he
would like them to happen in a precise manner with a very clear objective,
proper planning and thorough road map. He saw today, how the train passengers
were served hot snacks and tea by an old tribal couple for a bare minimum
amount although they could have charged exorbitant price for the tea and snacks
in a place where nothing was available at that point of time.
Instead, they tried to serve everyone without discriminating on the basis
of caste, creed and status or choosing buyers on the basis of the highest
bidder. They seemed to be very honest, simple, straight forward and God loving
people who simply wanted to serve humanity without being biased and expecting
no obligation or reward in return.
It was a story in contrast; one with his egotistic
nature pretending to be a man holding high position in the society and here was
one couple at the lowest rung of the society not bothering whom they were
serving. Strange are the ways of the Omnipresent Almighty, who plays his own
game in his own ways!
With Prayers
Gurcharan
