REALIZATION

It was 11:45 PM. I had already missed the 11:50 PM CST from Knjurmarg as it takes 15 minutes from my office to reach to kanjurmarg station. My calculation was cut-to-cut now. Had to reach Kanjrmarg station by 12:00 AM, catch 12:05 AM CST, get down at Kurla by 12:15 AM and then catch the 12:20 AM Vashi from another platform. Just 5 minutes here-or there and I will have to wait till 1:30 AM

I just wanted to catch 12:05 AM CST from Kanjurmarg and rest will be automatically taken care of by train itself :-) I came out of the office by deciding of taking ‘auto’, but no auto at the stand. Waited there for 2 mins which I seemed like 15 mins!. It was waste of time to wait. I started walking…but with this pace I can reach station by 12:05 only…ohh no…I started running!

I was sniffing when I reached station but then, I went completely breathless when I saw the ticked counter…I was closed!!! In fact the whole premise was closed with sliding metal gate! I quickly checked out my bag with the hope of old bunch of coupons…and yess, I found it! I took it out for stamping and … as the whole premise was locked, I can not even get my coupons stamped! It was a complete mess!
I just looked around. I was not the only one like this but another man without tickets and without coupons was standing there. He was cursing to the staff which was not there, he was also cursing to that Kanjurmarg station. As he didn’t find anyone else than me, after making every statement, he was looking at me for an acknowledgment! I too was shaking my head with sad face.
“I will go without ticket now” that man shouted and scornfully spitted on the wall!
I was there…still and steady…was just watching each movement of that man. He was stepping down the stairs…and suddenly a hooter pealed!...OMG!...my 12:05 AM CST train was coming! I also stepped down behind that man and got into the train running!

“Hushhh!!! I would have missed my train because of that man” I sat saying this and what I saw...that man was sitting right in front of me. Thank god, man doesn’t have ability to guess what a person is saying from the expressions!

He was calm now. He smiled at me. I too stretched my lips in response.

“Where are you going?” He asked.
“Vashi” I replied. I was thinking of asking the same to him.
“Ohh gr8…I will go to Dadar directly” he said it again.
I don’t know what’s great in going to Vashi…I just said “OK”.
“I must tell you this train department is useless. If they cant keep the ticket counter open at night then why to they have these trains running at night?” he uttered.
Ohh No! …I was also without ticket like him!

I am the most unlucky in such conditions. I had to find out some way before any TC comes in and asks for ticket from me. I got an idea! I took out my bunch of coupons and a ball pen from my bag and started putting the date, place from where I got into the train and the time behind each required coupons. The man was till now busy in taking the breeze, now turned to me again and asked with confused mind,
“What are you writing on these coupons?”

“I am putting all that information which is been stamped on coupons. If any TC comes I am going to show him these coupons” I answered.

“Hahaha” that man laughed sarcastically and said,
“I don’t think any TC will come now. If the ticket counter itself is like no man’s land…then TCs must have slept in their house by now…hahaha”
I just smiled at the man and continued putting dates on the coupons.

Now I was just two stations away from Kurla. May be the man was also unlucky like me as at Ghatkopar station 2 TCs got into the train and started checking the tickets of the passengers! That man was taking a nap. I pat on his knee and by nudging my head towards TCs, I warned him,
“TCs are coming!!!”

Now I just wanted to see his reaction. But the man who was roaring a while ago on the platform was completely flat now. He got terribly frightened! Before he takes any action, TC was in front of him, waiting for his ticket.
“Sir, I don’t have ticket…ti..ti..ticket counter was closed!”, he was not even able to say the truth clearly.

TC got happy. I could see images of 100 rupee note in his eyes! He commanded his partner TC,

“Hey take this man out!”

Another TC approached to the man and he was about to take the man in remand and I interrupted that drama saying,

“Wait! This man is not with out tickets!”

I took out the coupons. One bunch of his fare and another bunch of mine!

“He has coupons. As ticket counter was closed completely, we had to write the date over the coupons using pen”

“Then why he didn’t say about it?” TC asked.

“He didn’t know that I manually stamped his coupons as well” I replied.

TC left with sad mood. I also got ready to get down at next station.

The man was still looking at me surprisingly. I gave him his bunch of coupons and said,

“Its just a matter of realization!”

“If TCs wouldn’t have come, you would have never ever realized what I did for you.”

“When I was stamping the coupons for me, you cold have bought the same from me but you didn’t realize it!”

“You spitted on that wall, tomorrow more 100 like you will spit there and you people only will start hating the station. When you spat there you didn’t realize it!”

“You cursed ticket counter, you cursed whole staff but what’s the use of it as they don’t have realization of your hassle. Again you didn’t realize it!”

“We can know each other better, we can know this world better…it’s just a matter of REALIZATION!”

I got down from the train by saying this.

I will be happy if he realized it!
I did this with a cost of just 6 Rs. and see you didn’t realize it!!! :-)

-Arun