Yesterday i was going to Devghar.
Papa dropped me railway station around 9 30 in the morning. Train was at 10 05. Was going to travel in general boggie after a long long time. I took ticket, reached platform and found a place to sit. It was not very crowded. I noticed a girl, standing at around 20 feet distance from me. She was carrying a laptop bag. She looked troubled. Probably not well, i thought. She had sweat droplets over her face and I noticed that she had noticed that I was looking at her, though I was not staring and was avoiding an eye contact. Suddenly I realized there was no place where she could sit. I thought should ask her to sit. I rarely go up to a strange girl and talk but I made an exception here. I went up to her and said: "do u want to sit? Seems u r not okay". She returned a flat no, as was very much expected, saying that she's fine, its just hot. I walked back and sat down. All the eyeballs staring her already were now fixed at me.
Soon I got lost in my thoughts about what else work need to be done in writerbabu now. Then there was an announcement about some arbit train and I saw this girl running. Soon I realized that this was an announcement regarding a train coming on another platform, the platform I sat facing to. In a few minutes the girl appeared on that platform as other people got up from their seats and ready for the coming train. Train came and people boarded the train. Soon another train of same color (green) came on my platform. This train going in opposite direction to the first train. This train came and gone in 2 mins. Soon the other train also left. And I got lost in my own thoughts again.
Suddenly she dropped in front of me and sat by my side with a thud. She was laughing. She said "train miss ho gayi" "ha ha ha". It took me no time to understand what just happened. Both the trains were the same just that one was UP and other was DOWN. But she explained. She explained how she was standing inside that train and how she asked people about where was train going just one minute before that train was going to leave and how she saw her train going away leaving her.
Anyway I asked her whether she was travelling alone for the first time. She said yes. Asked where she wants to go. It turned out that she can get her train on the next station. I suggested she can board the next train, my train. We discussed about the ticket checking as there was very little time for buying tickets.
We started talking. She asked where do I study. The most common question asked. I said I have completed my studies already. I asked about her. She's in 1st year Comp science engineering, studying in Durgapur. Okay so some more questions, then the question I hate the most. What do I do? I hate it because I m currently out of college, and m not in job. M making a website which few people know and that too all alone. When you say doing something alone, you are not doing anything, they see you as if you can't even get a free lance job for living. Making website is not a rocket science and anyone can make one, its just the quality that matters. Anyway I thought I m getting a chance to publicize writerbabu so I said that m making a website. She asked something about job and I said I left job to start this website. She had a look on her face saying "are you kidding me? who leaves a job ... or something.." . She immediately asked where have you studied from? Maybe my courage to leave a job for my own thing triggered this question in her mind. I knew exactly what reaction I might get after telling her that I studied from IIT Delhi. And I was right. She expressed appropriate excitement. She claimed to have seen absolutely no IITian in her life before. I had no other option other than agreeing with her. She asked if chetan bhagat described IIT life truly or its just a 'myth'. I said there's much more than whats written, anyway the story is a decade old. She explained further how half heartily she wrote the IIT JEE exam and something like that.
Train came we ran up till the end of the train to find the general boggie. It was jam packed. I asked her to get in somehow n I'll hang out on the door. Anyway there was not much space so we both had to place our feet near door only.
I asked her email so that I could send her an invite for writerbabu, suddenly realizing I have yet not asked her name. She asked my name so that she could add me on facebook. She told me that she is not Bengali. I pointed out this similarity too. She also told me that her dad is some commissioner. It was not necessary but it justified in my mind her non hesitant style of talking(to a stranger). She got down on the next station (...next junction). We said bye with a handshake.
I continued my journey...
