You know what, there is this song. Five Hundred Miles. I heard it for the first time in this incredible movie about a musician’s life- Inside Llewyn Davis. And you might also have heard it or a similar tune in a Hindi song- Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaye. Well the original song dates back to the 1960’s and is also known as the Railroaders’ Lament. Sorry, I digress. Anyway, coming back to the song and its lyrics – “If you miss the train I’m on, you will know that I’m gone, you can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles”. So, trains. Yes, trains and whistles, friends and families, journeys and memories. There are lots and lots of them, at least for me in that not too long distant past. How about you?
So when you board a train, there is always something that’s going on that will catch your attention. There is always chaos and disorder, but then I guess I never minded it then. In fact I miss them now, everytime I board a flight these days. If not on trains, then where else would you find any of these. Loud conversations among strangers turned into almost friends. Hawkers jostling for space in the narrow corridors. Passengers trying to fit in the fattest luggage bags into the tiniest spaces under the seats. Train ticket examiners in trademark black and white uniform. Wayward children, in fact gymnasts practising for the Olympics. And then there would be these lost souls on lower side berth seats. Lost in the world of books they are reading, like me. Maybe a travelogue like ‘In a land away from home’. And staring out the window from time to time. Maybe you have noticed them, have you?
Your train slows down as it approaches a station. That’s what you think. But it has stopped in the middle of nowhere, well not exactly. There are green fields on both sides of the track. And there are a few unplastered and unpainted houses in the distance. Also there is this playground where children are busy batting, bowling and fielding. Your train stutters back into motion. One of the youngest kids waves at the train and shouts with joy. Her friends join in. And you can’t help but wave back at them, you are all smiles. You rush to the door. They are still at it, waving as the last of the train coaches passes them by. You think, maybe there is a future cricketing great among them, a Shafali Verma or a Jhulan Goswami. You stand there alone, feeling the wind in your hair and not a care in this world. It is these fleeting moments of joy during train journeys that I hold dear. What about you?
