“ Baby doll main sone di”. The song playing on my mobile FM
had taken me into a totally different world with Sunny Leone and a big smile
was beginning to form when I was brutally brought back to reality which was far from amusing. I was hit on
the back with a huge bag by a running figure . I found myself struggling hard against gravity to avoid an
embarrassment of lying flat on the ground on one of the busiest Metro stations
of Delhi. With so many female passersby, falling flat on the ground was never
an option for me. I tried hard and finally managed to get my stature back but had
lost my composure by then. I looked back
to find the culprit. He was by then making a desperate leap into the train
compartment hitting another gentleman on the way. I cursed under my breath, a
little louder than I had expected. (which
I realized when I had to bear a disgusted stare from the girl passing by). I
moved rather cautiously avoiding a recurrence and joined the queue waiting
nonchalantly for the next train.
I was still about to overcome the push fiasco when I found a
smart soul standing next to me. “How come!!” , I wondered. This was a queue and
you are supposed to me behind me not next to me. I kept quiet but had my eyes on
him. He was beginning to get onto my already infuriated nerves. As the train
approached and a wave of people came out, this over smart individual was
beginning to make his moves. He went past me brushing his shoulders against
mine. On a normal day, I wouldn’t have paid attention. But not today. I tapped
on his shoulder and gave him an interrogating look. He looked back and
conveniently ignored. I had decided not to
let this man get past me. I raced ahead and almost elbowed him to block his way.
With little effort and my not- so-modest build, I managed to race past him and
found myself staring lusciously at a vacant seat which was a rare sight at this
hour of the day. And then again, I was left shattered. I was brutally brushed
aside by the same so called “gentle”man and was left staring at him sporting a
victorious smile. I felt like grabbing him by collar and giving him a tight
slap. But somehow logic prevailed, and logically it was a seat which was open
for anyone to occupy and he did it. Damn this logic, I screamed. Why? Why
should only I be following the logic.
As the train sped past the station, rage made way for
concerns. I leaned against the steel rod, was no longer joyed or soothed by the
music playing on my mobile FM. I was disturbed, obviously for not getting a
seat after a bad day in office (That’s a
long story, will cover in another post) when I was close to having it, but
also for a deeper reason. It was the way people were behaving to have just one
seat. No rules. No order. Women & kids were being pushed aside brutally. And
just for a seat! And then a deeper question bothered me. While majority of the
people do follow the rules and queue up, there was a sizeable no of
outliers. “Why don’t we queue up”. Was this a manifestation of a deep rooted thinking
of our society- Indifference to rights
of others. Or it was just a simple game of demand and supply mismatch. I couldn't figure out.
I walked out of the
metro station , deep in thoughts when my phone rang. “Sir, I am calling from
Hyundai showroom. You had enquired for a car”. The call made me relax a bit. The
thought that I would be out of this ordeal in a few days from now was definitely
soothing.But my heart still went out for the common man who has no option but
to deal with this daily trauma (Apart from the boss in office and wife in home
:P).
And then I was home.
I opened up the refrigerator and within minutes found myself placed comfortably
on my sofa with my legs luxuriously placed on the table and a chilled beer can
in my hand. And no signs of a boss or wife. Life couldn’t have been better. Except
for the fact that there were 4 more days left in the week before a Saturday
dawned upon my destiny. Sigh. Ah, as for the concerns, the beer has taken
care for today. Let’s see for how long !!!
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