A journey with 12 rupees

It was an usual day,similar,common,simple.....
I checked my ticket,a faded numbers depicting 22/12/2013 was mentioned. I folded the ticket and kept in my wallet.

12802 Magadh express  date-22-12-2013 dep. Time-7:58
               NDLS---------------MZP
Shubham mishra 19 -UB
Abhishek Srivastava 20 - LB

"Where is the matchbox?" Shubham who was just resting on the wall asked.

Shubham,from my hometown,met in kanpur,took a college in same city where i was,noida. He may sound selfish but he wasn't,in fact he would grab the gangajal from a dying person,if he felt thirsty,although he never did so,but i bet he can,he is the character from those books who were the best sellout,or say 'the monk who sold his girlfriend'. Friends are such,silly selfish annoying but friends are friends,you can relay on them. So was he "asshole" but reliable , funny but annoying, harami but emotional.

Clocked stroked 4:23pm,"Are done with your cigarettes now??" Angrily threw those words,he said "no,want to smoke till the end of my life,this is mine 67th one",yeah!!! he would count each cigarette he smoked,i don't know why,may be to calculate his decreasing lifetime. "You are going to die soon" i murmured, "What you will get in being alive"-he spoke looking at the smoke he exhaled at ceiling. Impressive!!! heard it every time i recommended not to smoke. Every smoker has a same thing to say.,where these guys get the same line to convince a non smoker that he is not worth living on this planet.

It was a around 6pm when he was about to leave station with me to board our train for hometown. I recommended him to wait for a while and then leave directly to Noida city centre so that we could get in metro with our luggage's and could manage a seat. I had no money on that day expect a ten rupee note and 2 rupees coin. But i don't had to worry as i had Shubham along with me,a reliable friend. We had 3 trolleys and a travellers bag in total. We hired an auto,pulled our luggage's inside and in meantime there was no looking back. Boarding a train is always a different experience,whether you do it hundred times,each time its different. It was smooth riding until our eyes stuck at the mobile clock,it was already 6:43,Shubham impatiently "we gonna loose the train",i being the optimistic at the most panic time of that day,calmly pitched my voice "We are on time,don't worry",it was similarly like giving hope to a person to has been suffering from HIV.

Every time the auto would stop at the red signals,our eyes would stuck at the timer,each time counting like its going to be a new year...3...2.....1....0.....happy new year!!! burrrrrr burrrrr....pee peep..

I had already started humming the hanuman chalisa. I know there was only one man who could take us out,the great Indian superhero and body builder Hanuman ji. I always had a induction that somehow we gonna catch the train,but the situation was very clear on shubham face. On the way to NDLS i received a call from Sanjit,asking to somehow recharge his phone,although i didn't had money but i had my ambani friend with me. I assured him and kept the phone, Sanjeet- the cameo role in my story,a bilaspuria boy with the coolest unmatchable attitude any of the Delhi boy could have. He is so cool that whirphool offered him to be his Brand Ambassador but due to his family crises he  endorsed Durex. He was my roommate too,who was on his vacation.

Shubham on the other hand took out the Marlboro packet lit a cigarette, took a puff and broke his silence "Still there is 29 minutes left",it was the most classy way to starve your patient but it wasn't the right time. "Bhagao yr bhaiya",i freaked out at auto driver.

"If this train would take 20 minutes to reach at Rajiv chawk we would still have 3 minutes to reach new Delhi and rest is our faith" calmly spoken lines from the mouth of shubham,the air cooled metro made him calm i guess. We both were standing in the metro while holding the rod,the stupidest decision ever claimed by me. I could understand how angry he would be at this very moment.  "No matter if we loose our train,we had suffered worse than this" i replied.
"This time its different yaar",he responded angrily.

Such reaction makes your journey even worse when you are about to loose a train with almost no money in your pocket. I seized my mouth and kept looking at the red light indicators of blue line map(a line made inside the metro with number of station mark on it and red light blinks if the train had already covered those station and green light for the next arriving station).

The train had stopped at Yamuna bank for more than 2 minutes for unknown reason,that two minutes were just like the distance between matter of death and life,u only know the value of time when you are about to loose it. I could still see the battle between shubham's impatience and anger in his eyes,but somehow he had managed to keep himself calm. I know somewhere in his mind he would have blown a tank on me. 

'You guys are pissed off now' my heart skipped a beat,a tall man aged between 25-30 has given a cold water stream on us,waiting for us since 6 pm, shubham's sibling almost gave a thunderbolt. 'Quick now' as he grabbed the bag from shubham while i had mine on back and a heavy suitcase of him. We had  swiftly dorged 3 metro station in another 10 minutes and managed to escape from rajiv chawk and board a train of jahangir puri,just to please our destination NDLS.  

I was exhausted,it was not at all easy to rush to catch magadh express for me with this two heavy enemies in my hand. While i was busy in maintaining the chemistry between my breath and my beats,which were as high as two bottle down,i got a glimpse of shubham running over the stairs skipping the security system,he was quick!!! For unknown reason and a fear of cop,i placed his suitcase on the moving panel of luggage checking system. Till them shubham and his sibling had vanished from my eyesight. I could hardly recognise any of the faces in those mega crowd of passengers. 

'The machine had stopped,who's suitcase is this??' I travelled back 2 minutes from my philosophical world. 'Mine' i said,breathing heavily. 'Get inside,and pull it out' he ordered. A sudden rush of anger flowed through my veins,if i wasn't stuck so hard in this situation i would have never done it. It wasn't my job. For what reason then you guys are paid for,just to wave that metal detector like cheers leader do. With storm in eyes,aggression in blood and head still high i took out the suitcase and climbed those 40 stairs. 

I called shubham on reaching the pool that had stairs directing downwards to platform,he didn't pick. I tried several time,every ring unanswered has enhanced my temper,frustration and insecurities. I didn't had any idea on which platform my dream train would arive. I don't want to miss it,of course who will if you had such a hard journey just to start another one. God can never be unfair,i know he had something in his plans for me,it was not just a matter of missing train a matter of suffering,trust,pain,frustration,friendship and commitment,that's all i could summarise.

I caught a man with red shirt probably the coolie and asked him about the magadh arival 'The train departed',he pitched. The hushed atmosphere on the pool got silent, everyone seemed to be paused and the only words that echoed, striking my eardrum were his. Soon the storm in eyes transformed to tears,aggression in blood had gone frozen,but the head didn't moved,still high. Soon i found shubham,not on the pool but on the phone,his name flashes on my phone,blurry images through my teary eyes. Atleast i am not the one left alone here,shubham is there to accompany me we could sort it out,we have done it earlier. Wiping my eyes,i picked up call 'where are you asshole?' i screamed in pain of loneliness, he answered ' i am on the train',will wait for you at aligarh as train doesn't stops at Ghaziabad'.

It was the time to move the head now,head was no more high,eyes got more wet,heart sank into the ocean of helplessness,hopelessness and loneliness.

'How could he even do it,it was i who carried all his luggage throughout the journey which was the reason i got late on reaching the platform,he could  have wait for me. How can he even climb those running coaches without thinking of me,is this what type of bond we share.

'Thats good!!!,happy jouney' i said and kept the phone. Tears in eyes,freezed blood,loosing breath and pounding heart with double velocity and 12 rupee in pocket. There i was,standing in between the wars of time,moments and friendship,alone!!!

I called my two classmates for lending me some money so that i could at least manage to make my way to home. But none of them responded, a friend in need is friend indeed,that's what i have been all my life. I didn't had a friend who could face all trouble to let me get out of this situation. 

I stared at that bloody suitcase who had made me to fall in this loneliness,i feel like leaving it there itself,i would have imagined myself stabbing several strokes of sword inside it,or would set  fire  till i am tired with the big Osama gun. 'You bastard!!! You yes,you fat man or women i don't care,who you are,now you have made me to stuck in this moment just take me out of it anyway or else i will sell you to someone who gonna rip every clothes you bear and will throw you naked aside of this shitty railway track!!! Are you getting me bastard!!! Mark my words i gonna leave you naked here!!!'

'I couldn't manage to deliver the luggage as shubham was quick and the train was quicker'-a voice followed me from behind,i wasn't finished hammering the suitcase,i noticed his sibling was beside me with another suitcase,it was like the suitcase has called his companion to scold me up,it was similar like KARAN ARJUN movie,my anger was on the peak while a blank expression on my face. It means shubham was on train without any luggage,what easier life than this he could hope for,bloody asshole!!!

'Mummy' name flashed on my screen,while i was downstairs on platform waiting for any other train to board,i picked up the phone 'i missed the train' i said. 'how? When? Why? The fundamental question of every mother started bombarding me,'where is shubham?' Mom asked. 'On the train'i replied. I know what she might be thinking right now. 'My son is ditched by his friend' with another ten questions she bombarded on me. 'I have missed my train,i am left with no money,and please stop asking anything further or i will broke into tears now' i screamed. Mom said nothing and kept the phone. The phone beeped once and a recharge of 50 rupees was done. I smiled for a while,mom will always do what she can. She wasn't aware of Internet and banking else she would have top upped my bank account too. I sat on the luggage that were wrapped with brown clothes,lying on the platform waiting for their train as i was. Suddenly the atmoshphere turned black,i could see nothing,tears rolled from my eyes and i broke up. The atmosphere was such as The Lord krishna would appear with a bright light,killing this dark phase of my life and will pull me through a way and will guide me. The surrounding remain the same,there was no sign of lord Krishna nor Goddess Lakshmi. If both had appeared at same time i would have choosen goddes Lakshmi over lord Krishna,because the time you are not capable of,there is no chance of applying knowledge of Gita,but money is what that makes you capable. On that fine note i realised the importance of money in life,money can buy happiness sometime,it can buy self confidence and most importantly it can buy a ticket of sleeper class from NDLS to MZP. 

'I have concerned my uncle,the Sampark Kranti will depart in an hour,you could board that,later change it from Allahabad' sibling said,i could see the concern in his eyes,or he knew how fucked up i was. 'I will catch Prayag Raj,if shubham calls tell him to catch me in Allahabad as i don't have any money to pay coolie to shift these two heavy suitcase to another platform to catch another train',just tell him if he rings you' a mix of emotion and anger he smelled in my words.

'You even don't have money to buy General class ticket?? How will you manage??' He asked. 'I don't know,i will find a way' i answered. He took out his wallet and offered me those 30 rupees he possessed, may be the money he saved to head way back to home after dropping us. My heart melted,a soft corner for that unknown guy bloomed. A man who has so much less to keep,yet surrenders you everything in a moment,without thinking of his way back to home,i have heard it right 'poor people are more generous than any other humans on this planet'. I could see the Lord Krishna in him at that particular moment. 'I can't take it,i have 12 rupees if those count nothing at this moment,nor your 30 will make a difference,i am sorry if i take it you will be in the same situation as i am,and even metro's don't have General Class,lets make sure one of us reaches home' i joked. He smiled and helped me to transport those heavy suitcase on platform 16 where Prayag Raj was standing,i lifted one of them and climbed on general class followed by another suitcase he placed. 'The train will depart in half an hour,u should leave..' i was about to finish when my phone rang. Expected,it was Shubham. 'I will wait for you in aligarh' he said in soft tone, 'Dont' i exclaimed. 'Look i am sorry,i tried pulling the chain,but it wasn't working,i gave my bag to an old man,and told him when i jumped throw it but i couldn't gather the guts to jump'. 'Whatever' i replied. 'Dont wait for me,meet me in Allahabad,take your suitcase and go wherever you want,I'll find my way' i said with anger,pride,and a broken friendship bond. 

In a mild diminishing time,my lord krishna disappeared giving me a smile and good luck wish. I wished the same for him,he did nothing so incredible for me but he taught me generosity and spirit to fight the situation,thats what lord Krishna always does for Arjun. I had no quality to fit into the suits of Arjun,but at that point,a spirit was fare enough to fight the battle of Kurushetra.

I closed the gate,locked it up and sat behind the suitcase. The train gave the signal,the wheels turned over the iron bars,with the horn sound similar to those trumpet used in the battle of Kurushtra,' With the rise of the moon over this pitch dark night,roaring sound of train,we begins the wars' said an imaginary warrior inside my head.

A money-less,hopeless and hungry young man was on his way,the chilling wind from half open window at the gates constantly reminded me of existence,the hunger reminded me of my misery,Magadh express reminded me of my worse sense of decision making. 'Shut that shutter down,its getting cold now' said a man who was right in front of me,a almost 5' 2" in height,wrapping blanket around him. Without uttering a word i dropped the shutter,the compartment felt silent,there was no wind and the musical sound of running train had diminished a bit. A no access to wind had saddened me,the inner consciousness of sustainability had settled down.

It was 10:13  now,the 2 hours of struggled moment had passed,the train stopped at Ghaziabad station,the door remain closed as none of passengers had to deboard here,the window shutter was uplifted,a minute moment of hope and brought a little curve of smile on my face,just as a ray of light is sufficient in the pitch dark night. '20 rs' the water bottle seller had informed a passenger beside me,the exhausting struggle with suitcase had reminded me the need of water now,i want it as my trophy but i had only 12 rupee,the no space in the compartment had checked me to even get out of the train and clench my thirst,even one has to struggle several hurdles of luggage and bunch of population to take a look of washroom,what should i do?should i bargain with him?? What people around will judge about me? If the seller refused to give it in 12 then? Its so embarrasing to be denied for just 8 rupees?or should i ask for that man who just bought it? Will he deny? He can ask me to buy one,then what? I cant do it?,the civilised cultured man inside me resisted from implementing any of those questions,the trumpet again roared,civilised men are the most suffered creatures, i realised.

The next station is Aligarh,three hours journey from here...

We had almost covered an hour journey and the temperature inside the crowded compartment was gradually falling. My body had started to shiver,i had nothing to cover myself,a full sleeve sweater wasn't enough. I had shrink ed myself up to the extent of my athletic ability. The chilling atmosphere inside gave me goosebumps. Everyone was covered with their blanket of own. Some had overcoat and some had shawls,i had none. The same guy who asked me about the belonging earlier noticed my shivering mouth,i could smell the essence of humbled spirit inside him,he open his wrapped blanked around his shoulder and got adjusted beside me offering me half of the blanket,poor people pursue the ultimate quality of generosity. I was moved to tears,the lord krishna had not disappeared he come in every aspects of life in a form of strangers,friends,enemies and parents. There were hundred of emotions that were flowing inside my head,i wanted to say it all to someone,especially to the guys who played the role of lord Krishna...

'Travelling is what that makes you realise what perspective is hidden behind your eyes and the mob. I am not the one to deliver some philosophical lines about life,travelling and stuck-in-situations,but if there will be time when you will be shattered,crushed under the pressure for fighting for your existence and then at that point in life you will realise,that there is someone who was always there throughout your journey to help you out,and that was none......'

'For your kind information train number 12418 Prayag raj express via kanpur to Allahabad has arrived on platform number 2'- the loud noise of the female voice artist has straved my sleep and journey to philosophical line which was left incomplete in my dreams. Next station kanpur i wonder,few hours more and i'll be more close to my destination. I followed a voice echoing on my left side- 'Yatrigan kripaya dhyaan dein,gaadi sankhya 12802 New delhi se chalkar via kanpur allahabad se hote huye gaya to jaane wali Magadh express platform number 3 pe khadi hai'- a electric waves travelled my vein within a millisecond,i can make it. Just exit from the left door and i am right on magadh S-5 coach,within no time i gripped one trolley bag and skipped the ten men body parts including heads,legs,bags and i was right on the stairs. 'You board the train i will pass the rest'-said the same humbled guy who offered me his blanket. 'Thanks'- i jumped and dragged the trolley too. 'poooooooonnnnnn'- the signal turned green from red,the wheels catched the slow rhythm, the iron bar scratched and my heart felt the pain. The Magadh had started its Journey,roaring the track with its trumpet sound of starting a war. War with my fate and my will. Will vs Fate,Try Vs Failed,Loss Vs Gain,and Missed Vs Catched. So i have missed the same train twice on same day, amazingly planned co incident. My eyes turned wet,i was still standing at the same place and could feel the pain when your loved one ditches you.....i turned my head right and i could only see a 'X' sign with the two red lights at the end of magadh last coach. Yes! That X implied that it was my Ex-train now and that reminded me that my commitment with Prayag Raj although the name sounded like Raj from DDLJ should not be compromised just because my Ex train left me. I turned around,and saw that humble guy standing,staring at me with my other bags in his hand. He passed me a smile,i did the same. 'It happens,train and girls wait for no man' he joked. I smiled broader, and gripped my hand on handle and climbed the stairs. Your Simran is back on train,take me away else 'Babuji kabhi nahi manenege Raj' chain of funny dialogue ecohed inside my head,bringing a light smile on my face,'Laughing on your black fate is the sign of great optimistic'- said the same man,while we were under the same blanket.

I have no money,i have missed the train twice,i am hungry,thirsty and shattered boy,who's mother is still waiting for his arrival while his friend is on his birth in magadh express. Some events in life are planned so well,that its hard to question their moral teachings. Yes,this jouney has thaught me how to travel without ticket when no T.T give a shot to check in General class,how to survive without food and water,when your thirst and hunger desire for more. A jouney that will make me strong enough and dare to travel without money,food,water and friend. It thaught me a need of relaiable friend,need of few humbled man and role of lord Krishna in your life. It made me to experience how it feels to get failed every time you try hard. Most importantly it thaught me the importance of money in life.- these taught were drilling my cerebrum while i was standing at the door,holding the handle and my head still high and mind was without fear,looking  the beautiful scenario of upcoming Allahabd station through greenery and infrastructure,crossing the iron bridge while the holy Ganges flow beneath, everything seems so calm through the heavy sound of iron pillars crossing through my gate. A sleep from Aligarh station upto the Naini  had made my journey alot easier thanks to the divine blanket,divine man who was standing along with me now and since i had started my journey. I turned my head and greeted him thank you. He passed me the smile which indicated that the journey is over,everything is fine now,the divine smile of divine fellow. 

Shubham calling... blinked on my screen. I picked up'i am on platform 6 waiting for your train'. I hanged out. My train slowly catched the platform,the speed started decelerating and frictional force with the iron wheels and iron rod gradually tighten up. I stepped out,with my bagpack on my back,my two hands were stick ed to the two trolley who had made me to fall and rise in this situation. The major characters of my memorable journey.While i was walking ahead,i noticed Shubham staring at me,biting his lips obviously to hide his laugh. This reminds me how battled and struggled life i live which make people laugh on me,i survive and still i win,thanks to you. If u would have not boarded the train i would have never experienced this flavour of life. 'Laugh you asshole'- i ordered him with mix feeling of seriousness and  emotions. 'Sorry'- he felt guilty. 'Its OK dude! This is life,you walk and life is simple,you run,you fall,you rise and you fall again you rise and emerge a winner,that's life. A wave of electrifying confidence filled in me. Such situation cannot question my friendship,a bond that blast in such pressure are no real. If this cannot apart us,none could. 

A five minutes chat and he described me his efforts to jump off the train, while handing his bag to old man who constantly forced him to jump of the train running at 60km/hr. The atmosphere lit up with out laughing sound,and everything seemed so perfect. While we walked up to a tea stall,'two cutting chai'-shubham ordered and took his wallet to pay him,while i checked his line of action and took out my wallet,took 10 rupee not,while Gandhi ji still smiles at me as he was at very initial stage when i was at New Delhi,he smiles in every situation whether you posses one note or thousand of him. While still 2rs coin innocently smiled at me. It was my award,and i deserve it. Sharing is joy! I exclaimed while handing him the one cutting chai. While the atmosphere fade out in our laugh.....

The journey is at ease form here.....