The train was slowly leaving the station while he was still running down the stairs as fast as he could. At the nick of the moment he managed to get one foot on board. And as the platform drifted away, he managed to make some place for himself inside the cabin, overhearing some words like ‘Abe first class hai’…
The train was crowded but there was enough space for Mushtaq’s feet. The man standing next to him was now looking at him disapprovingly. The glint of anger in his eyes made Mushtaq very uneasy. ‘Pata nahi kahan se first class mein chad jaate hain’ the angry bald man murmured to himself.
Mushtaq’s mind soon left the train’s first class cabin and moved faster than the fast train to reach his home. He was supposed to collect his passport today. Passport – the license needed to travel abroad. Away from this country. His country.
But he was soon pulled back to the present. The ticket checker had boarded the train, and he was just a couple of passengers away. The train was slowing down to halt at the next station. Just then another man, who was standing behind Mushtaq, whispered in his ears, ‘station aa gaya…chup chap utar kar agle dabbe mein chad ja… TC pakad lega to 200 rupaye ka fine to maarega…’
But before Mushtaq could react, the TC grabbed his hand and said. ‘Tere ko malum nahi hai ye first class ka dabba hai? Tum jaise logon ki wajah se humko bhi itni bheed mein train mein chadna padta hai… chal ab utar yahan aur bhagna mat…200 rupaye nikaal’
Without uttering a word, MUshtaq got down. As the train raced past after its hault, the TC said again, angrily, ‘Second class ka ticket hai ya wo bhi nahi hai?’
Mushtaq took out his wallet and showed it to him. The TC was startled at what he saw.
‘Tune andar kyun nahi bola tere paas first class ka pass hai?’
Mushtaq said innocently, ‘Baat pass ki nahi hai saab, shakal ki hai, Usse kaise badalta?’
Waise bhi aapne poocha nahi thha mujhse.’
Mushtaq boarded the next train to reach his home. To collect his passport and leave this country. His country.
4 comments:
this reminds me of the old sayin" dont judge a book by its cover"
and even if we do we must learn to respect it for whatever it is......
and what an irony.... ppl who are most respected by their country abandon it in the quest for earning money...and here is this man leaving his country for the lack of respect...
in skools history teachers go on and on about how the british racially abused us..discrminated against us
and what are we doing? pretty much the same..against our own country men..what a shame.
This post is a class apart champ.... it is in human nature to appreciate what is beautiful..what looks nice...discard whats not pleasing...form opinions based on what we see "first"...
We all need to strive to see beyond that first impression...its very difficult as it is against our natural instincts...but can be done ( theoritically speaking.. i myself cant do it) if we strive to see just a bit longer....just long enough for us to be able to see.
Abstract thoughts are dime-a-dozen in most of us. Concrete and focussed vocabulary is common among quite a few of us. A chosen few are bestowed with the requisite patience.
Now if only you could finetune the flow (frankly, I myself do not know how! It was just an observation) and add more flesh to your ideas by layering the prose, I think you would go places Sidd...
We need to get going soon sir.
No wonder you are such an inherently cheerful guy man. Observation of subtleties in human nature is a subject I could learn a lot from you about.
Absolutely marvellous piece of work. The best thing about this article is its narration, the simplicity with which the whole incident has been described..you could actually feel as if everything is happening in front of you.
Very thought-provoking.
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