Teen number Railway crossing Shalimar

 "So what do you want from me ?" It was more of a desperate declaration than a question  . It was loud enough for neighbours to turn their heads . A lovers' fight was in progress . At a very wrong place and time . 

The  burqa clad female companion  , just turned her head away , loathe to start a scene here .

The tution boy on his scooter , revved up his bike again . 

The daily wage earner , held  his bicycle and shook his head at the impatience of the young lad next to him . 

A young couple whispered something to each other in the dark and smiled . 

A saree clad lady was talking loudly on phone " No , we are stuck here in between two trains no !! I can't tell you what to cook right now . Just wash a bowl of toor dal and put it in the cooker with three bowls of water . Close the lid and wait for four whistles . After that switch the gas off . " 

"What ? Yes , you may watch the TV . " 
"Wait , did you dry the bathroom floor after your bath ." 

She held the hand of a young girl about , eight years old . The poor girl was spun round and round , as her mom dealt with someone else ( possibly another child ) at home . Not that there was lot of room to spin around . 

We were standing in the narrow safe space  between the second and the third railway tracks on a railway crossing .  There are five railway lines .

This railway crossing close to my parents' house , had become very busy of late . How busy I was just about to discover . Apparently there is a flyover , which is open only to the heavy traffic . The small rickshaws  and totos refuse to cross the railway crossing . 

There was a gap when the train on line one thundered past . So , all the waiting pedestrians quickly entered the no man's land to realise their exit was cut off by an infinitely long goods' train . We all turned in unison , to retrace our steps back , only to have our entry cut off by another passenger train , Gorakhpur express , which thundered in from the opposite end , and decided to keep sitting there , looming above us , dark and empty . 

Darkness had fallen , street lamps had come on , the hub bub of the bazaars on the either side could be heard not seen . We were sandwiched between two dark , looming and monstrous trains . Seen from a level height ( outside the railway platforms ) , I realised , trains could be highly intimidating . 

They were hostile , giant caterpillars made of iron . We were just tiny bugs on the wayside . 

Then the whistle sounded , A piercing whistle of doom . We all scrambled to look for a train free strip of land . The tution boy on the scooter , did lot of forward and backward movement to manoeuvre himself , still stubbornly astride his pulsating vehicle , much to the chagrin of the rest of us . He almost wheeled onto the burqa hem of the lady and earned a rebuke from the daily wage earner , who was quieter and more masterly with his rusted bicycle . The burqa lady's husband suddenly went sprinting towards the end of the Line . The burqa lady tried to follow him . Failing that , she tried to slow him " Arre suniye to" !! That too fell on deaf ears . She took one look at the train thundering towards us , and another at the blackness on either side of the railway lines , and decided to retreat to the safety of the small crowd . 

The Tata -jamshedpur chair car express , was full of passengers , brightly lit from inside . Squares of hopeful yellow lights fell on us , as it too , rattled past , totally ignoring us , a small group of people on the wrong side of a railway crossing . 

As the noise of Tata express died down , we began to realise that it might be a long wait before the two trains may move . 

The daily wage earner along with another companion of his , decided to walk the full length of the goods train and cross it from the front of the engine , emerging on the other , very dark and narrow pathway between the protective fence put up by the Railways , and the train . It was a very long walk , and I started to follow them , but quickly gave up , seeing that night had already fallen on those lonesome , woody areas , and they were notorious for crimes .

The amorous teenaged couple daringly went to the bit joining the two carriages of the goods train . The boy leapt up and sat on the rear part of one carriage and extended his hand to the girl . Upon catching , the girl tried to jump and she couldn't clear the height , so she hung like a limp rag at the end of the boys' firm grip . He pulled her up after few failed attempts , and they finally jumped to the other side . 

The burqa lady had removed her face cover and was staring anxiously at the line where her husband had run off to ,and disappeared from . Soon , she got a call , confirming that he had crossed the flyover and was waiting for her at the bazaar on the other end , beyond the goods' train . 

Now , she too , was in a hurry to cross . Finally , the saree clad lady , burqa lady and me , started walking towards the Gorakhpur express . After walking for some distance on the sharp edged pebbles that line the railway tracks , we came to a carriage which had its doors open , on either side , creating a conduit of sorts , in the dark . It was very risky , as the train could move any moment . 

We had seen some people from the goods' train end climb over and out of this carriage door . It was our only chance . The little girl , her saree clad mother , and the burqa lady , all climbed up ahead of me . Any mere  shuddering of the train and we would be shrugged off like fleas. My heart was thudding as I climbed roughly 6 feet up in the air , hauling myself up with the long handlebars and praying very hard . 

When you cross the inside of an empty dark train , it is advisable not to linger in the passageways or peer in the dark either. You never know what or who might jump out on you. A railway worker accusing you of trespassing or theft , a lone mangy dog , or a trespasser himself , clearing the competition. 

Once , safely on the other side of the train carriage , I stood at the door , hesitating for a fraction of the second . Others had already jumped down and were now walking away from the train . I cursed my flab and the lack of exercise . Then I leaned out and called the last person in the group . He was tall and walked sluggishly around , dragging his feet . Probably , a habitual drunk or a druggie . But he talked endlessly , and had helped the little girl down , I saw that . I called out to him to help me down too . I just wanted someone to be there . He understood , and returned , standing there on the sharp pebbled embankment , looking up , swaying like a reed in hurricane . It was very dark , a perilous place , and he was the only person who waited for me . 

It made me believe in the ways of the Lord . Of unusual companions on the path of life . Of finding goodness in the unlikeliest of places . 

He kept up his trademark commentary .

" Turn around ,will you . Take a good look at the rungs . Now , be slow . Why the heck they have to park trains like this ? Making life miserable for us . Where do you live ? Are you going home ?  Now , now . You can let go of the handlebar . It is so dark . Sheesh !! whatever happened to the government and it's promises for the poor ." 

He kept blathering . Blowing spit into the dark evening air , that smelt of burnt tire , smoke and fried eggs from the food vendors not far away . I thanked him . He hung around . Concerned . I told him I wanted to go to the Mall. 

" Oh The Mall !! Then why did you get down this side ? Mall is on the other side . You should have clambered over the goods train . Come on , let's go back . I'll help you . " 

I had enough  adventure for one day . So , I decided to skip. Besides , I had come to my parents' home for a day . Very soon , my worried father would start calling me . 

So I thanked him , and proceeded back home . True enough , the phone beeped the moment I stepped into the nineteenth century lift . "Baba calling ".