A Train of Thoughts

    The Guruvayoor passenger arrived at the Edappally station exactly at 06.15 hrs.There were not many people waiting on the platform.The train was almost full when it arrived.I didn't bother to get into the ladies' compartment. One gets to see a variety of interesting passengers in the other compartments and I preferred to travel in their company. An old man shifted slightly  and offered me a little space next to him. .I ignored , and seated myself between two ladies. I now had a good view of this man .Seated next to me was a middle aged lady, who was going to Guruvayoor and was chanting something from her prayer book .On my right was a young girl who was talking into her mobile phone. She had her mouth covered with her hand, channeling her voice straight into the phone without littering a sound. And no matter how hard I tried I couldn't hear a thing. Now and then I saw her smiling and blushing.Near the window was seated a young man .The tuft of hair in the front was puffed up giving him the Tintin look. He was gazing out of the window and was singing Rafi's 'Chaudvin ka chand'.After every line he paused to say "wah wah!' Was he appreciating the lyrics of the song or was he 'wah wah'ing his own singing talent? May be he was visualising the beauty Waheeda Rehman or his own lady love. He crooned,unaware of the others in the compartment.Near the other window was another fellow fast asleep. His hair on the left was too long ,I noticed ... It fell on his shoulder but surprisingly on the right the hair was short. the middle of his head was bald.I wondered why he kept his hair in this manner . My doubts were cleared just before the train reached Alwaye.The man woke up,flicked a comb from his pocket,combed his hair on the left carefully to the right, Now his bald pate was well covered .He flashed a smile and got ready to alight.
I shifted my attention to the old man again who had offered me place to sit.He was snoozing ,with his head thrown back and mouth open. His eyes were half closed and for a moment I thought he was feigning sleep. A young boy,who had with his mother boarded from Alwaye, managed to fit himself into that little space the sleeping man had offered me .Minutes later the sleeping man woke up and gave a long stare at the boy who stared back boldly. I admired the little fellow.His mother had also got a seat for herself and asked  the boy to sit next to her . He happily snuggled close to his mom,covering his legs with the edge of the lady's sari and soon fell asleep too. The weather outside was such that anybody would feel comfy inside the train and the rocking so gentle that one would want to sleep. I stopped looking at the people now and shifted my attention to the outside world . The view outside was beautiful.. The dark clouds loomed large and had a very conspicous silver lining. My mind ascended the clouds and I was soon building castles in the air.... The train jerked to a stop and I was thrown back to reality.I realised my destinaion was near , most of my co passengers had already alighted at the previous stations and I had not even noticed.The train halted again at Punkunnam and I descended  from the train not very happy but  with a decision to make a longer train journey soon. 
I love travelling by train , observing people while doing so , doing a character study of them , also watching the views outside , seeing the trees and fields run by . It makes me understand the nuances of life and helps me grow emotionally .