Train arrived at the station on time. It came late only on few occasion, since I started my journey to my working place. Almost all people from kannur, Tellicherry and Vatakara, who are working in Calicut city and its suburbs heavily depends on this train. It starts its journey four O’clock in the morning and end at six O’ clock in the evening. It covers almost all districts in Kerala. We usually travel in second compartment from engine. While considering other compartments it has not much rush. Besides this, this compartment stops out of the platform and we can avoid rush from the next station. Recently other passengers came to know this secret and started traveling in this compartment.
“Come fast, there is seat”. My friend said. The train was about to stop. I wondered. Is there seat? I rushed in to the compartment, but couldn’t reach that place. Then how a seat vacant there, I thought. “A man’s dead body is there”, a passenger said. “Come, let us see who is that” my friend said. We reached there in between the passengers who were standing. The compartment was filled with passengers as usual, only that seat was empty except that old man’s body. The half part of the body was lying on seat and the rest was on the floor. There was no shirt on the body; a piece of cloth covered his nakedness. He was a wandering man. No one in the compartment was listening; all were engaged in their activities.
Death is certain, when it happens. The distance between life and death is how much? All are uncertain. All people know all are to die, but never think of their own death. Passengers around the body were not bothered about the old man’s death, because he was a stranger and also a nomad. But bother, if it happens to somebody who is very close.
He might be roaming for so many years, he might be a son, or he might be a father. But today he was alone. Nobody was there to weep on his death, his body was lying there as a strange dead- body.
In the opposite seat six passengers were traveling. Among them two young hearts, they usually travel in that compartment, were not in the world. They were unaware of the old man’s death, they might be thinking of eternity, eternity of love. A passenger next to the lovers deeply involved in reading a book. It seems that he had to gain little more knowledge before his turn. The things that you have gained in your life may not go with you in to the grave, but knowledge, it will. A passenger on berth was in deep sleep, he did not even know the death of old man under his berth. Sleep is just like death, which helps every one to get out from worries for a little while.
The soul of old man might be laughing at the passengers. “You lively people, you are the unluckiest in the world, because you have life”.
Train reached at the Calicut station. The body was taken out from the compartment, and a doctor who waited there confirmed the death. After the usual formalities, police had taken the lifeless body of that old man to the medical college hospital. Train continued its journey, carrying the unluckiest to reach the destination.
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Wednesday, July 16, 2008
FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL
She was only three and seven month age. When she was about two and half, I used to tell her about the school where she is going to study. She heard everything very interestingly and commented so many things. I often thought about my daughter, what she would be doing at school. Should she sit in the class till the school time, or should she show any laziness for going to school. I hope all the things will go smoothly and she will become a good girl in the school.
Once she saw an advertisement of a mobile phone company on television, in which a dog is helping a girl by bringing her socks before going to school. She asked me to have a dog of that kind for her. I told her that I would buy such a dog for her when she going school. She repeated the same thing when ever she watches that advertisement.
The school will open on second June, but the admission starts two months earlier. On first week of April my wife and I, with my daughter went to school for admission. We all went to school on foot. The school was not far from my house; besides this I wanted my wife to study the route to school. On the way my daughter asked so many things about school. She walked all the way from home to school without showing any tiredness.
Day before opening the school I felt some kind unhappiness from my daughter’s speeches and behavior. But she never told that she would not go to school. She asked only for that ‘little dog’. On the very special day morning she woke up early. I brushed her little teeth, grand mother bathed her and I dressed her in the school uniform. My mother, wife and I went to school with my daughter. The school is one of the bests in our town. “What is the name?” asked the teacher. I showed the admission card and said “Mallika”. My daughter’s class was LKG-A, we all went to the class room, teacher took her to the class room and gave her a seat. I felt that she was not happy. Her smartness has gone some where. She sat on the chair putting her head down. Almost all children in the class room were crying. We waited outside; she was sitting in the same manner. The atmosphere in the school was filled with the cry of little children.
After a few minute I went to the class room. When she saw me, she came running to me. I felt that her little heart was not enough to bear the situation. We all insisted her with good word to sit in the class room, but all in vain. Finally teacher put some energy and took her to the class room, and asked us to go outside. She was crying very loudly. I could hear her cry separately among other children. My heart hurt by the thought of my daughter. What would be she thinking now, does she think her father and mother left her alone. When such thoughts were going through my mind I saw my daughter, running out from the class room, and a teacher ran after her and caught her at the school ground.
After some time I peeped inside the class room to see what my daughter is doing. She was not crying loudly, but weeping, she was tired. Teacher said to me “if you want to take her home, you can, but only today. Tomorrow onwards she has to sit here until the school time”.
Then we all went back home. On the way I was thinking what would be the next day.
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Once she saw an advertisement of a mobile phone company on television, in which a dog is helping a girl by bringing her socks before going to school. She asked me to have a dog of that kind for her. I told her that I would buy such a dog for her when she going school. She repeated the same thing when ever she watches that advertisement.
The school will open on second June, but the admission starts two months earlier. On first week of April my wife and I, with my daughter went to school for admission. We all went to school on foot. The school was not far from my house; besides this I wanted my wife to study the route to school. On the way my daughter asked so many things about school. She walked all the way from home to school without showing any tiredness.
Day before opening the school I felt some kind unhappiness from my daughter’s speeches and behavior. But she never told that she would not go to school. She asked only for that ‘little dog’. On the very special day morning she woke up early. I brushed her little teeth, grand mother bathed her and I dressed her in the school uniform. My mother, wife and I went to school with my daughter. The school is one of the bests in our town. “What is the name?” asked the teacher. I showed the admission card and said “Mallika”. My daughter’s class was LKG-A, we all went to the class room, teacher took her to the class room and gave her a seat. I felt that she was not happy. Her smartness has gone some where. She sat on the chair putting her head down. Almost all children in the class room were crying. We waited outside; she was sitting in the same manner. The atmosphere in the school was filled with the cry of little children.
After a few minute I went to the class room. When she saw me, she came running to me. I felt that her little heart was not enough to bear the situation. We all insisted her with good word to sit in the class room, but all in vain. Finally teacher put some energy and took her to the class room, and asked us to go outside. She was crying very loudly. I could hear her cry separately among other children. My heart hurt by the thought of my daughter. What would be she thinking now, does she think her father and mother left her alone. When such thoughts were going through my mind I saw my daughter, running out from the class room, and a teacher ran after her and caught her at the school ground.
After some time I peeped inside the class room to see what my daughter is doing. She was not crying loudly, but weeping, she was tired. Teacher said to me “if you want to take her home, you can, but only today. Tomorrow onwards she has to sit here until the school time”.
Then we all went back home. On the way I was thinking what would be the next day.
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