A stranger

While you travel, at times you will get acquainted with people whom you won’t forget for a long time. I too made such acquaintances while I traveled. I think one of them is worth mentioning, a B'lore walla I met here in Kerala.

The IPL second edition was in its final stages. I personally didn’t follow any team for rarely did I get a chance to watch a match. I was being updated with match details by my friends.
That day I was having a journey to Trivandrum from Ernakulam. I don’t remember which train it was, but do remember that I got into a sleeper compartment with a general ticket as the train was about to leave. I was waiting near the foot board to get down in the next station to get back to general compartment

A person was sitting at the foot board enjoying the sceneries outside having a chat over his phone in his mother tongue (not Malayalam), suddenly made a triumphant action. I heard him mentioning Dravid at some point. Only then did I understand that it was regarding IPL. I knew that royal Challengers had a match that night, asked him if they won he said yes and a conversation started. It went on and talk was finally regarding our career and job. I said I’m an engineer!! working in a private company in Ernakulam. There was a startled look on my face when he said he is a Doctor preparing for his MD.

He saw that and asked “Don’t I look like a doctor?”

“No. As a matter of fact I didn’t expect you to be one.”

“Why?”

I couldn’t imagine a doctor to be a one with a cleanly shaved head traveling on the foot board of a train.

Hmmm.. We are also humans right?

I guess it is time to change my views.

I like to take risks in my life and I enjoy traveling like this.

Won’t you feel sleepy?

No I don’t sleep while traveling

.
I gave him free lecture on the danger of sitting on the foot board. My parents give me tons of advices on such things each time I make a train journey, so it wasn’t difficult for me to give a lecture myself (now a days I let them know about my journeys only when it is over). He merely smiled.

The talk continued and the train was approaching Kottayam. He suggested that I don’t have to go back to general compartment. He got down in Kottayam and I found an unoccupied upper berth keeping in mind that I don’t have an excuse to say if a TTE appears before me. But luckily no one came and I reached Trivandrum in the morning. I don’t know what paid off in the end, the risk I have taken like he said or the little fortune what we call beginners luck.

I don’t remember his name now, you won’t blame me for that if you know me well enough. But it really was a nice experience meeting him.