Everyone has a story to tell; some express some don't

It's another Sunday today, but a bit more relaxed yet critically thoughtful. I spend normal weekends (when I get so much free time) watching movies. It's another such Weekend. Yesterday, I went to a movie theater with my wife on a local train in Mumbai. It was around 9 AM in the morning. It was the same crowd that you can expect in Mumbai; however, it would be much more if it would not be the Weekend. We stepped into the train and did the same thing that any other would do, searched for the vacant seat. Reena (my wife) called me from somewhere around, "Kartik, here it is; come fast." I quickly looked at the seat and approached just in time but stopped when I realized that a kid who expected to get that seat had stepped back to his father seeing me. I signaled the kid to take a seat and exchanged a smile with his father. These are very normal scenes you will come across while traveling in Mumbai locals. What I did was similar to what anyone would have done if they had been in my place. But wait! This small event pushed me to some events in the near past and forced me to think more critically. 

(i) Some day in Past+++

I opened a text message from IRCTC to check my seat number and coach. It read, "Train Booked: PNR: *******, Gujarat Sf Exp-22953, 2S; MMCT-ADI (06 Aug 05:45); Kartik Thakkar-CNF, D6, 103." I entered the train and approached my seat; I was happy to know it was a window seat. You are lucky if you get a window seat on the journey that starts early in the morning. I was checking my watch frequently to know how much time was remaining to start experiencing that cool breeze of early morning, that too in the monsoon of Mumbai. A college girl with a bag hanging on her shoulder sat beside me. She didn't talk, and so did I. After a few minutes, a family came and started searching for their seats. It was a couple with their two children. A father figure from the family said, "Only one seat, 104 is here; others are in the next coach." They went to the next coach, and I figured out that the girl sitting next to me was without reservation, but I didn't say a word and refrained from making her feel awkward. Another family entered, and a man with a heavy body from that family was about to sit on 105, the other end of that three-seater. Those seats were of standard size (no extra space), and it was not the typical sleeper converted to a seater-like coach. The man with the heavy body was arranging his luggage when the earlier couple who went to the next coach returned. The man who returned from the next coach asked the girl sitting beside me politely, "Is it your reserved ticket, beta?" The girl opened her bag and drew a ticket out of the bag, which was of a General class (without reservation of a seat). From her feared and calm behavior, anyone could read that she was maybe traveling for the first time on the train and mistakenly came over to the wrong coach. 

The man with a mustache and dark skin color looked horrible but smiled at her and asked, 

"Where are you going, beta?" 

"Ahmedabad" she replied. It was the last station. 

The man signaled her wife to go to the next coach and decided that he might deal with his fate now; the other man struggling to arrange his luggage got irritated with this conversation and spoke aggressively, targeting that girl. 

"Don't you understand? You don't have a reservation. Get out of this coach, and go to the general coach." 

The girl, out of fear of this man's behavior, stood up suddenly and quickly left the coach. 

This fat man who got irritated had a fair skin tone and was in a professional look even if he was traveling with his family. But the bigger point is he had a daughter traveling with him of the same age as the girl he insulted just. That man with dark skin didn't like the way he insulted that girl; however, he didn't say a word and called her wife back to the seat beside me, while he preferred to sit with his children, who were alone in the next coach.

The wife of a dark-skinned man sat between that fat man and me. The train has started; I am on the window seat, enjoying the weather and the wind coming from the half-open window. I thought of capturing the scene outside the window and making a reel from my mobile. I held the mobile towards the window and pressed the recording button. Recording started.... seconds are passing... 1....2....3..., and...

"Why are you occupying this much space?" The fat man was now targeting the lady sitting next to me. He continued, and I stopped recording. 

"There's so much space left; please move there." He pointed to a small space between that lady and me. 

She may felt awkward initially while sitting next to me to occupy even that tiny space. She moved a little towards me, and I also moved a little towards the window, but that fat man moved with a greater displacement pushing that lady knowingly and making her a little more uncomfortable. I felt that discomfort and moved my left hand (which was towards that lady) to hold the handle of the seat ahead of me and move outwards towards the seat ahead of me so that the lady could sit comfortably. I rejected the idea of capturing a video now. 

The situation is on the verge of transition, a word more from that man might elevate the tension, and probably the lady could lose her temperature. Obviously, the man could also feel the tension. After five minutes, he adjusted himself again on the seat and murmured something that was not audible. The lady is not speaking a word but sees straight, pulls out her mobile, opens a contact list, presses back, and exits. I knew what was coming next, but maybe he did not. He could consider it a warning. 

After another five minutes, the man broke the silence, 

"Why are you pushing me? I cannot sit, can't you see?" 

Take a pause here; let's see the larger picture of what might have happened.

The fat man's requirement was 150% of his seat. He felt like he was sitting on the edge, and that lady was pushing him. Actually, in the train, there are always some sideways movements that may cause this. But the point is

Karma is watching this man with wide-open eyes and trying to warn him. The girl whom he insulted may require really little space, and he could have sat comfortably. But that's not the case anymore. His deeds are circled to him now. Will he understand this? Let's see what happens next!

The lady, this time, replied, 

"What are you talking about? You already pushed me 2-3 times, and look who's blaming me? Do you have two tickets that you want, even half of my seat? Move from my seat." 

I was a spectator and did not see any reasons to interfere. That man could not see what I could easily see. He did not move and pushed her again while adjusting himself. The lady murmured, "Let me call now. Stupid man." She called her husband and said, 

"Rashid Miya, come here, please; I am not comfortable here." The lady hung up the call, left the seat, and went to the next coach. The lines of tension on the head of that fat man were clearly visible. Her wife sitting in the back seat, put her hand on that fat man and signaled him to cool down.

After a few minutes, her husband Rashid Miya came, gave a firm look to that man, and sat between us with obviously a hard push on him since he was not that fat but occupied more space than his wife. This is what I could clearly see, but this man could not. Again, "Karma" circled him due to his deeds. 

Rashid Miya actually behaved reasonably with that college girl and showed his intention to let her sit on his reserved seat also. If the fat man had behaved reasonably, he would have gotten some extra space on the seat to sit upon.  The "Karma" warned him through the event with this lady, but could not understand the warning and finally got punished by her husband. 

The fat man had the characteristic of pushing all away through his deeds but remember, "Karma" always pulls us closer. 

(ii) Some day in Past++

I looked back, and he was calling me from another platform. 

"Hey... Blue shirt...." He was literally shouting while calling me. When I looked at him, a local train came between the two platforms. I was busy arranging my luggage. I avoided him and continued putting stuff from one bag to another so that I could reduce one bag to be carried. I had to immediately plan this trip after hearing the devastating news of the passing away of my grandfather. Yesterday, I was in Bangalore when heard about this. I came to Mumbai on a flight, but that was my inability, and I cursed myself every day after that for not saving enough money to afford a flight in such an emergency situation. I wanted to reach as fast as possible, but I was dependent on the speed of this train. 

I fell into the thoughts again. I had a more deep connection with my "Daadu" than with my father. I cannot forget how he used to teach me the lessons of  "Philosophy." He was the man who could control my anger. Every time I got angry, he manipulated me into getting involved in a discussion that I would reject if it was someone else. No... Don't take it another way, not out of respect, but he had some kind of magic that always attracted me whenever he wanted to discuss something with me. I recalled all these discussions since yesterday. In a flash of a second, I lost that man, and the possibilities of such a gem of discussions vanished. My thoughts broke again when that local train left the station, and that man called me again. 

"Hello..... Blue shirt.... hey here...." 

I waved my hand in response and asked, "What?" with hand movements only. 

He signaled his hand on his pockets and shouted to me, "Wallet... Wallet..."

My hands unconsciously went to my pants' pockets to check my wallet. It was not there, I kept on checking, and that man shouted again, 

"I was shouting... You did not listen. I saw him taking it but could not do anything." 

I was checking my pockets when my wife, Disha, came back with my daughter Richa. 

Disha asked me, "What are you searching for?"

I replied, "My wallet's gone." I did not know what to add further. All I was worried about was the photo of my "Daadu" I used to keep in my wallet. That was my favorite photo as we got it clicked after my first discussion about my first fight with my best friend, who was with me all along up to college. We ended up concluding it was my fault which continued for almost all of the discussions afterward.

My wife was saying something, but I couldn't understand as I had so many emotions simultaneously. I wanted to catch that thief and take my wallet back, but the train was in the next 10 minutes. I could go to the police station, but my mind was practical, and deep down, I knew I had lost it. With a heavy heart, I decided to move on and reach Ahmedabad as soon as possible without thinking about the money and cards in my wallet. I called bank customer care and inactivated my bank account when the train arrived on the platform. 

"What if TC catch you in this coach?" One girl, while stepping on the gate of the coach, asked another girl nearby. I was in a hurry and did not like them talking in my way. 

"Play dumb," replied the girl next to me. Richa was listening to her, which I did not like but was not in the mood to say anything. 

Finally, I entered the train with my wife and Daughter, and my priority was to settle on the seats and sleep in peace, thinking about my "Daadu" so that journey would get over in no time. I saw that girl sitting on the seat beside our seat. I felt anger but suppressed it as it was not my seat. I continued arranging my luggage and another man with his family came in between. It was clear that the seat belonged to that man. The girl did not stand up. The man with his family went to another coach after a few exchanges of words. 

Richa was looking at this, and I was not uttering a word to that girl. Obviously, I would not like to transfer such an example to my daughter. I should express my non-acceptance of such behavior. That girl was behaving shamelessly as she knew I was behind her when she was talking to her friend about playing dumb. 

In a few minutes, that man was back with her wife and asked where she was headed.

"Last station." She replied but did not stand up from the seat. I could not bear more now. It already passed my tolerance limit. 

"Don't you understand? You don't have a reservation. Get out of this coach, and go to the general coach." 

She stood up in no time as she saw my sky-high anger. I was not in control and trembling, trying to stop the tears at the edge of my eyes. I immediately looked down as I did not want it to get noticed by my family or someone crossing me to sit beside me. I scolded her and recalled my "Daadu" scolding me back for shouting at Richa. I also felt good as I sent a clear message of disagreement to Richa about that girl's wrongdoing. I started thinking of my Daadu again as I closed my tired eyes. My wife and daughter were not talking to me much as they knew my mind was occupied somewhere else. 

"The more you get angry, the more you will pay for it, and will be more advantageous for the person you are angry with," Dadu said after my first fight with my best friend. 

"Daadu, you always take the side of others; why don't you listen to me? I told him to not touch my bag as my spectacles were inside it. Yet he pulled my bag and threw it on the last bench. How could I bear it?" I argued in a single breath. 

"First, take a deep breath, then I will take your side; until then, I am mute." Daadu put the finger on his mouth. Daadu used to do this often in all my discussions with him. I took a deep breath to break that silence. 

"Such a bad boy; why would he do that? Why he threw your bag? Did you ever do that? You never would throw someone else's bag that way, right?" Daadu continued making me feel that he was now on my side. But I was required to answer the question he put at last. He made a gesture towards me, expecting the answer. 

"Yesterday, I threw his bag on the last bench. But he doesn't wear glasses, and this is common. We do it every.......day....... " I fumbled, saying the last sentence. 

"Ok, alright, Rohan... You told him to not throw it as your glasses were inside it. He shouldn't have done it. I am still with you. Tell me more. What did you do then?" Daadu built my confidence by taking my side. 

"I was so angry that I slapped him." I clenched my fist, saying this with the same anger in my eyes. 

I felt a heavy push from the woman beside me on the train, which broke my thoughts. I opened my eyes and looked at that woman; she gave me a bad look as if she did not like me sitting there. I ignored it and closed my eyes again.

"Then?" Daadu asked as he heard me closely. 

"He started crying. He cried for one hour. Can you believe it? Who would cry that long? He wanted to get me punished, even if it was his mistake. Madam came after the free period, saw him crying, and punished me." 

"Didn't you tell her what he did to you?" Daadu asked me. I started to think about it, and my anger started to melt. 

"I told her; she didn't hear me. Teacher asked why he was crying? Everyone looked at me, and Pritesh on the first bench told her that I slapped him, but no one told her what he did." 

"Because no one knew! As they were more focused on your slap. Your anger overshadowed his misdoing." Daadu made it simple for me. I learned in seconds, and my life turned upside down. He was telling right from the beginning. 

"The more you get angry, the more you will pay for it, and will be more advantageous for the person you are angry with."

Once more, I felt a heavy push which again broke my thoughts. Yes, my Daadu was against my anger, I knew being angry was my weakest point, but I couldn't help myself looking at that lady. I could not control myself and said, 

Why are you occupying this much space?" I noticed there was some space between that lady and a boy recording video through the window. I pointed it and continued,

"There's so much space left; please move there." She moved after hearing this. I closed my eyes again. 

I am hurt, that man taught me at every stage of my life, and now he's no more. I am hurt as he left me without resolving my anger issues. He once told me when I asked, 

"Daadu, I know my anger is my enemy, but in some situations, I forget that somehow and cannot control it. How do you control it? I want to learn." 

"It is important to not forget that anger is your enemy, every time you get angry, you must be wise enough to self-assess yourself and realize the loss due to that. If you keep realizing your losses, one day, you will surely succeed in controlling your anger. But definitely, it will take time."

I felt one heavier-than-before push that I almost fumbled from the edge of the seat; I could not control my anger this time, 

"Why are you pushing me? I cannot sit, can't you see?" I almost shouted at her. 

Then I mumbled to myself, 

"Definitely, Daadu; now it will take much longer without you." 

(iii) Some day in Past+

"But Ammi, I love him; that is what matters, right?" She was looking firm in her voice. 

Ammi gave her a strange look and said, "Pack your stuff; we may talk about it after we return from Ahmedabad." 

Noor didn't do anything and kept staring at Ammi with wide-open eyes. Ammi got angry, 

"What? Listen, Noor. Do whatever you can do, but that's not possible in our family." 

"What if I leave?" Noor asked with a slow voice. Ammi did not respond and left the room. 

I was looking at Aapa as she was crying. I did not want my Aapa to leave me; she was the only one to play with me after Riyadh went to Dubai. Abba says Riyadh is no more his son as he married a Hindu girl. But when I asked Riyadh if he was not my brother anymore? He did not say anything and cried. Aapa says he will always be my brother; he told Aapa to play with me until he returns home. Aapa plays with me, helps with my homework, and tells stories before I sleep, just like Riyadh. 

"Aapa... you are also going Dubai like Riyadh?" She did not reply and said, 

"Afzu, let's start homework; come on, we will not get time in Ahmedabad."

I replied, "But you told me to take notebooks to Ahmedabad."

"Plans changed." She said with some tears flowing from her eyes. I could not refuse but did not move to bring the notebooks as she was also busy typing something on her mobile. When she noticed out of the mobile, she continued,

"Afzu? Where are the notebooks? What I told you? Come on, Be fast." I stood up to get the books from the cupboard when Ammi arrived. 

Ammi said, "I asked your Abbu, and he won't accept. Better you go tomorrow with him. I will help. Ask Vishwesh if he can come to Surat station tomorrow?" 

Noor replied, "What about Firoz? And Abbu? Will he be able to bear this?" 

Ammi said, "Don't worry about Abbu; I am with him. I don't care about Firoz. If you care about Firoz, you can marry him." 

Noor smiled and said, "No way.... thank you, Ammi; I can't believe; this is coming from you!!" 

I was worried I was going to be alone again. Ammi left after instructing her what to pack. She looked at me. I avoided her and went to bed without looking at her. I acted as if I had slept. She kept trying to talk to me, but I didn't respond. I cried all night; I was hurt.

In the morning, when I woke up, Aapa was ready and looking happy. But I was not. I wished Allah might do some magic so that my Aapa does not leave me. 

We reached the station and entered the train. Abbu told Ammi to sit somewhere far away from us. We three were together, me, Aapa, and Abbu. Abbu was not talking to Aapa but showing extra love to me. I don't like to be with Abbu. But Abbu was different today; I liked to be with him. Aapa was sad now, as she may not be able to leave the train with Abbu around him. She was typing something on her mobile, and Abbu was trying to take a close look; she was putting all her efforts into hiding it away from Abbu. 

After a few minutes, she went to use the toilet. Abbu was really worried, and so was I. She returned in five minutes and did not use her mobile after that. Abbu was somewhat relaxed now. Abbu received a call from Ammi on his old-fashioned mobile. 

"Why? Okay... But how can I leave these kids alone? First, you come; I will take care of him after that." 

Ammi came, and Abbu went to sit on Ammi's seat. 

Aapa gave a big smile to Ammi and asked in surprise, "How?" 

"Thanks and sorry to that fat man. Everyone thought he was pushing me intentionally." Ammi said in a low voice and winked. She continued, 

"Don't worry, Noor; I will make him understand, and I am with him. You start the life that you love." 

Noor stopped Ammi in between and said, "I ain't going anywhere." 

I started to listen more closely as Aapa gave me a big smile, and I also could not stop smiling. Ammi was surprised; Noor continued, 

"I talked to Riyadh; Firoz is the best friend of his classmate. He told everything to Firoz, and Firoz also didn't want this marriage. He will give some reason for further studies to reject the idea of marriage afterward." 

Ammi asked, "What about Vishwesh?" 

Aapa said, "Riyadh said he has plans to convince Abbu, for all at once; he will tell me later about it; right now, I bought some time for my cute little Afzu." 

I was so happy that I hugged Aapa. Allah listened to me. I could not stop myself from saying this, 

"Tell your Vishu to get back home." We all three laughed together.

The Moral of the Story: 

Don't judge people based on the little knowledge that you have about them.

That little knowledge may be the output of a single experiment of someone's life that may have gone wrong, but their entire life story may have a greater value.

Everyone has a story to tell; some express some don't