A memorable incident at malad stn

2.45 am showed at the lower right corner of my deskstop at 3rd level of infinity towers in the heart of mindspace, malad. my shift usually ended at 4 in the morning on everyother normal day. I decided to have a chocolate milk shake from the coffee machine and return to home walking through small gully's to malad rly stn . I had lost quite a money in the financial turmoil which made me feel awkward to spend money on my luxurious commuting like rickshaws and taxi's. the first train in the morning was at 4.57 so, even if i did travel in rickshaw's. it didnt mean anything as still i would get the same train. the distance even by crawling standards from my work place to rly stn was approximately 20 minutes , which means i waited for the train for atleast a half hour every day.
the lonely walk always scared me, but i was always determine to save in those tight wallet days.
i always feared thieves in those narrow gully's or stray dogs who barked at me till i walked by them. one of the many things i have learned at *home *(@Anuj) is when you pretend to talk on your cel phone at late nights while your walk, street dogs do take you as a noble human or a tress passer. i did that almost everyday not to mention the irony that it was always god who was on the other line to me. in short, i pretended to talk to god.
i hit the streets around 3.10 am. i walked my way through the small gullys where i was surprised to find not even a single dog. when a 3 road intersection came i started my morning prayers on my celphone, i always feared a white and brown patched dog who did force me to change my route. i did came close to be bitten by him on one particluar night. he usually layed and rested under the truck parked on the corner of the intersection. it was a relief that, i didnt hear a bark from him, which possibly meant he was sleeping. the pretending stopped when i reached ,which i call a safe zone. "SV Road". it was a semi - crowded busy street as it linked the entire suburbs of andheri.
i walked in to railway station . the thought of having tea emerged at almost the same time as followed that the canteen might be closed. railway canteens on platform no. 1 started around 4. he started the stove and i ordered a cutting chai which was affordable to me. i always had my chai with pride as a prize for saving my late night fares attributed to my courage to fight my battle of fear.
i had a few chats with Ram (Canteen boy) asking him cricket scores which i already knew, not to mention that i was my favourite topic to hit the conversation. i had my chai sitting on the bench just attached to the canteen having a conversation with him. Ram was a skinny, averagely tall 13 year old. he had left his education in andhra pradesh. i will never forget the answer i got from him which was so realistic when i objected to his child labour.
he said" sahab,main aapki baat samajtha hu aur mujhe school jaana chaiye ?
(i understand your opinion and i should go to school)
lekin mujhe teen behne hain .. aap ek kaam karo mujhe school ke paise maat do .. lekin main apni kamse kam 1 behen ki shaadi kara sakoo, utne ka intazaam kar do.. main pakka school jaunga ?
(dont sponsor my studies i will do that myself if u get me some money so that i can help my parents to marry my elder sister)
i replied squintly giving him usual 3 Rupees for my cutting chai and appreciated the intelligence the young fella possessed.
it was still 15 mins to go, when i saw a leper near the canteen. he asked the other canteen boy whats the price of a pav ?. he looked like he was good for nothing, so ram arrogantly asked for money first. he passed a couple coins which i think must have been good for 2 pavs.
he had a strong determination in his eyes. he pleaded for some small chillies which canteens give free of cost as a spicer which adds to your snacks and to add to his misery ram didnt have the fried ones. i walked down gently to him from the bench and asked if he would have chai. he rejected. here was a man who was only having dry chillies and pav with water after every feed, which simultaneoulsy brought water drizzling down his eyes.
Honesty and self respect as seen were at impeccable levels in the behaviour of that old man
i really felt small and unaffectable on that particular night. my train arrived at its scheduled time. i boarded the train and took a window seat facing the platform.
the faces of the childrens of the orphanage where i made visits once a year to feed them stared my thoughts on poverty.
i thanked god for whatever,he has given me. i couldnt take my eyes off the old man.my eyes started to feel heavy then. my achievements looked smaller in compared to his principles. the train started to move slowly, and i gave a prolonged gaze to the old man admiring him again. the train left the platform and started to gain momentum, cool breeze flowed onto my face giving a sense of gratitude making my eyes shred a drop.