Working 12 hours a day, one hardly expects to see any beautiful moments on the way home. In my case, it is a 2-hour journey from office to home. On one such, I did on a 10.07 pm local train from Andheri (Mumbai). Tired and exhausted, I boarded the train into the ladies first class coach which is next to the ladies second class one.
The only thing that separates the ‘classes’ is the ticket fare, cushioned seats in the first class and a barricade made from steel pipes – so one can talk across the coaches.
I settled comfortably on a seat with my headphones. A lady with her daughter boarded the train and sat right across me. Her daughter, barely a year old, was playing with the stuffed pink coloured doll. Another lady with her son, who was also about a year old got into the second class and sat close to the barricade. The train left Andheri station 10 minutes later than its usual time. I notice that in an instant both the kids looked at each other from across the barricade and smiled. They also babbled something as if to each other. I was amused at the sheer energy the two children exhibited so late in the day.
The girl then tried to stretch across to give her doll to the boy sitting across. She appeared to be trying real hard to get the doll across the barricade. Both the mother who had become aware of their wards’ activities smiled at the gesture. After trying for a full five minutes and unsuccessfully too, the girl began crying. I could hear her even with my headphones on. Not knowing what else to do, she just flung the doll at me in anger. She continued to cry and the doll was in my hand and I was totally clueless on my next step. Just then her mother arose from her seat and along with her daughter, got off at the next station and entered the second class coach.
And that was a moment to watch. The two kids met, the girl gave her doll to the boy. The two sat together and played for the rest of the journey which was a 20-minute ride.
When I got off the train, I felt happy. I saw a different kind of a friendship today – one without any complications, one which meant crossing boundaries, in this case the barricade. I wish too that we all have such special friends in our life who will help make our journey beautiful.