Platforms ..
For a change another of the short stories I have scribbled, copyrighted. Also – please note it is a fictional piece of work set in a narrative style, resemblance to any person/s known or unknown is coincidental.
© 2010 Manoj Chennamangalam
The train was gradually approaching the gray coloured cement platform of the station. A bright yellow board announcing the name of the station in three languages characteristic of the Indian Railways slowly started becoming visible. Station names are written in black bold letters in 3 languages – English, Hindi and the local one. I remember as a kid when I used to travel in trains, I used to read the English alphabets, followed by Hindi and finally Malayalam. All that has changed - reading, writing and dreaming in English has made me thirsty for reading the well rounded letters of my mother tongue. I read only the Malayalam alphabets – ഒറ്റപാലം
(Ottapalam) and blissfully ignore English and Hindi. In a smaller font at the bottom right of the board it says MSL + 32 M.This is I think interesting enough to digress on .. I had asked a lot of people what that was for a long time (once even a station master) – with no luck.Until in my first year of college a soon-to-be civil engineer came up to me without any provocation and told me what it is – Mean Sea Level + 32 M , meaning you are safe in Ottapalam until the sea level rises 32 meters above the mean level – time to invest in Ottapalam for “global warming proof” assets. (I still remember the name of the soon-to-be civil engineer - I digress way too much, that is for some other time)
Its half past 3.00 in the morning (or night?, never figured this one), there is hardly any soul on the platform and the train seems to be in double minds on whether to stop or amble ahead. The station master is all covered up in cheap artificial woolen blankets with only his face and hands visible. His thin hands are waving a green flag so vigorously as if to help the train make up its mind. And then as if driven by the energy from the flailing arms, the train picked up speed, gradually.
Next station is Shoranur
Memories from G.K (General Knowledge) classes in school started wafting in (forgot to mention I am sitting on the first step of the open train compartment door)
Longest railway platform in Kerala – Shoranur Junction
Longest river – Periyar
Only 3 rivers that flows east – Kabini, Pambaar, Bhavani
Memory fails and stops wafting in, I imagine the smell of that beautiful, once mighty Nila river. Again memories start wafting in – the river flows through some of the most sweet sounding place names I have ever heard – Thirunavaya, Ottappalam, Thrithala, Cheruthuruthy, Thiruvilwamala – list is endless. I used to imagine I was a driver driving a KSRTC Express (the green bus, yes) connecting these small towns on the shores of Nila. I used to put a towel like the drivers do, on my chair, use the circular steel cover (removable) of our washing machine as the steering, give an imaginary ticket to my sleeping sis, look out of my half open window and go !! . What fun !!
What is with my affection for Nila? Is it true to say that I have always fallen in love with ideas in my life ? People, things, rivers, ideologies – all fall into my affectionate list because of the ideas they represent. What is it in Nila? I don’t know – the smell of my memory of Nila gets stronger, I open my eyes and I see that the train is on the bridge the british built across Nila, in the pitch darkness I can feel her down there as a thin stream. Enough has been said of her plight – I can’t compete with the stalwarts on describing her sad state..
Present tense bites me, my heart is pounding. The train slowly reaches the station and grinds to a halt, I step out and there is a thin crowd, most sleeping on the floor of the covered waiting area – awaiting a train which is late or just because this is home, this is where they sleep. I am the only one who stepped out of my compartment and an enterprising tea vendor approaches me eagerly – “Chay” “Chay” – no I say, sorry I don’t drink any. I read the disappointment on his face and look around eagerly, is she stepping out of the darkness towards me – as she did the first time I came back from Bangalore after going away for work. The oily smell of her well oiled curly hair and the soft smell of her clothes daunt me. I remember that her skin used to be always cold to touch and was the best medicine for the highest fevers I ever had. I climb back on to the train to see if I can spot her from the height. No – luck, she has no idea I am coming and even if she had will her husband let her come? I feel lonely and am sad. Train shakes up all over and starts to move. Suddenly I feel cold and feel like throwing up and want to be a kid all over again ..
Where are you my sis? How can there be such a void between us? What harsh words have driven us apart?
Platform seems never ending, there seems to be a race on and the platform is reluctant to give up. Finally, the train wins and speeds up as if to establish its superiority. “Longest railway platform in Kerala - Shoranur Jn” keeps repeating itself in my head ..
© 2010 Manoj Chennamangalam
To read on about Nila : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharathappuzha
© 2010 Manoj Chennamangalam
The train was gradually approaching the gray coloured cement platform of the station. A bright yellow board announcing the name of the station in three languages characteristic of the Indian Railways slowly started becoming visible. Station names are written in black bold letters in 3 languages – English, Hindi and the local one. I remember as a kid when I used to travel in trains, I used to read the English alphabets, followed by Hindi and finally Malayalam. All that has changed - reading, writing and dreaming in English has made me thirsty for reading the well rounded letters of my mother tongue. I read only the Malayalam alphabets – ഒറ്റപാലം
(Ottapalam) and blissfully ignore English and Hindi. In a smaller font at the bottom right of the board it says MSL + 32 M.This is I think interesting enough to digress on .. I had asked a lot of people what that was for a long time (once even a station master) – with no luck.Until in my first year of college a soon-to-be civil engineer came up to me without any provocation and told me what it is – Mean Sea Level + 32 M , meaning you are safe in Ottapalam until the sea level rises 32 meters above the mean level – time to invest in Ottapalam for “global warming proof” assets. (I still remember the name of the soon-to-be civil engineer - I digress way too much, that is for some other time)
Its half past 3.00 in the morning (or night?, never figured this one), there is hardly any soul on the platform and the train seems to be in double minds on whether to stop or amble ahead. The station master is all covered up in cheap artificial woolen blankets with only his face and hands visible. His thin hands are waving a green flag so vigorously as if to help the train make up its mind. And then as if driven by the energy from the flailing arms, the train picked up speed, gradually.
Next station is Shoranur
Memories from G.K (General Knowledge) classes in school started wafting in (forgot to mention I am sitting on the first step of the open train compartment door)
Longest railway platform in Kerala – Shoranur Junction
Longest river – Periyar
Only 3 rivers that flows east – Kabini, Pambaar, Bhavani
Memory fails and stops wafting in, I imagine the smell of that beautiful, once mighty Nila river. Again memories start wafting in – the river flows through some of the most sweet sounding place names I have ever heard – Thirunavaya, Ottappalam, Thrithala, Cheruthuruthy, Thiruvilwamala – list is endless. I used to imagine I was a driver driving a KSRTC Express (the green bus, yes) connecting these small towns on the shores of Nila. I used to put a towel like the drivers do, on my chair, use the circular steel cover (removable) of our washing machine as the steering, give an imaginary ticket to my sleeping sis, look out of my half open window and go !! . What fun !!
What is with my affection for Nila? Is it true to say that I have always fallen in love with ideas in my life ? People, things, rivers, ideologies – all fall into my affectionate list because of the ideas they represent. What is it in Nila? I don’t know – the smell of my memory of Nila gets stronger, I open my eyes and I see that the train is on the bridge the british built across Nila, in the pitch darkness I can feel her down there as a thin stream. Enough has been said of her plight – I can’t compete with the stalwarts on describing her sad state..
Present tense bites me, my heart is pounding. The train slowly reaches the station and grinds to a halt, I step out and there is a thin crowd, most sleeping on the floor of the covered waiting area – awaiting a train which is late or just because this is home, this is where they sleep. I am the only one who stepped out of my compartment and an enterprising tea vendor approaches me eagerly – “Chay” “Chay” – no I say, sorry I don’t drink any. I read the disappointment on his face and look around eagerly, is she stepping out of the darkness towards me – as she did the first time I came back from Bangalore after going away for work. The oily smell of her well oiled curly hair and the soft smell of her clothes daunt me. I remember that her skin used to be always cold to touch and was the best medicine for the highest fevers I ever had. I climb back on to the train to see if I can spot her from the height. No – luck, she has no idea I am coming and even if she had will her husband let her come? I feel lonely and am sad. Train shakes up all over and starts to move. Suddenly I feel cold and feel like throwing up and want to be a kid all over again ..
Where are you my sis? How can there be such a void between us? What harsh words have driven us apart?
Platform seems never ending, there seems to be a race on and the platform is reluctant to give up. Finally, the train wins and speeds up as if to establish its superiority. “Longest railway platform in Kerala - Shoranur Jn” keeps repeating itself in my head ..
© 2010 Manoj Chennamangalam
To read on about Nila : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharathappuzha
Very nicely written...really liked how your childhood incidents/memories were part of the story....kept me reading to see where the story leads me.
ReplyDelete