One lesson of life from the stranger on the platform

2004 June 1st One strange morning with a stranger on the platform.

And it goes like this ........



Today as a day it was a glum, dull day. In the morning I felt a foul spirit rise within me as I woke up. Despite having slept sound. I felt that the day is not mine. A dread lay before me, of what I cannot think nor decide. The previous day I had seen a nightmare, a wild one, the kind I often used to see when I was a child when I slept alone. Of someone being killed, of misery and frightening deceit. Of hideous happenings, of running wild to save myself from being tortured．But there I was not grown up. I was still a child, a child quite lonely, scared of darkness, companionless．I now remember why I loved Jane Eyre the novel so much when I read it at the age of 10 or 12. Because I thought I was much like the character, lonely and desolate. But when I grew up to youth, I forgot the story but remembered that it was the best novel I read. Probably at that time I got only a faint idea of the outline of the novel because I was too young to analyze and understand the character. Now I understand. And as wise as I am I wished to overcome the pressures and undefined thoughts and nightmares out of my day to make it as pleasant as I can.

I read my novel without speech or much of interruption from his side．Yet I know that certain times if he lets me read a book peacefully its not because he does not have anything to converse with me, its because there are weird discussions going on within his brain, of varied topics, of mixed emotions, of subjects that makes little or no sense to him, of things he does not understand or wants to accomplish. Of brain waves that are trying to reach a peak that it cannot reach, of things he would like to tell me, of opinions that he would or have liked to raise. But speech falters, communication lags and what has to be told is not often told but confusions added to the listener. So at such times he never spoke but spoke to himself. And remained silent dissolved in his own thoughts of analysis where he had power and he was the master. I knew this but most often it annoyed me because it thwarted my lively spirit and made me dull and lonely.

Now all this preface of feelings and emotions and nightmares and daydreams is not all that I have to talk about. But this preface was important because I analyzed these things most often, I understood the state of affairs and I accepted it the way it is. Some times with deep dissatisfaction, some times with a state of no-opinion. I regretted the inner struggle. I ascertained that it is female nature and sometimes smiled myself at the domestic complaints that I often make. When such matters passed my mind and on such a day did this incident happen.

We were early that day for work and I as I mentioned was in a foul mood. I saw he looked at me then and there to start a conversation but I was busy reading, reading in the bus, and reading on the platform. And abruptly an old lady interrupted the scene by asking if we know her native language. When we said yes she surprised us even more by asking him if he is fine. Both of us surprised as we were just assumed that she was a garrulous lady trying to start a conversation with foreigners. But she enquired about his health and told him that he looks a little unhealthy. She then continued talking about things, something about, things are now no more beautiful in Japan, the war has destroyed it all and the like. We half understood her. Then she noticed the tilak on his head and asked if we were Indians. When we said yes she offered a mint packet from her bag. She offered it to me. Generally I am a kind of a person who would have taken it known for the fact that we were not in strange place but in a public place with this lady and she seemed quite harmless. But strangely I refused saying no thanks but politely and told her that we do not eat mint. She looked a little offended for us to refuse what she offered and slightly withdrew herself. We lied that it is forbidden for us to eat mint and we apologized. She went back to her seat excusing herself. After about 10 seconds when we decided that she must be either too garrulous or may be insane. She once again presented herself before us and showed her accessory attached to her purse. It was a Japanese cat figurine. I understood she was trying to amuse us to bring the cheeriness back to our face which though I tried but would not appear on my face today. She again returned back to her chair pledging that this is going to be all. She is no more going to disturb us anymore. She excused and she left, bowing in courtesy. She must have been old lady but well dressed more precisely to say overdressed. As I little noticed though of what she wore but I saw she wore a bonnet and wore dark red lipstick. Again about 5 seconds she returned back to us. She came towards me and told me I am kind of a person who likes to learn. I thought I misunderstood her saying that she assumed I am a college student. So I refused and said no I am not. Probably she got a hint that we do not understand her language well.
About then the red-train had come and she jogged towards her chair quickly to collect her umbrella. She got in along with us into the train. And speaking to me she told (again we understood only partially) that he is a kind of a person who strives hard, works hard but may be not able to produce the desired results but he still strives hard. She again spoke of beautiful things saying that there are very little beautiful things in the world nowadays. It is important for a man to be happy to be healthy. Men and women of the world try to buy beautiful things to keep them happy. Through material possessions they try to make themselves happy and she mocked them. For a man who has to be happy has to see beautiful things everyday. She stated that I am a beautiful girl and I should remain so to keep him pleasant. As he cannot be healthy and happy if don’t live to exist, an effort is required from my part so to keep myself happy and healthy.　We soon arrived the station and departed from her saying good bye. Before we left her she apologized for being too talkative as she is an old soul aged 56. We departed and I reflected. It was as though she knew what was going on in our minds before she came to us, as if she read our minds. She was there to remove our stiffness and relax our souls to render more attention, care and love to each other. I shivered as I shiver when I pray to God, at the thought of being watched by the divine soul not rendering our duties to the right direction. She sent me thoughts that felt she was meant to relieve us of our impressions, the wrong impressions of each other. To seek love and tenderness in each other and remove the drops of hatred that fills our lungs. It may one day choke us out. And HE saved us or at least tried to save us and averted us to the right paths.