Ravikiran a young man in his late 20s was travelling to his cousins place for a function after a gap of 2 years and he was excited. He shared a interesting relationship with his cousin and was looking forward to do a lot of catching up and what else will stimulate a young guy's energy than some good-ol' headphone music. He was daydreaming when the taxi driver drove into the main Railway station and he could immediately pick up the loud voices of his clan. A group of biggies were also joining him in his train ride and they were all chattering so loudly that he almost pulled down his hoodie to hide his face. But, who was he kidding, he was immensely proud to be a part of a family that stayed together and won the test of time. How many kids these days have enjoyed the love of immediate uncles and aunts? These days youngsters have become more friend-centric and familial love is a rare breed.
He offered to give a hand for the luggage as the men that were there were senior citizens and he was playing the charming young blood. But one of the patriarchs blared out that there were too many and it was apt to hire a porter. A 10 minute typical Indian style haggling followed and the porters eventually relented as the collective shouting voice of the family increased by the minute and he caved. Stomp stomp, the typical railway announcements, kids running around , youngsters lost in thought and old men, women dazing around scenes followed. Ravi caught the platform number and before he volunteered to even announce, another uncle blared the message, good enough for the train driver to take notice that he was about to drive a majestic clan of vacation bound crowd pullers.
Walk Walk walk, they reached the platform when the too obvious next course of action followed - head count check and luggage count check. The train's lights appeared to be turned off as the folks arrived early, another senior citizen desi trait. Conversations on itinerary of the trip, dresses being worn , jewelry scan by women were being tossed around as Ravi kept gawking for some female attention. He had his own agenda. He checked himself to see if he wasn't shabby, incase, a chic lass just made way to their compartment. He was doing the "Khaitan Fan" Oscillation movement scouring for equally curious Girl eyes when a strong feminine deo wafted across the air and it was so close, when he turned 180 to find a girl with a trekking bag on her back looking at him. He dropped his mobile in shock, as he hadn't prepared his First Look . She confirmed, if this was indeed that B12 compartment and he nodded spoke a horrible word - first 3 letters in English and last 5 words in his native language. She smiled jokingly as he corrected himself . Eyyy Ravi !! Ravi became alert when one uncle called out his name. The train light's had been switched on and the cliched brouhaha to board the train scene was up.
Before he could tell the girl, she understandingly nodded smiling as he started showing his upcoming biceps, helping the uncles and acting boyishly responsible for the family. The amount of commotion that followed inside the train almost unhooked the compartment out of the train, as the biggies were boisterously calling out seat numbers in such high tones. A recently married young couple stuck to each other like lizards not to be bothered by this sumo wrestling that was happening, as one uncle came dangerously close to her and considering himself as the Supreme Court advocate, made his case that their berths be swapped as seniors can't climb up. The two didn't waste a moment as they spit out words of agreement that they had already decided to swap berths. The Advocate uncle with a glint of pride in his eyes was allotting berths to the crowd. As ravi was playing bystander, somebody's bag nudged him from behind catching him surprise. It was the Deo girl . She appeared to halt and abruptly sit in the side-lower berth and Ravi panicked as he wasn't aware where he was to himself seat. One of the uncles came and cleared the air, saying he be seated above her , in the side-upper. Ravi's lips almost let go of a glee, as he observed the girl herself smile very ladylike in the reflection in the mirror.
The train started, and he was aimlessly scrolling his mobile, being seated beside her as she herself appeared to be deeply engrossed in her phone. Just when he was about to turn towards to her and he did, one of the aunts came and blurted - "Ravi - Idly Chilly powder or Roti ? No Wait. You eat very well. 3 Idlies and 3 Rotis for you. I myself made the paste for the Roti. Everyone started eating, can I bring the plate for you?". Ravi , a wheat toned dude, actually got mentally red with embarrassment because - his aunt has taken the correct decision of calling him out on his good appetite but in front of this Deo Unnamed Girl. He said, fine as the aunt retraced her steps and Ravi went " So, I hear this reaches late in the morning. It gets colder at night, do you have a blanket with you?".
The girl declared her name as Sharvanthi and she wasn't worried as she wasn't planning to travel to the final destination. The moment she uttered those words, Ravi relaxed his posture, came out of his "Guarded Boy" mode and resumed a casual dude mien. Guy's instincts. He was like , Who cares to make small talk with her if she not gonna stick around. Thinking so, he covered his mouth as a masala Burp escaped him unexpectedly and he began to cough due to the spice in his throat. He was looking for water, as she volunteered a bottle of cola towards him. To save himself from puking, he gulped a few milliliters and as he was about to thank her, she pronounced those outrageous words. She clarified, that she wasn't originally planning to travel till destination, but her father had booked the tickets till the final destination, thus thwarting her plans. Ravi, just shot her a look of dismay as though he thought " Lady, why you played me like this". They then got talking about where they were going , what was the trip's agenda. Again, the words out of her mouth took him by rude shock and pleasant surprise. She was actually representing the Groom side of the marriage, whilst he was the Bride's. He asked why then she had planned to get down before, as she said another friend needed company but daddy bear wanted her to safely reach with no interim stops. Ravi, now totally off his game due to the see-saw style of Fact telling by Sharvanthi, then began conversing like normal people for a good 30 minutes when one of his clarinet uncles came up and asked him to go to sleep on time as they had a busy day tomorrow and it is tough to sleep in a running train. He was in a fix - obey his uncle and come off as a respectful boy of the family or play it down and act as a cool dude. He decided that, that train had left the station and gave a See-ya ! fist bump to her, as he climbed up the berth. He was about to fall asleep, when he suddenly saw a phone lit up in the darkness. He peeked just enough to see but not too much, as it was a lady below him. He saw a number on her phone. She wasn't calling anyone, it was just a number on the screen when he realized the Act!.
30 Seconds later, they began chatting big time , as the Train blew it's horn once in while as Ravi realized he was gonna have a good time in the trip. Hoot Hoot !!!
