A NEW STORY IN HATI SERIES.

onenight@kanpur.rlystation..A Hati series story. Dt.20.12.2014.

Senapati! A growing intense voice called me as he entered my room with his customary laughter, there was no chance he can be any one else other than the Sumo looking Dr Hati. Where the man had been for such a long gap? He was here and he was not here, I guessed my need was felt as whom else can listen his funny stories. To avoid it I after greeting him instantly asked a question. I was to travel a place that is not covered by any direct train from Odisha, my hosts advised me not to take the foolish step to plan a Taxi journey from Aurangabad to the place Chinchu in Maharastra as the road route is rough and dominated by a political group who had turned hostile to north Indians. Although I am from east they advised me a train journey. So I wanted a catching train from Aurangabad to Chinchu and wanted Dr Hati to suggest what should be the safe time gap so that I face no problem for any delay of my arrival at the station.

Hati laughed aloud, and suggested to listen to his experience eleven months back in the Kanpur Forkhabad route.

It was Kushal`s marriage ceremony, he clarified Abhisekh Purwar the only child of Ex Supt Engineer Minor Irrigation Mr Anup Kumar Purwar who was so close a family friend when we worked at Rajkhariar in Nuapada district of Odisha. He now is software professional at London. Time passed kid Kushal was marrying and it was a happy journey as Hati expected. The train was delayed by three hours and the connecting train had left half an hour before. First he rushed to the inquiry to ask him for help. The person advised to see the time table on the big hoardings and select the suitable one. he had to take several people`s help to select which were the trains that touched Forkhabad, not being convinced purchased a time table book and finalized the train after doing a mini research. Hati laughed again it was after seven hours that meant he would directly join the barat.

Next hurdle was to justify the train was delayed and allow his existing ticket as a valid one. So he went on to meet persons on several chairs as per the advice of any guard, made himself humble to explain everyone what the problem really was and one person pointed another person for a repeat show. Every time he had to thank the person for his patient hearing as if he was a problem to their work, and he was being unduly worried for a normal expected problem, he should have opted for the train at ten hours gap, it was Hati`s fault.

 Patience pays he found out the correct chair, where the person had vast experience on the subject and needed no listening before putting his initials. Hati still stood there as the initials looked like two mosquitoes and the man did not explain what it meant. The man got annoyed and told, you can move any where you wish with this initial. He sniffed the importance of his own initials like a drug addict sniffs his kicking substance. Hati laughed to the man`s more discomfort and told is it valid for today or any day any place any train as he ended after complete control of his laughter with a calculated moronic look. Get lost man. But Hati wanted a refund of the differences as he had a reserved II AC ticket converted to a non reserved non AC general ticket by this mosquito looking initials. The man became furious and told with no compassion, you can do it after you meet Mr X to whom you are referred so wanted back the ticket.

 Hati hided his identity being an obstetrician and told sorry sir it was his own fault and it is a professional byproduct of a psychiatrist, and passed a sarcastic comment that the other man had nothing to do but listen. Soon he wanted to get fresh somewhere, so disappeared from that scene.

He travelled as a baggage in a general compartment paying the price of IIAC class.  He could have gone further but wanted to refrain. He reached directly in the Barat, enjoyed their local customs.

So I told yes, this was your bad experience then.

Hati laughed again, as he told the worst was to arrive. Very next morning all the old family friends of Khariar consisting of a doctor`s family, an engineer`s family and a local business man they left Forkhabad with our host`s return gift and his enlarged smile with no sign of tiredness, Mr Purwar. They had to reach Kanpur by a common train but there after all were destined to different places with different trains , it was a very nice time to discuss old memories, they all had their spouses except Dr Hati. Hati`s train was first to leave Kanpur but it was a special train running three hours late. He had to see them all off one by one and then looked at the time table on the electronic display board that showed the special train stretched its delaying hours.

They did not notify it in a single go, every time Hati was thinking thirty more minutes the next display came as two or three hours late. When the inquiry was asked he told it was a special train. Hati laughed again.

“Senapati! Do you remember how the local tea seller at the first posting place behaved? If you ask him for a special tea he only adds a spoonful of extra sugar making the taste horrible. So the special term always makes things special not necessarily a better one. Like you and I are specialists now, may be not better in real.”

There was no chance to leave the station as the train time gradually changed. Disgusted Hati due to last night`s sleeplessness and heavy food of the wedding dinner was in too discomfort to take any food and by the time he felt hungry the canteen`s lunch serving finished. Sometimes it so happens, no problem bread, banana, chips etc did save him from stomach ache. He had limited options and observed the notifications on different boards. He looked deep into the faces of pick pockets displayed on the platform to make people careful. He felt angry, in a land of Ratnakar turning to Valmiki was the police justified to stick these posters, would it not compromise the life of these ordinary criminals who picked up pockets, was it not violation of human rights, he felt too angry. By that time he was on the counter of wheelers to choose a book.

He selected one night@callcenter by Chetan Bhagat. He had to laugh again somebody had picked his wallet, ha ha ha human rights he uttered to the astonishing amusement of the salesman cum owner and few other customers.

A man can laugh at the loss of a purse!

 Such a bad day for him! He laughed again, he felt sorry for the thief as well, that purse although had a few hundred or less valued notes had no valuable cards or documents. He counted how many times in his life poor and lower people betrayed him against the betrayers of upper strata and betrayal by the system as a whole. He found out, the system failed him more often. He could not be happy but could not gather anger against the pickpocket. He drew a few bucks from ATM and tried to forget all problems he has faced till now.

He purchased the book and sat at a place in the waiting room cum entrance to the station from where he can easily see the electronic display board.

Yes Indian railway notified train number 538724 SPL train from New Delhi to Bhubaneswar was expected only after three hours, he wanted to go inside city to have some good food but who knows already ten hour late train if got a chance may catch up some lost time and it may come within an hour. Better not to leave the place, the circular  platform around a huge pillar that cannot allow you to sleep  even if you did not sleep last night after a hectic participation in a marriage ceremony. He went to the railway canteen to have a standard north Indian vegetarian thali roughly at seven PM, oh he felt refreshed with addition of a coffee. He then evacuated his full bladder to add to the comfort, with no care to the smell and the ugly images on the walls of the toilet. At peace with himself he returned back to the seat that was still preserved for him as requested to the young couple when he had left the place. Hati could not know the couple are married or just friends as the lady was with salwar and kamij with some bangles none of which was red or white sankha, neither she wore any vermillion, she might be in her twenties only, with a purse that suggested modern, she seemed very happy in company of the young man a very handsome tall and sharp looking man who wore a look of concern and responsibility.

Hati further told it was his own inability to differentiate between Hindi and Urdu for which he could not know they were married or just friends. He was already sure the lady could never be a sister to the man. That never was a difficult task to sum up for any adult anywhere. If they were speaking Hindi then they were friends, if it was Urdu then might be married but also could be friends. Hati wanted the presence of the couple at least till his special train arrived, so he asked when their train was expected.

The lady was pinched by the man as she stopped telling anything, the man answered in the morning.

The answer did not satisfy Hati, why a young couple reaches in a station in the evening if the train is in next morning. But they have already done a favor by keeping his seat reserved, maybe there is a story in it but it may be too private to narrate to a stranger like him. Better to read the book one night@callcenter, although the name suggested the book is a little spicy it was as usual of Bhagat enjoying time pass. Hati being familiar to his other novels could read it in speed with predictable lines he skipped to save time. It was month of January, cold wind got its wings to enter the breeches in the station, and soon everybody pooled over their shields against cold, the young man put on his white jacket and the lady a shawl. Hati was with his blazer and to cover his head he had no cap or muffler, he made a cap from his towel as he did in childhood and wore it with funny look that the couple noticed and without hiding the fun they smiled at Hati, the woman with a little more openness than her man. Her man!

They were on his right side and the left side was constantly changing, some people sat down and then moved as their train arrived, which is a normally expected scene in a station, but soon a rush was noticed may be arrival time of one or several important train was approaching. So there was congestion.

 Hati looked at the time table it once again notified another installment of delay by two hours. So he felt relaxed to get rid of the responsibility of gazing at the board for at least one hour and started a new chapter in the novel. To avoid the congestion the girlish lady had now curved herself as per the curve of the pillar putting her head on the lap of the boyish man who supported her with cares to avoid a possible fall and covered her with the shawl. Hati thought she did the right thing to acquire some space in the crowd, who could challenge a lady in sleep to beg a seat to sit. His left side was gradually pushing him towards the side of the couple and the young man took note of it and did the necessary protection by moving his left thigh more towards Hati so that any contact is with him not her. Hati went on reading.

Soon the platform was full of life, a train may be an important one arrived, many got down and so many rushed into, at that dead hours also, some vendors became active, porters bargained, the taxi drivers reached the platform to attract customers, some guardians were seeing their children off, older parents were leaving and repeating the instructions to their son to take care in their absence. Fifteen minutes after the train passed the station became calm and relatively thin in population.

Now it carried the passengers of defaulter trains like Hati, some permanent nocturnal dwellers regular in the station, some mysterious elements like the two on Hati`s right side. Soon Hati wanted to finish few more pages as the board declared another delay. Hati wanted to take some rest, his return ticket was sleeper class only and there was no vacancy in the rest room as he left his place and enquired. This time he put his cap or towel on his seat and moved, just smiling at the young man that he understood and nodded.  

He had to return back as there was rush and more importantly the display board was defective.

His absence allowed the young man to feel comfortable to adjust his tall body adjacent to his partner with both of them with all their four feet towards Hati`s space, towards their head the might be heavy suitcase they placed that worked as an anchor whose handle the man hold so that he did not fall down, he made him C shaped just outer to the she, the man generously pushed his leg on Hati`s thigh converting him to the leg end anchor. Hati had no other option other than reading the novel. To his left side a new big size human with a heavy jacket pushed in so that Hati`s big body became stable with opposite and almost equal push from both side @kanpur station.

He now wanted to read the book with war time urgency as he could feel a total load of his left side guest who was dozing and breathing strongly alcoholic, he pushed and made the guest erect not once but several times and by two AM the book was finished .

 By that time he was determined like a child not to move out of the place whatever problem may come. On his right side he was filling the dynamics of four legs two very soft and two very firm. They were readjusting their position every few seconds and all time by kicking Hati`s thigh generously. The big shawl has converted thy curved platform to their private bed room, as Hati was finding the CCTV camera which was just in a position to catch all motions of the couple.

Senapati! Hati called with his laughter, the most interesting part of the scene was an about sixty years old man left his original seat to come closer to observe their play and he was more unmindful than the couple as more people were looking at the bespectacled man who was lost in peeping, several time adjusting his glasses, and he was placed just at the eye of the camera. Hati could not control his laughter which made no difference to the lost three, as the alcoholic person opened up with laughter that expelled nauseating smell of liquor. It was a female not a male as the smell of alcohol suggested Hati for the last two hours.

“Sorry madam I pushed you several times thinking you were a sir.”

“Oh you people identify alcohol with masculinity, right, my ex-husband also assumed so, he told a little alcohol opens you up and forced me to drink. Do you know who I am? I am Susheela the daughter of the Mayor of Kanpur, we control the private transport of entire Kanpur and half of the district, He disowned me. Reason? I wanted to divorce my husband who is his friend’s son whom I had no interest to marry; I am a law student right now and travelling to Allahabad where my internship is continuing. I was supposed to go in proper time but you know I entered a pub. In the morning I shall catch the Janshatabdi and reach there in time, this is not my fault , the fault of my ex husband and my father who is the mayor of Kanpur she repeated. She further asked are you comfortable with this alcoholic thirty year old woman, I suppose you are a doctor?”

“How could you guess properly madam, yes I am a gynaecologist.”

“No big guess, when you took out your funny pain to scratch your nape of neck on the back side, I saw the joker looking pain that only is presented to the doctors by Pharma companies, I know , I know as my brother in law is a doctor. You cannot imagine how he plays like a puppet in the hands of the companies, do not mind doctor you may be a good one, I suppose you are a good one, my mind says you are good, you are too tired if you put your head on my lap and sleep like my baby I have no problem, you are the right person whom I can share my feelings as you are gynaecologist, see which woman does not want to be a mother, but to be a mother a husband should use the woman properly, do you understand doctor what I mean properly, you must have read FMT book of Modi I meant medical jurisprudence, my man wanted 377 and always only this and it was my night mare, he made me alcoholic to use my body as per his wish, I wanted a baby he was not interested, it was too painful and I fought back, I got the divorce easily and left everything there, my father did not believe his daughter he disowned me with a very high deposit in my account, actually my father is afraid of his father he is the party boss, doctor! you think I am lying , no see my papers, see this medical reports, see these photographs of unnatural offence by him how brutal he was, you tell doctor was I not right, did my father do justice to a daughter, did filling my account is enough, why I am talking it to a stranger like you, yes I have taken alcohol I am gossiping, I feel a man in you, may be the ghost of Froyed entered me, yes I want to be a mother I need a man who can do it not necessarily my husband, can you doctor, I have plenty of money.”

“Why are you not seeking the help of a psychiatrist, why can`t you give up alcohol, what is your right to tell your story to stranger males who can take advantage of your situation, you are pursuing a carrier with a prospect, you are young you can very well correct yourself, and come to normalcy, do not behave foolish, the world did not behave kindly with you now you have no world, you alone is your world, you be kind and human on you.”

“Sorry doctor I am a good lady when not in a high, I have developed a relationship at Allahabad with a young advocate too, I want to get rid of this condition, can you suggest how.”

So soon a person can be normal, with her loud cry, strong desire to be a mother, a fatherly advice from Dr Hati , waning stride of alcohol she was talking normal. Hati advised her to tell her new boy friend all the problem and rush to a psychiatrist, and wanted to talk to her father, which she gave.

With their conversation the young couple also awakened, actually they were awake all the time. The old man had rediscovered his real age, when Hati looked at the couple the man looked grave as if telling who are you bloody fool to look at us like this as it was their time only, the lady however fetched a forced smile to cover up her shame as actually she was doing to restructure her all robes.

Nobody had a fault as the day ended, the sky bore the first glimpse of dawn, the urban cock somewhere shouted as the black crow crowed, the tea vendor served tea to all the above characters, the first announcement of his special train flew from the loud speaker, Dr Hati finished his tea and left the place with a good bye to all including the old man whose CCTV footage if anybody viewed must be too amusing. Hati rushed to the correct platform where he wanted to do the morning requirements. Finally the train arrived twenty-one hour late, made Hati wise to know why special train tickets are so easily available.

Hati laughed and asked me, “Tell me Senapati! Whether I behaved like a male or a man.”

My answer was onenight@kanpur.rlystation cannot tell what the real Dr Hati is, you sir have to travel with several special trains, we both laughed as the emergency call for me arrived.