Image : Courtesy to Rajesh Lashkari.
As
soon as the train left platform, I shut the door and went inside the bogie.
Except at other end, there prevailed darkness. By senses, and mobile phone
light, I found way to my reserved berth. There, I found a pillow, a blanket, a
hand towel and a pair of bed sheets. I quickly set the berth to render comfort
to my body that had already beaten by such a long wait. Then, I remembered
Dhaani. She might have also boarded the train, I thought, despite the fact that
she did not arrive at Bina station. However, there prevailed a slight hope in
heart along with a doubt that she might have been there at the station and my
eyes had missed her sight. Her thought induced restlessness in me. An argument arose
in thoughts and compelled me to leave the makeshift bed of mine and walk about
in other bogies. That very urge was caused by the fact that somewhere I still
believed that I would get to meet her all again.
After
seeing few compartments, I returned to my berth and went to sleep. That sleep was
not the normal one. It was a kind of thoughtless one, which I have rarely
encountered in my life. At somewhere 8:00 AM when I opened my eyes I felt as
though I hadn’t slept at all and just blinked the eyes. Body felt little weary,
however, mind was clear. The very moment I knew what I was going to do in the
next one hour. I left my berth to go to toilet and then returned to it after
freshen up. While I placed hand towel on my wet face to clear it, I heard a tea-seller selling tea. I desperately needed
one, and the moment he arrived closure I asked him to fill a cup for me. After
filling a cup and shoving Rs.5 into his shirts pocket, he left the compartment.
I lifted the cup to my lips and took first sip out of it. The very moment I
recognized the cruelty of its taste. Never had such a bad tea in my life. A
co-passenger, sitting on opposite berth with a similar cup of tea in his left
hand noticed frown at my face and said, “They use milk powder to make this tea,
which is pathetic but not life threatening.” I smiled at him in acknowledgement
while lifting my cup of tea in a manner of cheers and stood up. I did not know
what had compelled me to stand up and went to an open gate of bogie, perhaps to
catch some fresh morning air. Stood there for a moment I thought of throwing the
cup of tea outside but then I took another sip and felt it not that cruel or
actually better. I dropped the idea of throwing it and drank it all in sips at
regular interval as though relishing its taste.
After
tea, I turned around to face the dressing mirror above washbasin. My reflection
appeared in it and revealed my unkempt hair. I set them right using hands and
rushed through passage into other bogie. I traversed all the connected bogies
and with sharp eyes looked for her. Before I entered any compartment, I found
my hopes already lying on floor. Except non-reserved bogies, I went to every
class & compartment just to let down myself since she was not on that
train.
Train
halted at the Bhubaneswar station, after 36 hours of journey. Well, in those 36
hours I counted and wrote name of each station the train had taken halt. There
were 42 names in the list– all big and small. Around 8:00 AM, I stepped out
from the train with my luggage in hands and shoulder. When I walked out from
the station, I detected the sign of last night heavy rainfall. It was still
drizzling as though exhausted from all night affair. Despite heaviness of luggage
on my shoulder, I felt light. Perhaps due to the excitement of new life that
was on its way – a few kilometers away. I hired an auto-rickshaw and gave him
the address of Infosys campus in Infocity. The ride was almost of half an hour.
On the way, I asked driver to stop at a shop so that I could buy a packet of
cigarettes. Since, while in train, I have hardly had a chance to smoke and now I
desperately wanted one of those tiny smoking sticks.
When
Auto-rickshaw reached Infocity driver informed me and asked for the location
where he had to drop me. Reciprocally, I asked him if he had any idea about the
Infosys campus and he responded in denial. Even so, that wasn’t a matter a
concern since I could see tall plush buildings ahead and was sure Infosys
campus must be around. I asked him to drive little further. There I stepped out
from it and asked a man who was in formal attire and stood under a colorful
umbrella, “Do you know where Infosys Campus is?”
He
didn’t reply, instead gestured me to look upwards. First, I could not
understand what was he pointing at, and then I look upwards just to find a blue
cloudy sky over my head. Again, I asked him and this time he gestured towards
the gate. There, a security guard was calling at me with smile. I looked at him
and then again looked at the man with umbrella. He stood under the umbrella
which had Infosys printed at its cross sections. He was an employee of Infosys
and smiled at me. I paid the Auto-rickshaw driver and he took my luggage out.
Security guard escorted me in security office where another guard asked me to
present original copy of offer letter along with printed copy of confirmation
mail from HR. I presented the asked document, and after scrutinizing them, he
brought out a paper from cabinet drawer and began looking for something in it.
Sometimes
later, he looked at me with despair and said, “Sir, your name is not in the
list of joiners.”
“I
have travelled almost 48 hours to reach on date and you are saying my name is not
in the list.”
“Sir,
I have received this list yesterday only.”
“Since
I have got my joining confirmed only 10 days ago, can you please check with
HR?”
He
nodded and picked up phone to call the HR, whose name was mentioned in the copy
of mail I had shown him. Few seconds later, he hung up the call and faced me
with smile.
“Sir,
she confirmed your name. Since your was last minute change, hence your name
wasn’t present in the list given to us for cross check. Kindly proceed with
your luggage for security clearance.”
In
the joining letter, HR had mentioned about the security clearance – I was not supposed
to carry CDs, USBs or alcohol with me inside the campus. I opened my bags for
them, they checked it and almost 10 minutes later, they cleared me for entering
the campus. Guard asked me to wait, outside a glass door that opened inside the
campus, along with two other people who appeared to me fresher, they also had
luggage and were waiting patiently, while talking to each other as though
acquaintances, for car to pick them up. I proceeded as required and joined
them. I heard them talking in strange language and thought they must be Tamil
but later in Car with them I realized that they were not Tamils instead
Keralites.
At
the reception counter of company hostel, which was in the campus only, Warden
asked to fill up details in register before receiving keys to allocated room. I
seized the opportunity and asked him in return, “Has anyone from Indore or
north India arrived yet?”
“No.”
he answered, without giving much thought to my question.
“Are
you sure? A girl from Indore?” I again asked, by dropping more clues.
“Entry
Register is in your hands, better check for yourself.” exasperatedly he
answered, and turned towards other who had been waiting for his attention.
I
quickly glanced at the entries at current folio and then flipped it to have a
look at entries at previous folio but found no name that had arrived from, if
not Indore but entire north India. With defeated and tarnished hope, I turned
over the register to one of those two keralites. With key of allocated room
being placed in my hand by warden, I felt as though the dwindled hope of
meeting Dhaani all again had eventually extinguished. With luggage, I reached
second floor by elevator and opened room 306, by placing key into the keyhole.
The grandness of the room was nowhere less than a premium class room of a five
star hotel. An entire wall sized glass window rendered beautiful view of tennis
and basketball court. A bathroom that was larger than the usual bedroom of
middle class people. A finest television set with satellite connection and a
tea table filled with cookies. Bed was so wide that two people could
comfortably afford pleasant sleep on it. Mattress was as soft and spongy as I
never experienced before. Infosys lived on its reputation more than I imagined,
it had bestowed those excellent facilities upon its trainees.
I
opened a bag to take out articles required to take shower in that grand
bathroom – soap, shampoo, towel, underwear and other clothes. When I opened the
shower curtain in bathroom, I found a nice soft towel, a scented soap and few satchels
of shampoos already there. Must have been placed by housekeeping people. The
sight brought a smile on my face. I felt an admiration for those who had set the
place so wonderfully for my arrival. After shower and changing into a pair of
jeans and a Kurta, I walked
downstairs to find a swimming pool that was there in the hostel premises only,
however, not visible from reception counter and unfortunately from my room. Sparkling
blue water of it reflected the black hanging clouds in the sky. I looked upward
and could clearly see that it was going to rain and it left a pleasant feeling
in me since I could see the realm around turning into a heaven during shower.
While I walked around, my face held a smile. Soon, I spotted a place to sit down.
It was adjacent to not functional fountain.
At
some distance, I watched a flat circular ground, all green with fresh grass –
must be a cricket ground for employees to play on it. Along the road, I also
watched the car coming towards hostel. Must be carrying some new trainees. It
stopped just outside the hostel and not deliberately, I consistently watched it
as though some miracle was about to happen. As soon as front door of the car
opened I saw a pair of female legs in blue jeans coming out and then the whole
her. To my mighty surprise, it was Dhaani. I could not believe she was there, I
could not believe we were going to have 45 days of training together and I could
not believe that destiny had planned it so flawlessly that we would be together
finally.
I
stood up and walked in her direction. As I approached her, she looked at me
with inquisitive eyes.
“Hi,
you remember me? I was there at microprocessor classes with you?” I said, with
a stupid smile on my face.
“Oh
yeah.” After a thoughtful moment, she replied. Though her response didn’t carry
the level of surety required but I didn’t mind it. She briefly introduced me
with her father who just stepped out from the other door of the car. I
acknowledged him despite that he had puzzled look on his face and walked back towards
the non-functional fountain.
Incessantly,
my face carried a stupid sort of smile and her presence had induced a trust on
faith and destiny in my heart. Without any suspicion and apprehension,
I agreed to the fact that her and my destinies were tangled, and now the time
had arrived for us to realize this fact and fulfill the call of destiny.
