In the book Life in Local Train, I talked about how people find love in local trains but I didn’t talk couple’s life in Local trains. Couple creates their own world in local trains. Whatever space they get, they create their world in that space. They don’t care about the people sitting around them. They just express their love for each other at a place where some people hardly find a space to sit. I am going to talk about three such instances here. These instances are of an unmarried couple, a newly married couple and a couple with family. Three different stages of life. Three different types of love. Let’s see how they express it in a space where people want to sit to avoid the fatigue.
Unmarried Couple
Due to festive season, there was mad rush in trains. Finding a seat was difficult. Navjeevan Superfast Express arrived and I got in it. Whole coach was full, I adjusted myself on the seat of four. I was the fifth person on that seat. Before sitting, I wanted to keep my bag on the luggage rack above the seat but the rack was occupied by a couple. Guy was lying in the lap of the girl. And the girl was doing the romance or rather was performing the stunts because all the people were looking at them constantly. All the ears of that seat were on that rack. They were not married as they were planning about convincing each other’s parents. Their age was around 17 or 18. After noticing their romance, I decided to complete my journey keeping the bag in my lap.
Newly Married Couple
After the festive season, the rush was normal. In fact, the trains were empty. I left office early due to some work at home and luckily Vivek express was running late. I reached station and boarded that train and got a single window seat. On the parallel seat of four, a couple was sitting and opposite to them three men were sitting. The couple had all the characteristics of new married couple. Age in early 20s, hand in hand, mangalsutra and sindoor (or lipstick) applied by the girl & the girl’s photo in guy’s phone. Most importantly the cosiness between them. They started slowly. They started with pressing each other’s hands. And slowly as the stations passed by they got their space. At the end when I was getting down at Ahmedabad, the guy was in her lap. Girl was shying away on few things but was performing some stunts as instructed by him.
Couple with a family
On a normal day of commuting, I got into Navjeevan Superfast Express on time and this time I got a seat near the couple with the space. A couple with a family had marked their space with a man sitting with his face turned towards the window instead of facing a person sitting opposite him. With their children, they had occupied the seat of two. They didn’t allow anyone to enter in that space. The conversations of such couples are normally loud as the romance after two children starts fading away. Here, the man was discussing about his friend settled in Dubai. The conversation ended with the dialogue. I normally don’t laugh on people but that dialogue between the two made me laugh on them. Here are the exact words of that dialogue:
Woman: toh tum bhi chale jaate na Dubai
Man: toh tu kaisa roti mere liye.
Read about my fascinating journey in Life in Local Train. It is available on amazon kindle. Click here to grab your copy.
Lol it might be considered a bit intrusive to listen in to conversations of other people in a train!! But I can relate to it as that’s probably the most fun when travelling In a train in India. Haha
🙂
You should write a short story collection out of your train journeys.
I have already done that. The link to the book is in the post.
It is definitely interesting how you can tell the different stages of a couple ❤ doesn’t mean the love has died, just means the love and comfort has progressed.
Yes, it has progressed.