I am at the Secunderabad Station. Things are quiet busy on the platform. It’s just a few minutes before the arrival of the Chennai bound express. What makes it a special situation to say about, is that I am going to join the prestigious Software Company in Chennai.

I had spent the first three months after completing my engineering, in preparation for the interview. Most of my friends felt that it was too lousy of me to cut of my hours of chit chat, that too soon after we all got our degrees. Parents knew it well that I was all set to be put up in Chennai, a few months of work and I would be off to the U.S.

Now, as I stand here with my friends busy putting my things in the comartment, it really feels great. Sunil as usual, is flirting with new girls that Swathi brought along with her. Rakesh is really good at making fun, he is explaining to the TTE that I am a sound sleeper and told him that a pail of cold water was the only effective wake up alarm. Rekha could catch up tow girls’ names in the resrvation chart about 20 years of age. "If you start acting smart, we will see that those girls will completely ignore you"" says Swathi. Guys, it’s really great being with you, I will surely miss your jolly remarks in the land of lungies and idly-sambar.

The train starts 15min. Late and I wave good bye to my friends. "If at all I hear that you are eyeing a Madisaar-Maami, I’ll kick you prakash" shouts Swathi. Naughtly girl. "One is sure" I said as my firends giglled and mocked at Swathi. So, " Chennai, here I come to you", I said to myself.

My berth was the upper one, I was happy that I will be having a few h ours of seclusion to memorize the stats of the company, who knows what Mr. Ranganathan as to ask in the interview. Gingerly, My co-passenger ask me to let him have my berth, "You see I have to alight at Vijayawada, I will be midnight by t hen, So thought I would get couple of hours of sleep " He said. That was ok for me. The sad part of the transaction was that his was the side berth and I will be tough to fit ,my body in that small space. A deal is a deal and he got the better of it. The other passengers in my circle where a couple about sixty years plus, the tow girls who Rekha had spotted turned out to be nuns, both of them busy with their Bibles. May be they are attending the gospel in Chennai. The rest of three seem to be working together; they were busy talking among themselves right for the beginning.

Kazipet was two hours from Secunderabad And the dinner spot for the train. Though there was a lot of rush up in the bogies thank god there weren’t in a new comers around me. I am in no patience to exchange my window seat for the side upper berth just because some granny has arthritis. Come on, I have a confirmed ticket to travel. May be an hour or so after we left Kazipet, " Excuse me, India seat ennaku allot ahi irriku" said a sweet voice in a hurried manner (This seat has been allotted to me she meant). I could understand Tamil to some extent, thanks to Swathi and her parents. "Look here madam, I..." I just felt interrupted as young lady in a white sari, orange border, black blouse with a little jewelry on, put her bag under the seat and sat to the corner of the seat. "You se, I had an RAC ticket and the TTE allotted S6 35 to me". "I left my other bags in s4 and it feels really bad an experience when one travels alone by train for the first time". Though it seemed strange that a girl starts the talk in that manner, I could understand the uneasiness a person feels when one has to have a night journey that too for the first time with out a confirmed berth. I was explaining to her that I don’t speak Tamil though I understand it slightly. "Oh, I was fed up inquiring for S6 in Telugu, these Tamilians don’t try to be good to you once they know that you are not one among them" she said. That’s ok young lady, any way "My name is Prakash and I am going to Chennai, you too are going to Chennai I suppose? I said sensing that it was my turn to start a conversation. " I am Shalini Mathur" "I am going to see-off my brother to Muscat".

She seemed to be of 20 or less, surely not more, of a good complexion and height. The sari made her look more like a lady in her mid 20’s but here voice and manner were of those of the late teens. She said she was a Mathur and Mathurs and north Indians, " You speak good Tamil though you don’t seem to be a Tamilian" I said. "I can speak 6 Indian languages, learnt

It through friends" She said. That seems great, especially when I know English and Hindi, Telugu though is my mother tongue I only know to speak and read. "Shalini, I think its better you sleep, it’s getting late, if you don’t mind take the upper berth" I said, Oops, she is in a sari and It would be uncomfortable. I apologized. She withheld a force laugh looking at my uneasy expression. Yes, that broke the ice. We started talking as most people do when they first meet. She said she is doing her commerce degree, her father owns a couple of mills in Mumbai. May be he is planning to get started with her dad’s firm, I thought to my self. Within the next half an hour I knew that she had two sisters and a brother, all of them married, the brother, all of them married, the brother recently get married to some one quiet younger than Shalini her self. She likes chocolates, got a computer at home, plays cards well, notorious for playing tricks in the game, likes the company of children, plays kabadi with them, likes to watch dance performances though bad at it herself, watches comedy movies, Mea Naam Joker is her favorite one. What! I thought Mera Naam joker was not comedy movie, it’s more a life of a comedian off screen. Too Philosophical a taste to say it a comedy movie. I voiced my feelings and she replied saying " prakash, sadness is as much a part of jokers life as is happiness". I thought I would change the topic. "You know, Githanjali is my favorite movie I said. "I like the Ooty weather, two young lovers who run away from the reality of death, find themselves in each other and want to live a life of there own". Some times you get fed up of waking in the morning to find that it was just another chance that you haven’t left this world. You just want to break free. "Shalini I don not say that the film proved love has won over death, What I liked about film was that the couple want to live, putting aside death". I said.

Shalini had a soft smile; she said, "Why is Prakash that you don’t accept death as a part of your life. Why is it that you want to run away". "Do you like flowers?" She asked, before I could answer, She started " See, the flower stars its life as a bud, gradually into a complete flower, its happy and so are others, later it withers away. "Don’t you think life and death are some thing similar, then why say no to death". Too much stuff for a night I thought. Thank god it was Vijayawada station. I woke up the other guy, who was to get down there, Walked out to platform, smoked a cigarette. Through the haziness of the cigarette smoke I started to think of Shalini. She is a young girl, good looking, rich, got a family; She as got every thing that makes the life of the teenage girl yearn for happiness, then why talk about the end of life. I gradually thought of my life. I have traveled to Chennai since my childhood and used to enjoy watching things in the Vijayawada station at midnight when the train had a change of engine to the diesel one. My grandma was a Tamilian, we used to spend our summer holidays at her place. My bad was here only son and though she was quite firm that he should marry a Tamilian, He married my mom, a Telugu person. Mum was hypersensitive to pollen and would be in bed the whole of the rain and winter months. Grandma found it a good reason to talk against my father’s choice, saying that things wouldn’t have been tough if he had married a tamilian. Daddy was happy with mom; they make a good couple. And there is Swathi, my girl. She was my classmate since my school days. Things got steady between us during my college, parents knew about my liking of her. She’s Tamilian, may be my grandma got here wish fulfilled this time. Hell man, why am I thinking about all these things? May be, talking to a girl makes you redefine your relation, lest you loose yourself and the people you love, just for the girl. Come on prakash, You just met this girl a couple of hours ago and she has made you think about so many things. May be she is just whiling away her time. Girls in their teens are good at such things, they read too many novels.

Here, My train is starting, I run to my compartment. Shalini is still wake, reclining to her half of the set. " My berth is free", I said pointing to the one just vacated by the Vijayawada guy, " So goodnight! Sleep well!" I say as I climb to the upper berth. Shalini stretched her legs on to the other half of the seat, She was reading a novel. Now there, my analysis was right, young girls read a lot of novels and they want to portray a character they like.

It was morning by the time I woke up, thank god the train is running a few hours late, lest I would have woke up at the watershed in Chennai, " Had a sound sleep I suppose", Shalini said while having her breakfast. I smiled, meaning a yes, got fresh. Our compartment was emptier now, may be most of them got down at the station I slept through. Ordered the attainder for a cup of coffee, and sat beside her. On inquiring, she said she hadn’t slept well as she was not used to travel by train. "May be got bored then", I said. "No! I am used to being alone at home and enjoy that way", said Shalini. "Hey! You said you have a big family, then you talk of being alone", I said. "Both my parents work and so do my sisters and their husbands, that puts me a half day of having my house for myself after my college", Shalini said.

There was a rush of kids through our compartment, a usual scene when the train is late, the kids have a way of alleviating their restlessness. One of them came to Shalini, " Akka! Shall I sit with you at the window?" She asked. Shalini took the kid in her arms, wrapped the sari around her and let her watch the moving scenes through the green fields. I like to watch women being kind to the kids, especially when they wrap them in their saris. "You have a good way with kids", I said. "They were in the previous compartment I was first put up in", she said. "You said you are a naughty girl, but you don’t seem to look so now ", I said. "See! Though I am naughty, I don’t think it is sensible to be so bad", I said sensing that I am making a fool of myself, "not that it would be bad, it would not be proper", she corrected. Quite impressive, I though to myself. "You said something?" she asked, "No! Nothing!" I said might be she has sensed it quick. "This new year, I wanted to learn to whistle, a resolution of sort", I said, feeling that it’s better to get the topic a bit cool. "I too don’t know to whistle, but I will learn it easily", she said. "Ok then! We will have it this way, the next time we meet, I will whistle and show that I learn faster than you", I said. " Ok then! That’s a bet", she said, "If I loose, I will buy you a box of chocolates and if you loose, you give me an ice cream for a treat", I said, "Done!" she said with an air of confidence. That was good, I like people who are competitive. We just smiled for ourselves as we watched our train our train goes over a bridge. Girls have a specific reason to put on a sari and I inquired about it. "My brother wanted to see me in a sari, I usually am in my jeans and T-s to my college and at home", she said, " That would make him happy", she added.

The kid said that she wanted to go to her parents and ran back to her compartment. "Shalini", I said, "If god were to give you just 24 hours to live, How would you like to spend it?" I asked. "I will just be with my friends, talk to them", she replied. "That’s all!" I said, "Come on man, You just got 24 hours, and all that you want to spend it as if it was just another day", I said. "sure! That’s all that I would do", she said. "Sure! That’s all that I would do", she said. We had just passed Basin Bridge and it’s time now to pack our things. She went to the other compartment and brought her luggage. There came the Chenai Central and we got out things down. "Ok then, Shalini! Just think about it, How would you spend your 24 hours?" I asked hoping that she will say something better. "Just the same way Prakash", she said. "Do remember the whistle ka bet", I said, she smiled a waved a good bye.

There is so much of difference between us, I want to live an active life, achieve things, make a name for myself and she just wants to let things be the same old way even if it were to be the last day she would live. Quite interesting, that I felt comfortable being with someone with a different way of thinking. "Quite interesting!" I said to my self as I was going to autorickshaw stand.