Monday, August 17, 2015

Madurai by Seshadri express

My compartment had babies, toddlers and kids of all ages. Reminded me of Kempty falls, where hundreds of kids were present in one place. The breast feeding mom travelling by herself, announced that she had to get down at Thirunelvezhi. Was wondering how come she is wearing black. Early morning, when she was apologizing sorry papa to the crying baby and alighting, it didn't register my sleepy mind.

Hawkers shouting alwa alwa made me wonder, what is this place before Madurai that sells halwa just like in Thirunelveli. Was lying in side upper and wondering why on earth a guy was watching so many snaps of women's hair and backside. When he realized am watching, he quickly switched on the goddess wall paper. I woke up around 6:23 am and decided to get down thinking anyway destination is sometime past 7 am and the whole compartment is empty, let me come down. The first station name i saw was Valliyur and the train stopped at a place between two hills and windmills. On the way i saw clouds sitting on the mountains. Was just gazing at the windmills and a young couple sitting on the platform with their baby.

At last around 7 am decided to ask the guy in the compartment as to when Madurai will come. He said, we had crossed it long before. Was surprised and quickly alighted and asked the uncle on the platform and i got the same answer. Realized busstop was the other side, so had to get down the other side, cross the track and climb up to platform.

There was a Nagercoil lady who said Nagercoil was hardly 15 minutes away in train and she described how different it was from Virudhunagar where she was born. She said who ever came from Virudhunagar to Aralvaimozhi caught wheezing and how people here took bath in rivers instead of closed bathrooms. She was visiting her mom leaving her husband alone because Aralvaimozhi acclimatized husband could not survive Virudhunagar's scorching heat. She kept on stating urangAdhe and asked the ladies next to me to tell me the stop. Got a ticket in Coimbatore express which was arriving in a while and reached brother's new place close to 2 pm instead of 3-4 am. In a way good, bro had to work even on independence day and am glad he did not have to get up so early. Bro's new place was a fine structure, new building and we could see Thiruparankundram hillock from his terrace. Mom came around 9 am on Sunday and we finally left my brother peacefully around 6:30 pm. Mom in one place, sister in another, brother in another and me in another. God only knows if we could ever spend a festival together.