Do you know Luke or chana-kulchawallah at Jalandhar?

It was a hot sunny holiday afternoon but I had to go to office. Not for work but for my annual day dance rehearsals. I took local train from Malad to reach my office at Bandra.As soon as I got into the train, something striking caught my attention.
I have got a strong liking for tattoos & body-piercing. I am scared to get a permanent tattoo made on my body somewhere but whenever I get a chance, I always get a temporary tattoo made on my arm or face(!) I had got a face tattoo made during an office-party. Also during my honeymoon I had got a henna tattoo made on my arm in Manali. I like aesthetically made tattoos made on bicep or neck or chest. Now coming back to the main story, the hands of a young guy fully decorated by permanent tattoo designs grabbed my attention instantly and I got a seat just beside this guy. I was observing the tattoo designs at that time an uncle sitting on that guy's other side ask him if the tattoos were real and when did he got them made? The guy replied the tattoos were real and he had got them made some ten years ago. I asked him didn't it pain to get both his full hands being punctured by needles? He replied yes it did! But only when the tattoo was being made. Never after that. I was first time seeing a real tattoo so big on a person sitting next to me. The faded greenish-black design pattern consisting of animals,trees,moon & other things were etched on that guy's hands & it was looking like that portion was swollen on that guy’s hands. I felt an urge to touch and feel it! But I can't imagine myself having my hands full with such tattoo.
I got down at Bandra. That tattoo guy also got down at Bandra. I started walking towards the auto-rickshaw stand and noticed him also going in the same direction. We took the same auto on sharing basis. On the way to my office I started communicating with him & came to know that his name was Luke. He worked for IBM & was on the way to one of his client’s office which was little further from my office building. He thanked me for sharing the auto as he didn't know there was sharing auto rickshaw concept here in this area. I also got to know from our conversation that he too was an engineer and he did modeling part-time and got opportunities as model due to his attractive tattoos. I removed a 10 rupee note I was supposed to pay, from my wallet and kept in my hand. I informed rickshaw driver to drop me near my office building and instructed him to take rickshaw further up to the office Luke wanted to go to. We again started talking and it so happened that my office building came and I got down and bade him a good bye only to notice that the 10 rupee note was still in my hands only! I felt very bad. What impression Luke must have got about me? I genuinely wanted to give my share of 10 Rs. But I had entered my office & by the time it occurred to me Luke also must have reached the office he was supposed to go to. I was already late in attending my rehearsals so I could not even go to search for Luke to give him the 10 Rs. Note. Point here is not the money. (Anyway 10 Rs. Is a petty amount) but I was thinking little deeper. In life many times the situation comes when time has moved and you realize you have made a mistake or an error but you can't do anything about it and all you can do is repent. But life has to go on! So I guess we shall not take such things too seriously!
But hey, if any of you know Luke, please inform him I didn't deliberately not paid that day, ask him to contact me...Luke, if you are reading this blog write a comment so that I can contact you back!
One more similar incident I would like to share with you guys. I was on family vacation in Amritsar and was going to Delhi by rail. The train had left Amritsar in the morning at around 9.30 and even though we were in ac coach, there was no arrangement of lunch.'Jalandhar Cant' station came at around 1.30 in the afternoon and ticket-checker had informed me that train would stop there for a good amount of time so I decided to get down and get some food for my family. I enquired at a nearby stall but nothing good and suitable for lunch was available there. I moved further. Actually I had to carry food for five people and I don't know why I didn't ask my wife or sister also to join me. I found a food stall where something called as 'chana-kulcha' was available at 10 Rs. Per plate. Anyway there was nothing more available so I decided to buy five plates of 'chana-kulcha'. I gave chana-kulchawallah 50 Rs. Note and ordered 5 plates of 'chana-kulcha'.He prepared 5 plates but I could take only two and asked him I would return and take the other 3 plates later. I just turned and noticed the train moving. I had come quite far from my coach. With two plates of hot 'chana-kulcha' in my hands, I ran but could not make out how far my coach was. In a jiffy I took the decision to get into nearest coach. And literally jumped into that nearest coach. I could neither take food for all my family members nor could take change of 30 Rs. Back and was here in some coach which was not even mine! Moreover due to the coach which I had boarded now was non-ac and hence It was not internally connected to my ac coach. There was one more girl from my coach who also had to board this non-ac coach as the train had suddenly started. We thought we would have to wait till the next station to go back to our original coach but my wife had already created a scene there and the TC had to open the shutter between the ac and non-ac coaches and we came to know that after running at 'Jalandhar Cant' station we had caught the coach just next to our ac coach. We were re-united before the next station only!

These two experience - stories I shared with you all to tell you all how I felt after each one. After realizing that the 10 rupee note remained in my hand only and Luke had gone ahead. After realizing that the train had started moving and I had yet to collect food for my three family members or the excess money I had paid to the chana-kulchawallah! If you also have experienced something similar, please share!!!

A "Help" experience...

Once I was returning from my office as usual in the evening. My home station - Malad came and I was pushed out with many others by the flock of co-travellers who were getting down at Malad. Crowd and moreover humid-hot climate of Mumbai make the local train travel, a worst experience. I breathed relief after getting down on the platform. The train moved further and so did I.A few steps further I noticed a herd of people surrounding somebody lying unconscious on the platform, near station master's office. Out of curiosity, I also could not help myself from checking out who it was. There was a young guy, little younger than me, lying on the ground unconscious.
People have this very bad habit. Crowd a place where something has happened and be a mere dumb spectator. Do nothing. Enjoy the Tamasha.
Looking at the unconscious boy, a few said that the boy might have got epilepsy attack; a few others suggested he might have had empty stomach and might have fallen unconscious due to weakness. One of them even suggested the boy might have fallen from the train. A lady was saying,"somebody shall make the boy smell an onion or a chappal (footwear)." But nobody was taking any action. Infact they had surrounded the boy and ensured that he does not get enough air to breath.
I ran out of the station to bring an onion, as I knew that just outside the station a few vegetable-sellers used to sit and sell vegetables. I asked and grabbed an onion and came back on the platform where the boy was lying. But I noticed that nobody was there now. Neither the boy nor the crowd! I went to Station master's cabin and asked about the boy. A person sitting in that office said in a rude tone that if I was a relative of that boy or what. I replied that I was not related to that boy in any way. But I wanted to help him and I had brought an onion for him to smell. He signaled that the boy is lying inside the room. I went inside.2-3 police officers and a few other men were trying to shake him and bring him into his senses. He was responding and in a few moments he came to conscious state. But still he was in a drowsy condition and he tried to get up and walk but didn't succeed. He fell back. I gave the onion to one of the men there and he broke the onion and took it near the boy's nose so that the boy could smell it. The boy though weak, was conscious now. He snatched the onion from the man's hand and threw it! Police man asked him if he was hungry. The boy nodded to indicate he was hungry. I told him I would feed him and asked him to come with me to the stall outside, on the platform. The boy had to take support of one of the police man's and my shoulder to come out of station master's office room. The boy was not able to maintain his balance and stand or walk properly. We managed to bring him to the stall. We made him drink water and I ordered a Vada-pav and a tea for him. The police man told me the boy had drunk and due to empty stomach he was in this condition. I felt a shock. I don't know why but I felt a sense of regret. I felt I should not have helped this boy at all. A drunkard should not be shown any pity and left on his own. I hate such people who do not have any control over themselves and after drinking beyond limit who loose senses and behave like animals. In parties also you find many such people vomit and spoil the venue and the party. Their friends have to carry them back to their homes. I have a strong sense of disrespect and disgust for such people. They not only loose consciousness but create trouble for their family members and friends also.

The boy tried to eat vada-pav.He just ate a byte and due to his semi-conscious state could not hold the vada-pav and it fell from his hand. I saw it and didn't like it but could not stop there any further and left for my home.