One Situation, Multiple Perspective

The train was due to arrive in 15 minutes. The railway announcement person was busy announcing the arrival and departures of the scheduled trains. In-spite of the late time, there was no lull in the activity in the station. Moreover, it resembled a peak time situation. Arvind was waiting impatiently for the train to come. He didn’t like the crowded places with all the hue and noise. He just wanted to get into the train ASAP and sleep off. His parents had come to leave him off at the station. His mother was telling him for the hundredth time to eat his own food (which she had packed for him) and not to accept food for strangers. “Its fine Mom, iam not a kid anymore. I know to take care of myself” , retorted Arvind. His father was checking out the timings of the train and had gone to enquire the exact arrival time of the train. “The train will come in 20 minutes. It seems there is some minor track repair work going. That’s why they have halted the train outside”. “Do you want to get something else, Arvind asked his father after sometime. “No dad”, iam already packed and can’t carry anything else, said Arvind. Why don’t u start for home now. Arvind was getting more impatient with every moment, and his parents continuous pestering was making him more impatient. Why the %$## is this delay happening, thought Arvind.

Gajendiran was having a red back and was holding it protectively. This was a big occasion for him. After months of wait, he had finally got the interview call from Mumbai. After completing his graduation, he was looking for jobs for the past 3 months. It was hard for him to be without a job as his parents meager income wasn’t enough to make daily ends meet. His mother used to work in other people’s home and did house hold chores to get something. His father had met with an accident 6 months back and the private company in which he used to work as a peon, didn’t concern itself regarding his future livelihood. A person from office came and gave a month paycheck along with the dismiss letter. He used to scan the employment papers and used to apply to every job for which he was suitable. Yet, no news came from ay of the employers. After months wait, finally, Gods seem to have heard his prayers. The letter had arrived 2 days back asking him to report for an interview immediately. He had barely managed to book the ticket at the last moment and here he was waiting for the train. He had never travelled anywhere alone, and he was excited by all the hue and noise in the station. He had borrowed a bag his friend for the travel and was waiting eagerly for the train to come.

Hey Vinod, look at that girl, isn’t she hot, remarked Karthick. Which one, the girl in the chudidar, asked Vinod.

No yaar, the one behind her, with the red tops and the blue jean, said Karthick.
Yea Man, she indeed is, remarked Vinod.

Vinod and Karthick were close friends. Both came from rich families. Vinod’s father was the general manager for a private limited company and Karthick’s father had his own business. Both, Vinod and Karthick had just finished their graduation and had been planning on an outing. Both decided to go to Mumbai to meet few of their friends and then spend some time in Goa. Money wasn’t a big problem to both of them , hence they were loaded with various savories needed for the 2 day journey plus the trekking packs and few other things. They used to hang out in malls during college days, especially where the hot girls used to come. So when their college got over with 3 months of vacation time ahead, Vinod suggested going to Goa, a traveller’s paradise. They didn’t think twice and immediately booked their tickets to Mumbai to meet their college friends. They were least bothered about the train delay and were spending the time in scanning the area for the beauties.

The train arrived at the platform.

Don’t forget to lock your luggage once you get on the train, Arvind’s Mom said. Yea, Yea, Arvind rushed to get into the train, to stop the agony of listening to the endless advices…

Gajendiran got into the train excitedly, thinking of the momentous first occasion in his life of travelling alone for his job interview. He was confident of getting the job…

Vinod and Karthick were just coming back after getting 2 bottles of 1 litre Pepsi. Lets get into the train after sometime. Lets hang around till then in the platform, said Vinod.Why not check the Passenger list to see if there are any hot girls in our cabin, said Karthick. Yea, lets do that, saying which both of them went to check the train’s passenger list…