My Train Journey

Its 4:10 pm. The Secunderabad station is jam packed with crowd, some sitting, some standing and fidgeting while waiting eagerly for their trains, some running very hurriedly and some coffee, omlette vendors shouting. I was on the platform number 8, waiting to board Satavahana express to go to Viziayawada. I was quite occupied thinking about what has happened that day.While I was still thinking deeply, I heard people making noise after they heard train coming. Few men Jumped from the platform crossed the rails to go to other side so as to occupy seats easily from the other side of the train. Everyone is ready with a Kerchief or napkin and whatever they have to reserve the seats by throwing them on to them once train stops. While still I was in deep thoughts I had to force myself to come out of it, to get ready for coming train. I badly needed a seat, as I was pretty much tired. So I pushed others, stood almost at the edge of the platform and boarded the running train once it slowed down a little. Fruitful to my efforts, I got the seat luckily in the chair car. I was very happy at the great minor achievement of mine at that moment of time.

While I was very much occupied thinking about the happenings of that hectic day ,I just lifted my head up for a moment to watch out the happenings around. Next to me is a boy, short and dark, in his teens reading seriously some academic books and sitting next to him is an old lady, with a sharp nose and wrinkled face, seriously looking at me and my cell with out blinking her eyes. For a moment I got a little surprised and then again went in to my thoughts.

“ What the hell are you doing here? Can’t you see my leg there? How dare you stamp it!! ….” a shriek voice of a lady at the front of the compartment distracted my attention. Another loud voice in the other side of the compartment made me turn my head 180 degrees– “ Its my place bastard…I have come and put my napkin first … Go to hell …I am not going to give you this place …Who r u to reserve the place? …Its general chair car …get lost”…and the argument continued… Everyone in the train is in their peak frustration moods and is in no mood to help others. I thought may be I am also not different to them.

I went into my own world, till someone gave a jerk and fell on me. I lifted my head seriously this time thinking that it’s my time to shout. It was a lady with a small infant in her arms and a small baby gal standing, holding her moms saree with one hand and the thumb finger of the other hand in her mouth and her eyes fixed on me with fear. My unreasoned anger got reduced looking at the innocent child.
For a moment I got scared – “ Am I going to give my seat?” No way! If I do so I have to stand for grueling 6 hrs in the train in that horrible atmosphere around.
I simply turned my head down. 30 mins passed by and I found the guilty feeling in me overcoming my selfish feeling. Instantly I got up and said in a little louder voice – “Ma’m, You please sit .I can stand !!” ..I don’t know what exactly I did but somehow I felt better from inside. There was a sheer silence in the compartment after this happened. People noticed me offering the seat to the lady. Hmmmmm …I felt good having that feeling …till my legs started paining …”.

I stood, leaned, hunkered for almost 3 hrs before I heard a sweet female voice – “ Do you want to sit? Son do you want to sit. You have been standing for quite a long time.” To my dismay it was the same lady shouted on someone sometime back. I simply said “No thanks” although I badly felt like sitting and get comforted.
After a couple of minitues she again asked me and this time she got up and offered me the seat. I couldn’t say no this time and I sat. I think she would have felt guilty of what she has done before. I was then not in a position to think more as my eyes dropped down automatically and in a minitue I went to a deep sleep.
Suddenly, to my extreme surprise I saw a beautiful girl in the other side of the compartment. She looked at me and smiled. Unable to control myself I stood and walked towards her…In between I saw the old lady who was next to me stopping me with her serious looks and that ugly nose…and the small child whose mom, I offered my seat, got scared looking at me and started crying - Ummeeeeeeaayyhhhhhhhhhh…!@#$$….Kaffeeeeeeeaaahhhhh….

I got up listening to the shout of a coffee vendor saying – “kafeeeeeeaaahhhhhhh”. I thought “Ufff!! A hotchpotch dream…Shucks! a dream..”. I thought of buying one coffee and before I paid, the person next to me paid although I refused. I just turned my head (this happens by instinct –may be to find a cool chick around) towards the seats in the compartment, and found a few more surprising things.
The people who were sitting before, who had appeared to be very obstinate in their stance, are now standing giving their seats to others. Also I observed the feeling of friendliness among the same people who were behaving differently some time before. The old lady’s grim look has gone and she is playing with one small baby in front of her. People started saying “sorry” instead of shouting when someone’s leg touched others. The atmosphere has got cool down and everyone looked good and more concerned towards.

As the train passed through the dark bushes, shrubberies, I looked out at the edges of dark clouds that were shining in moonlight. Looking at my shadow image in between the window bars of the train on the bushes, I started thinking deeply while the train crossed many lampposts, streams, and few small villages till it reached its destination.This time I was not thinking about my hectic day but was thinking of what has happened in last 6 hours………..J.

The Human Animal

Over the years I have been hearing the people argumenting on the topic of Vegetarianism Vs Non vegetarianism. Infact I myself argued many times.
While eating NonVeg is right or wrong, still debatable, grisly behavior of the humans towards animals is definitely a dastardly act.
The way animals are treated by us has to be changed.

Chickens are put in poultry farms, bothering least about their freedom. They are just put together to breed and to are used for commercial purposes.
Goats, Sheep and many other animals lead the same life. Thanks to Indians for sparing Dogs, Cats, Crows, cows and other animals.

Recently I heard that in Mynmar there has been a lot of illegal trading of animals. These animals are treated worse, making their lives horrible while they are alive.
Having these animals in the menu is a fame factor to many of the restaurants there. The extracts of many of these animals are used in medicine and for skin care.
The way they kill these animals, the way they make them suffer till they slay their body parts horribly even before killing them completely, just for the sake of added quixotic pleasure is really pathetic. Watch out the video -> http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/?source=G2102&kwid=animals%20video861671485
(PS: Refrain watching this video if your sensitive to grisly killings of animals)

Man has become increasingly selfish, least bothering about animal’s life for his selfish deeds. If not stopping eating non-veg, atleast one should refrain doing these dastardly acts. Let animals live happily till they are alive.

Discover the “YOU” in you

Are you your mind, Are you your heart, Are you your power, or Are you your body?

Just think for a while and answer to yourself who you are (is).

Have you ever noticed that when you experience - a feeling of happiness, sorrow, excitement, satisfaction or depression – something in you is experiencing this feeling and that part of you sits back and watches everything?
A part of you that doesn’t reside in the physical realm, a part of you that constantly maintains 24 hr access to all things known and unknown, seen and unseen, and a part of you that lives even after your death.

Something in you always says what is right and what is wrong, something in you that takes decisions, something in you that ignites love, something that looks very fundamental to you and you existence at this moment.
Try to feel that something. Some say its your soul, some say its your consciousness and some say it’s an inner you that is connected to an universal source.

Once you understand this something in you, you will be able to succeed.
I define success as “ The achievement of ultimate satisfaction ”.

Once one understands or rather feels his “Soul”, one will be able to realize what he has to do to make himself satisfy.
Money, Power, Fame all these things are worldly and are related to the external world. So logically speaking these things can never satisfy the YOU inside you,
Because the YOU is not a physical you, rather it is the spiritual you.

So what makes you satisfy forever? Or in other words what makes you successful?

To know that you have to communicate with YOU. Listen patiently to what IT says to you; what it always wants you to do.
We always tend to do something that gives us worldly pleasures ignoring our inner self. If we keep on doing it you will never be able to achieve the success in your life.
Discover that part of you in you, understand it, respect it and try to satisfy its wants and one day, you and YOU will be the one.

Its time for you to know yourself. So Start Discovering the YOU in you.