The Discordent Ensemble

 

The discordant ensemble

This happened a few years ago. I boarded the 3 tier A/C compartment of the Express train from Mysore to Mayavaram ( more appropriately mayiladuthurai) to attend the ear piercing ritual of a relative’s grandchild at Vaitheerswaran Koil. I was travelling alone.

 

Gradually the compartment filled up. I was on the lower berth . The cabin consisting of 8 berths, was  fully occupied at the departing station itself ,  a matter of satisfaction since there would be no frequent intrusions by passengers alighting & boarding at  various Stations. The prospects of  a peaceful journey seemed promising.

My neighbours in the cabin  were an elderly  four member   Hindi speaking family ; two corpulent  men, a short & stout lady and a very tall one. The berths above me were allotted to a Tamil speaking couple. The side upper berths were occupied   by a thin fidgety man with beady eyes & straggly mop of hair and one of the  ‘”Hindi Bhais”

 

Now, when one travels alone, there is a temptation to keenly observe Co-passengers and  make assessments. A rather diabolical  & mischievous pastime I must confess . And so there I was travelling to Mayiaduthurai in the company of, Mogambo  & Sukhad Prasad, Golu behen  & lamp post didi ,  Devu maama & Buttoo maami  and Agile Anniyan.

 

The train journey proceeded like a dream - that is, till it reached Dharmapuri at about 9.45 pm. As if on cue, the middle berths were unfolded.  Mogambo & family pulled out two large packets from their bags, placed them on the seat and carefully opened the packets.Each contained huge heaps of some Rice preparation  packed in what looked like lotus leaves which the foursome devoured. Sukhad Prasad  downed a two litre  bottle of water to the last drop. The family seemed contented. Within 10 minutes, the cabin lights were put out indicating bed time.

 

 I  dozed off. Suddenly  a  terrifying sound woke me up.  “Had the train derailed ?”  everything remained calm for a moment. Then again that  sound, similar to  the grating noise made by pulling & shutting a rusted metal drawer emanated from the berth occupied by Agile Anniyan. He was snoring. Others  seemed undisturbed. The groaning continued intermittently.

 

In time several growls  began reverberating from all  sides : Mogambo trumpeting like a stricken elephant, Devu  mama alternately inhaling and exhaling &  wheezing like a beached whale,

“Whorf.Whorf…Whorf” Sukhad Prasad was delivering booming, gruff , low-frequency single syllable   snorts

The ladies were more courteous: while Buttu Maami displayed  musical competence by rendering a mellifluous  “Wheee , Heeee”,  lamp post  restricted herself to intermittent  hisses & squeals Unruffled by the din Golu  Behen was  sleeping peacefully .

 

Realizing  that my sleep had become a myth and that I had to survive the night, I walked to one end of the compartment , and sat on the small folding seat meant for the Ticket Inspector. the Train reached Erode Junction at about 1.00 am., I attempted to give sleep one more chance, and went back to the berth.  The commotion had not abated, Tired and groggy I hit the sack..

 

.I was rudely woken up by someone at 3.45 am.   The train had reached Tiruchirapalli Jn.  Maama &   Maami were up and awake.   They “Requested” me to give room to enable them pull their luggage out from under my berth.This done   Maama                              exclaimed: “you  Must  to be very tired.  You were snoring hard ” .The couple walked towards the door.

 

At 7.15 am the train reached Mayiaduthurai.

 

Sitting in  the auto, I thought about   Maama’s parting  shot. I laughed aloud. The startled Driver enquired ” Saar romba sandoshama Irukkiga”? ( maybe he was thinking I was crackpot or had one too many). I stammered with “Vaitheeswaran darishanam kidaikkapogira santhosam daan.”

At the Hotel room, I began recollecting the events of the previous night & the train journey .  There will always be co passengers. All or some could be indulging in the type of pernicious Assessment I fabricated .On this journey alone I could have acquired seven  sobriquets

Considering the large numbers of Aquaintences, detractors, family & friends there could be any number of  epithets , monikers , nicknames, surnames….you name it ,  that remain shrouded in secrecy for  obvious reasons.  I am itching to hear at least a few  of them, just for the heck of it, than let it assume the nature of an obituary.

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 Without the  epilogue this spoof will Fizzle out like a damp squib.

I arrived at Sri Vaitheeswaran Koil at the designated time for the ritual. Made the Circumabulation and had peaceful Darshan. As per temple tradition, washed at the “Kolam”, and placed packets of Salt & pepper in the specified tray. Still no sign of the relatives & child. Suddenly I remembered that I carried something called “Mobile”. I gathered that the event had to be cancelled .

 

With the train to Mysore scheduled to depart only at 5.55 Pm, I utilized  time roaming the lanes of the temple town  . The Small eateries and hotels here carry strange and funny names: Melmadi Club, Bite of Burma mess, Koorai Kadai, Singam Power Hotel …..

 

I could have done so many logical things before embarking on the Journey, but it never occurred that I should !   A Comedy of errors? Or

 

Was my visit Ordained by  GOD and deremined by Nature?