GYAN PRAPTHI ( AWAKENING ) AT SECUNDERABAD RAILWAY STATION

 
The night sky was a bit too dark. May be the sky was preparing for the forthcoming no moon day ! A few stars shining far away. I had a late night train to catch up. I had to travel to a faraway place. The auto to railway station dropped me a bit too early as there were no eventualities like political hartals, religious processions etc. at that odd hour.

Waiting for the arrival of the late night train gave me forty odd minutes to remain all by myself. I could have got into my easy pass time of dozing off, but the prospect of missing the train put me into alert mode. The idea of looking for my spectacle and opening a book was not too impressive. Thus I got into my hobby of watching people and admiring their idiosyncrasies.

A railway station gives ample opportunity for anyone wanting to become a psychoanalyst due to the convergence of various people from all walks and strata of society. A small boy of twelve or thirteen years caught my attention. He was dressed in a pyjama and kurta all in white colour. A scarf was on his shoulder. There was no cap. Despite this by the size of his salwar I could make out that he was a Muslim lad.

He was reciting something to himself and walking up and down. After a few steps he used to retrace the path. This was going on for ten minutes. Then he came near me and asked me to move a little bit so that he could sit stating that he had left the plastic bag on which I was leaning. 

I obliged him and could not resist talking to him. He was from Darbhanga in Bihar, hailing from a family of eighteen children.I did not dare to ask him how many wives his father had married to get a clan of eighteen children. He had joined a Madrasa in Hyderabad a few months back. He was going home on holiday as they had their break.

On casual talk I learnt that they are taught only Arabic and he did not know Hindi or English. He was left in the station by his brother at about 9 PM and told to board the train with an unreserved ticket and only 100 INR in his pocket. For a journey that would last forty hours he had a pack of CHIWDA to eat. He was practicing the portions of Quran that he had learnt while pacing up and down. 

Even when we see off grown up children we pack so much food, two three cell phones, companions and relatives to meet and hand over hot fresh food on the way. Here I found a kid with a bottle of water and a plastic bag venturing to travel 40 hours all alone!

In my case I had a first class AC reserved ticket, food that would last me for the whole journey and snacks to indulge, hotel reservation in the destination etc. I was still nervous due to the fear of unknown. This lad was so cool. 

I asked him did he not miss TV, Cell Phone, English and Hindi education etc. The answer that came from straight without any hesitation hit me on the fore head like a ton of brick..

“Sir you all study English, Hindi etc. to satisfy your need of the present. I study something which will take my Atma to something beyond. There are 360 moving joints in the body. None of them can move without the Atma. In the end we have to answer to the almighty that had sent us down on this earth. If necessary I can master English or any language if needed in just two months. What I am reading in the Madrasa is for my life!” I was dumb stuck!