Women Only

My Ladies compartment is just the best.

For starters, it is much emptier than the other compartments. 

It has gorgeous women from all walks of life, some with stern chins and some with dreamy looks. It has energetic bubbly girls chattering away with friends and it also has soft whispers of those on the phone with their boys.

Sometimes they forget their volume and you hear a whiff of, "Oh my God you should have seen what she wore!" and also a naughty "pehle aap phone rakho" (read: you disconnect the call first). A professional conversation of "Yes sir, the presentation is ready" or a business talk of "Apne vendor ko phone kar na yaar" (read: call up your vendor) are other common tones that one can hear. One of my favorites however, is Punjabi Aunties discussing the latest Saas Bahu gossip.

I never fail to notice the eyes with well defined kohl, engrossed in reading books, and eyes with square frame glasses going through study notes. And then there are those eyes which are glued to the phones and the messages within, smiling with anticipation. Also the eyes that are shut, catching up with some sleep. 

There is always that girl with a chooda (red bangles worn by newly wed women) and the one with a hint of vermilion on her forehead despite her pant suit and laptop bag. 

The plethora of colours in this compartment makes it my daily dose of rainbow seeking. I also get a glimpse of latest trends and fashions of the city each time I step in.

My Ladies compartment, always has space to sit for old or pregnant women. Even for women with young children or with too much stuff to carry. I was once given a seat because I had red eyes and I looked ill. 

From Jootis to High Heels, from Sneakers to Ballerinas.

Somewhere just like life, women get on and get off at their pre-determined stops. While they may or may not alter my journey, but I know that here I will never feel out of place. It is my safe haven, my resort to imagination. It is where I let my mind take it's flight as I wordlessly listen to the all healing breath of my sisters.

And off course, it smells so goddamn nice!

The amount of people getting married is just annoyingly Crazy!

It feels like everyone out there wants to just settle down. Ugh!

Thank God I ain't one of them.

Peace. 

For a Second. Or maybe Two...

He stood there at the station, holding a bunch of lilies for God knows who, with anticipation in his eyes and a nervous smile on his face. Probably a schoolboy, that is what his looks conveyed. I never knew a schoolboy who bought lilies for a date. Or even for a girlfriend. But this one did. There was a ruffled restlessness about him and I couldn't help but notice his haywire hair. Absolutely clueless and yet so adorable in his own innocence.

Lilies always remind me of my boss. He scolded his wife a little for something very silly on the phone one day when we drove back from a meeting. The minute his call ended he called the flower seller near her office and asked him to deliver a bunch of beautiful white lilies to her. Just because he wanted to better her mood. He is a gem of a person. A stubborn boss and quite unreasonable at times but a brilliant human being.

She had a bad day at work today. I waited for about an hour reading my very gripping detective novel before she came. She arrived, dressed in her 'eccentric' style, kept her bag on the chair, rid herself of the jacket and took the seat in front of me. The world then became suddenly bright.  For the both of us.

I was lying in the basement room with the smell of incense that just made sense. Hypnotised and liberated I just heard a voice and some laughter and also felt a little something brush against my back. I knew in my subconscious mind also that I will always be grateful to her for giving me my safe haven. She brought me back into the room and switched on the lights. She said that my phone had been buzzing for a while. I checked. It was You. Waiting outside. I ran bare feet and found You right there. I hugged You and You held me close like I had never left your arms. As always I saw the magical twinkle in your eye.

That song just does not leave my mind. I keep humming it even when I am not. I keep feeling it even when I don't.

Why would she say things about me and my loved ones? I have no clue. I don't even care too much about it. I am weird in my pretty way and so it my life and I love it because it is so.

A lot of hilly terrain acoustics cause the sounds of nearby farmhouse parties to travel all the way to my room. I remember that they used to be an entertainment for me and my silence on the terrace of my old house. So many memories of the quiet times that I hold so close to my heart are brought alive by these drifting DJ tunes.

He was drunk and it was the middle of the path. He took my hand and forced me to shake a leg with him. I was a little tipsy myself so I humoured his offer and danced. Little did I know that dancing on the road is infectious. We ended up grooving to the loud music for a long long time. He waited at my window for an hour after I had slept. He never said he did.

You make Delhi winters just the best season of all times. In fact You make all the seasons more beautiful than they ever were. Your touch sill tingles and sends a warmth running across my entire body.

"Just come home. I will take you out for lunch. I can come and pick you up if you want."