The coffee is lukewarm. The Popcorn is 50% corn and 50% delight. The view outside? Undeniably priceless.
A little while ago there was a woman on a terrace waving clothes like national flag. One could see a bored goat chewing plastic near a chai stall. Somewhere in the distance, a cricket match has paused to let our train pass, like we’re the President of India. Of course the players are not happy about it. Maybe they are mumbling curses on the train and its passengers. Maybe the batsman was going to hit a six on the next ball. Maybe the bowler was sure to take a wicket.
And here is the young man, on Seat 32A, with Love Swipe Blackmail, an acclaimed Indian mystery thriller open in his lap and a coffee cup dangerously close to tipping over with every jolt.
He should be reading. The chapter promised a shocking twist. But somehow, the real suspense is outside, his mind playing all the scenes he has witnessed like quick reels – will the lady’s clothes dry, its monsoon. Will the goat’s stomach be ok? That boy who was running alongside the train on the last platform, did he make it to his seat? Will the chai guy spill again? Will he finally get network that got lost on the way?
Watching life from a train window is like watching a film with no audio. Your mind fills in the silence with its own dialogue. You invent names, backstories, romances.
I once saw a man reading a newspaper upside down. I respected that. We all interpret news differently. But did he interpret anything. I guess it calls for a mystery thriller itself.
Isn’t this what we do in life too? Watch moments pass by, assign meaning, and hold on to the scenes that made us feel something; even if they were as small as a fly flying over freshly cut fruit salad in a roadside salad shop?
Coming back to our young man. His train of thoughts is interrupted by the train’s whistle. An appearing station? A sudden application of brakes, and his coffee sloshes. A child presses his nose against the window glass and grins. He grins back. The child waves. He waves. They say nothing. They understand everything.
And Love Swipe Blackmail? It’s still open on his lap. Waiting patiently. Like all good stories do.
Because sometimes, the best suspense is not on the page. It’s the world outside your window.
Kahani Hai Na Amazing? Remember Padhna Zaroori Hai.
