Its A Dog's Life The hullabaloo near my seat woke me up from an hour long sleep. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. It was nearing 'Alwaye Junction'. The train was gradually retarding its speed, as we passed the lush green fields and the crowded crossings into the railway station. It was nearing 6, and the sky was tinted red. A gentle breeze teased me on my ears as the train gradually pulled in to the station. 'Ok sar,I will be getting down here. See you then.' My neighboring passnger bore a smile on his face as he bid me goodbye. We had been sharing ideas and news for over 3 hours , from Tirur to Alwaye.The discussion mainly focused on the Government�s stand on the rubber dispute, and the state's economic issues that were worsening by the day. I did not recall his name, which he had politely mentioned some time back, but thought it better not to ask him again. After all, I had a very little chance of meeting this man again. It was not worth it. I looked out at the station. It was crowded. Most of the people who had got down at Alwaye were daily passengers who were traveling to Trichur or Chalakkudy for their work. There were lot more waiting to board trains that moved out of Alwaye and Ernakulam. The train would have a 15 minutes stoppage at Alwaye. That was the reason why most of the travelers had got down for some refreshments at the platform. Many of them had left their handkerchiefs or the daily newspapers at their seats indicating the reservation. I sluggishly got up from my seat. As I stepped down the compartment, I smelt of coffee and Banana fries from the local vendors, mixed with a not so pleasant odor emanating form the tracks. I looked down at the tracks. They were adorned with a potpourri of plastic bottles, paper plates, and empty cigarette & beedi packs. As I carefully set my foot on the platform, I found myself in the busy world of commuters, vendors, and newspaper boys who were shouting the fresh evening news. I went to a nearby Juice stall and got myself a glass of 'soda sherbet', a local favorite. As I looked around, I could see victims of time, hurrying around the place, and lot more others walking at the slowest of pace , waiting for their rescheduled and late trains. 'Sar, Lottery. Win an Ambassador Mark 4' Car. Only 5 rupees saar. Draw tomorrow at 10 AM. Take it Saar. God will bless you.' I turned aside to see an old man beside me with a tray of lottery tickets.. His face was blank, his eyes pale with not a trace of hope that I would be purchasing one from him. I didn�t believe in stumbling upon rare fortunes. It was mere sympathy that made me agree to his words. I went ahead and asked him to offer me a lucky one. The man was rejoiced with my response. He smiled and offered me a 'Bhutan State' ticket. 'Saarine Daivam anugrahikkum (God bless you sir)", he said to me, his hands folded in prayer. I gave him a rupee more than what it cost. He held the change to both his eyes, put it into his underpants, and walked away from me. I started my walk towards the northern end of the platform. I passed the stationmasters room and the RMO office. The parcel delivery room was as usual stuffy and smelt of jute and sawdust. While the station master's office was adorned with large cobwebs on the wooden roof, and the tables unkempt , the RMO office was loud and crowded with a massive queue of customers. Now I was in a more or less isolated area of the platform. There were a group of porters in red, discussing the standardization of pay for loading and unloading luggage. The beedi industry were thriving on this class of people, for each of them had a twig between their lips, puffing away to glory. I was about to turn back when I noticed some signal of life at a corner of the platform. It was more of a whimper , so weak that one ought to have good receptive senses to get any hint at all. As i looked in the direction, I sighted a couple of small girls, resting by an iron pole. A dog was resting next to them , flat on its side. I did not know why, but I was triggered so much by the sight that my legs took me straight to the object of my attention. As I closed down on the miniscule lives, I could see that the dog was breathing heavily, its tongue spread out. Its ribs were clearly exposed, as it heaved violently with each short breath. Repulsive ulcers were visible all around its body that I was instantly turned off by the sight. The girls looked around 7 and 2 respectively and looked as if they've never had a bath in the whole of their life. Their wretched clothes were miserably patched and stitched but still managed to conceal their innocent nudity. The elder girl was watching the supine canine, with all her attention. Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks as she whimpered at the sight of the sinking dog. The younger one was fast asleep in her arms, tired after the daily morning fast. I bent down before them, on my toes, and looked straight into her face. She looked up to my eyes, her tiny mouth still contorted from crying. As soon as she met me eyes, she turned her head away, in a vain attempt to hide her emotions. "What happened? " I asked, my voice overflowing with concern for the poor souls. The girl said nothing but her voice became more like a squall, waking up the younger one. "Where is your father and mother?" , I asked , obviously expecting a futile reply. The girl started feeling my presence at that question, and started wiping the tears from her face. She just shook her head, her eyes telling the whole story. I knew it. They were just one of the millions of homeless orphans that the country boasted(!) . They knew no past, neither a future, carrying an overburdening today. And there was the dog. A dog that would have been a part of their life, maybe the only close relative that the girls have had. The pain of parting with such a being was an obvious tragedy. I looked at the moribund animal. It didn�t seem to have much air left in it. The heavy breathing was just a passage to the dreadful dark world of death and beyond. I felt something on my palms as I was shaken from my thoughts. The younger girl was trying to hold my hand, or rather one of my fingers. I offered her one, and she quickly wrapped her tiny palm around it. She smiled, her face brightening with joy, as she relished her new toy. The elder girl didn't find much solace with the incident. She was deeply empathizing with the creature. I offered her one of the coco toffees I had bought from the juice shop for change, but she refused. There were some things that went beyond hunger and poverty, I felt. I passed on the toffee to the younger one. But she seemed to be more interested in playing with it rather than taste it. I was amused by the cheerfulness of the kid. She did not know the world as much as her sister did. For her, the world was her sister's arms, and the sweet buns that her sister would give her for dinner after the daily alms, occasionally followed by a glass of milk, on better days. Her emaciated body was least noticed, for she had a pleasant face. Even though it was dark and marked by multitude of scars and marks gained through the couple of years or more, it had an air of innocence about it . It was attractive enough to catch the eye of any onlooker. As I was involved with entertaining the younger one, I heard a weak squeal from my left, and then a loud cry from the girl. The dog had passed away.... It now lay motionless by my side, its mouth open; it�s eyes staring into the concrete floor of the platform. For a moment, my heart sank. I felt I was becoming one among them, a part of their big family. I was mourning with them. "Death is always painful. "I thought. "May it be a criminal, or a saint, or a dog., It just makes us feel mortal. It reminds us of the final truth." I though to myself as I empathized deeply with the girl. I did not know this girl 10 minutes back, nor did I know whether I would see her ever again. I had never felt for a stranger as strong as I was feeling now. I was beginning to feel the power of love and relationships, and the power of tears. " Tears attached a lot more value to relationships. ", I thought as I watched the trio, my eyes traveling between each other. The cries and mourning were shadowed by the loud hooting from the train . It was time to leave. The girl looked up at me, her eyes now telling a different story. It wore a color of helplessness. But I did find a tinge of courage in them, a sign that they will live, live on to become better beings. I did not have much time. " Should I stay there to solace the girls, and then get on the next train home, or should I leave them to themselves all alone? ", my mind vacillated between two tough decisions. My eyes alternated between the girls and the train. I could watch people were hurriedly boarding the train. Vendors were fixing their final deals. The guard had the green flag fluttering in his hands. The girl did not speak a word. She wiped her tears once again and looked me in my face. I hurriedly fumbled around in my pants for my purse and took out a hundred rupees note from it. I reached for the girl's hands and laid the currency softly into her palms. All this while, the girl was staring into my eyes. She seemed to be aghast with the sudden storm of events that happened a few minutes ago. I took a decision. I hurried back to the moving train, that was slowly but steadily gaining pace. I jumped onto one of the compartments, joining 10 of them who stood watch at the doorstep. I looked back at the platform. The girls were very much there . And the dog too . It was adieu to them. The elder one was looking down. She was busy wiping her tears from her cheeks. The younger one switched back into slumber in her arms. It was time to get back into the tracks again...
Copyright © 2002 Ramkumar Menon |