More often than not, I board the early morning train (Shatabdi Express or Vande Bharat) with the gait of an inebriated man because of disturbed sleep during the previous night. The reason- fear of missing the train (on a few occasions the alarm clock became a part of my dream). Once I am seated in the train, I look forward to a nap in the lap of the reclining chair car seat. However, silence, the pre-condition for my sleep, is shattered by those who chat as if they were sitting in a cafeteria. A few smartphone users (who are allergic to the “end call” button) also join in to create cacophony of a high standard.
Requesting those garrulous characters to be more considerate to the rest of the passengers is likely to be an exercise in futility. Instead of being apologetic, they could make one feel apologetic. In such situations, I had no choice but to resign to my fate. However, for once, the oppressed became the oppressor and how! I happened to bump into an old college mate in the train compartment. I requested my co-passenger to swap the adjoining seat and he agreed without a frown on his face. For the rest of journey, we couldn’t help but talk non-stop because in such conversations, recollecting the oddities of the teachers and the laughable traits of common friends is required by law. I did receive a few stares but nothing beyond that.
During my next train journey, I decided to follow the dictum- If you can’t beat them, join them. So, I started listening to the conversations. Eavesdropping may be unethical but not if someone is talking loudly inside a train coach. Soon, I regretted why I hadn’t done this before. The conversations were so interesting that I didn’t feel like opening a fiction book. A group of office goers were travelling to a company meeting. All they talked about was- office politics.
Since then, I have become a good listener or rather an overhearing expert. If my ears had muscles, my pinna would have become highly mobile. During another rail journey, I heard a young man call up someone again and again. The receiver seemed to be his annoyed girlfriend. After five such calls, he was able to mollify her. I became aware of some interesting words which could be used to address one’s beloved.
I know about the actual financial health of each private bank because once I listened to a group of senior bankers talk about it. Such ‘inside information’ could never be found in a newspaper. On another journey, an old man sitting on the seat behind me kept on talking non-stop about his son to his co-passenger. And his son happened to be my colleague. Later, I told him with a sardonic smile, ‘I have got to know almost as much about you as you know yourself!’ He exclaimed, ‘My father must be travelling in the train on a seat near to yours!’
However, no strategy is foolproof. A few days ago, some passengers, who looked to be East Europeans, kept on talking without a break. However, I couldn’t understand even a word. And I didn’t feel it appropriate to interrupt them- atithi devo bhava.
Writers can get lots of ideas by travelling in trains!