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Sham Ka Waqt

6 PM, Monday.

Having finished my coaching class in Borivali, a small suburban town in the metropolitan city of Mumbai, I headed for my next class in Malad, another suburban town in the city. This time, instead of hailing an Ola or an Uber cab, I desired to travel by Metro rail which had started plying the route only a few days back. I was pretty excited to be enjoying my maiden journey on the said route. Saving a couple of hundred bucks by traveling in this mode only added to the excitement. 

I boarded the train from the station named Devipada. Contrary to my fear that the train would be madly crowded given that my travel time was in the rush hours of the day in a city like Mumbai, the train turned out to be, quite pleasantly, very thinly occupied. The compartment was full of streams of vacant seats each of which stared at me invitingly, but I looked for one that would be decently away from all the fellow travelers even though they were sparsely seated. Just a couple of glances left and right and I could spot one which was one of the two-seaters benches in the far corner much away from the gazes of others. I walked leisurely to that corner and happily settled myself on the seat. The AC inside was pleasantly mild and soothing. 

Hardly had I made myself comfortable in the solitude of that corner, when a fellow passenger emerged from nowhere and sat right next to me, leaving all those seats lying vacant in the compartment. Even though he was rightfully occupying a seat, I found that to be a bit encroaching upon my chosen solitariness.

This sudden uninvited guest, immediately after becoming my neighbor, turned towards me, “Sir, can you please help me identify with the train’s reaching the station Kurar”. I felt a bit perplexed at this request of his, as I found the PA system and the indicator panel in the compartment to be working perfectly fine. This unexpected request naturally elicited a curt reply from me, “Oh sure!!”. I was feeling a bit uneasy and thinking of settling elsewhere when he further intruded, 

“Sir, if you don’t mind, may I ask you something”?

“Yes, please”

“Sir, can you please suggest where can I get an apartment to live in the city?”

Without pausing to listen to my reaction, he continued, “actually sir, I am an actor and new to the place, I mean new in this area and don’t know where should I search for a place for myself. Sir, the price of the flat is not the issue, I need a decent place and one of my own choices. The area of the flat should be good enough to lead a decent life….” While he was narrating his list of requirements before me, I was looking at him surprisingly as well as inquisitively, trying to size up his overall personality at the moment. 

The man seemed to be in his mid-fifties and was thinly built. His face was somewhat jaundiced but the tinge of honesty in his eyes had not faded. He seemed quite energetic from the suddenness with which he appeared next to me. He was plainly dressed in his shirt untucked and trousers un-ironed. He was in his slippers which were a bit old and frayed at the sides. He was holding a cloth bag which was not very clean and carried a few patches on itself. In toto, he looked financially challenged and a disturbed gentleman. 

I dropped the plan of moving on to another seat and started getting engaged in his conversation. After listening to his requirements, instead of discussing that, I asked about his native place as he was speaking flawless Hindi. Not only about his place, but he also started giving the account of his complete family background.

“Sir, I am from Delhi. My name is Rajkumar.”

“Rajkumar what?... I mean your surname?”

“Sir, Rajkumar is the only name I am known in my circle. My surname is Sharma though”

“ok”

“My father’s name is Balraj Sahni”

“Sahni?? It should be Sharma no?”

“True, but he is known as Balraj Sahni”

“Why is that so”

“His name is Balraj Sharma but popularly known as Balraj Sahni. He retired as a brigadier from the force. He is very daring and caring. I am also very daring. I never compromise in the roles I bag in a movie. Right now, also I am coming from a shoot and I denied to bow to the director’s crazy demands. The unit warned me that I would lose the role. I also told them very categorically that, I don’t care about losing any roles. I would do it on my terms. I am, you know, like the hero Rajkumar and I don’t fear anybody. See, I am already 60 years old and still, I am so fit. My dad has no problem spending a good amount in a flat. He can spend up to 2 crores”

His talks were going on and on…when I suddenly realized that his stop has arrived. I wanted to spend some more time with him, but dutifully, I indicated the arrival of his destination.

Thanking me, he deboarded the train quickly displaying once again his fitness and the energy in his balanced gait and body movement.

After he left, I found a paradigm shift in my feeling towards him: from detesting his unwelcome proximity to me to pitying his condition. What would have disturbed him so badly? Perhaps his not being able to come out of his glorious past? He had come to the city of Bollywood in his heydays as he divulged this also in his discourse. All these years he has been struggling to get a foothold in the city of casualties, but yet not successful? Has he been abandoned by his family? His introduction about himself and his father suggested that his past seemed to be connected to the blockbuster “Waqt” starring Balaraj Sahni who played the role of Rajkumar’s father in the movie.

I was engrossed in such thoughts of reaching some conclusion about him when I realized that my stop also has arrived. I deboarded the train and headed towards the exit to catch an autorickshaw. I boarded one and started thinking about the flow of the lecture to be delivered in my next class. 

When I reached my destination, a sudden thought of him flashed through me…The unfortunate guy is still trapped in his old “waqt. With this conclusion, I got out of the rickshaw and found myself to be looking casually at the setting sun on the far horizon that was visible through the narrow gap of the skyscrapers...

It has always been a feeling of gloom viewing the setting sun…with the never-ending hope of its rising again…

...May God bless Him…