So, the other day I was strolling down the saidapet railway station.Though I live at close proximity to the Mambalam station, I prefer taking my trains from saidapet. Primarily because I hate surfing through the humongous human waves pouring into the famed Ranganathan street day in day out. You don’t have to really walk to the Mamabalam station, you will be glided by the crowd in and out effortlessly.Only thing, you can almost smell the sweat off the person’s head walking ahead of you and the person behind can smell yours.At any given point of time, someone will be playing the game “Lets-see-who-stamps-my-feet-harder” game without your permission.Now, if you’re a girl.,needless to say, there will be moments like “Ouch, What was that”..or “who the f**k was that”…………..you get my drift right?!?!?
So like I said, the other day I was strolling down saidapet station.It was around 3 in the afternoon with not many people around except a few pairs of heads sitting on sunbaked cement benches oblivious to the Chennai weather almost glued to eachother discussing Global warming issues and climatic changes in Siberia. I had to take the overhead walkway to go towards the other side of the track. That’s when I saw him.
A man in his mid forties or late…not more. He was frantically grooving around the place where he was standing throwing his arms in mid air as if searching for something.On closer look, I realized he was had dark glasses on.He was a blind man.Not only that, he was asking for help as far as his soft voice could carry for someone to guide him through the over head bridge. I was a good 15-20 meters away from him.Apparently he got down from the train which just left the platform.As I watched, he continued grooving around with his hands and slowly staggering sideways precariously close to the edge of the platform.
One pair sitting on the bench close to where the blindman was, were still discussing Global issues with heads together, arms arnd each other in broad daylight. “Buggers!!!”.
I sprint the distance between me and the blindman and in no time I held his foreman and pulled him away from the sloppy platform.
“Thanks madam, Ennai konjam bridge kitta vittudinga please”, he said immediately and shifted the grip of my hand from his left to his right since he was carrying a huge cloth bag in his left.
He clasped my hand hard and held on to it for dear life.Frankly, I’ve never held a guy’s hand before except my dad’s ofcourse.So I was kinda going numb from his grip., as we slowly walked down the long deserted platform.He took small child-like strides, so I had to reduce my pace as well.He stumbled slightly, on a slate of mosaic that was detached up from the floor. “Stupid me,I should have have told him that there was a bump.
Thereon, I said “pallam iruku inga”, “step varuthu”, “right turn”,”left turn” where ever necessary., as we slowly climbed up and down the almost disintegrating steps of the saidapet OH walkway .Man, It felt like to have walked up and down the everest. Wonder how they do it everyday.
On reaching the foot of the stairs, he said “Romba Nandri madam, and walked away briskly towards the left of the road while I went right.
Suddenly,someone screamed,“Ghajini, Asin-nu nenapo manasula….”
I wheeled around to see the source of the compliment. It was the jerk on the bench that was discussing global issues.
“Ammam da…vaada, Naan Asin thaan da….”
He muttered something like “Decent ah irukunu paatha, ponnu sema local-a pesuthu paara”
Ading goyya……Poda dei…..
He went cowering behind the dupappta of the girl he was with…. :-)
