Songs on the local

Local train journeys are generally quite a drag. There is no room for standing around and no room for conversations either. You only grumble about the inefficiency of the trains and flinch everytime the fast local slows down. But there are those odd moments that add the extra to the ordinary train journeys. Today when the fast turned to slow and moved past Andheri, I heard a familiar tune playing nearby. Normally I am intolerant to people who play loud music in the train and I don't let them too. However, this gentlemen played his songs on a low volume and seem to be enjoying the music immensely. His eyes were shut but he wasn't asleep.

Once we passed Jogeshwari, the song changed to Woh Jab Yaad Aaye and I heard his voice. He was singing. Not humming, singing along with Mohd Rafi with more or less the same pain in his voice. The longing of a lover lost in the maze of the past is a universal feeling. And no wonder I stopped reading and listened to him as he sung his blues away. Eyes still shut. It was Malad by the time the song ended and Tumsa Nahin Dekha was up next. I knew it and soon I joined him albeit much softly. I looked across the seat and yet another young chap was singing along and we sang heartily. Thinking about her, that special woman that made your heart skip a beat and left you with those beautiful memories. The train pulled into Kandivali and the song ended. We didn't acknowledge each other but simply got up and alighted. For a few moments nevertheless, the journey on the fourth seat had gotten livelier.