Thinking of Newton..

Suddenly, we were not sure of what happened first. The train skidded to a halt with a hiss that sounded like a sigh one makes while putting one's feet up after a long day at work. And then there was sudden and total darkness. The Churchgate-Borivili train suddenly halted between Jogeshwari and Goregaon yesterday, plunging the train into darkness. We sat quietly in the dark, hoping it was just a temporary power outage, praying that it wasn't an overhead wire breakdown. Other trains passed by on neighboring tracks, whistling at us for sitting there while they moved on to the safety of railway platforms. In the absence of any information, we sat. Not desperate yet to jump onto tracks and walk to the next station, we sat. The distance from train to ground seemed too far in the darkness. Gravity beckoned far too quickly. In pitch darkness, we wondered about pickpockets and tried not to suffocate in the sudden stillness.

Twenty minutes or an eternity later, the train surreptitiously inched forward, without lights. I wondered idly if an oncoming train would be able to see us before it was too late, but faith in the railways drove away that thought quickly. Someone cracked a joke about the Burning Train and really, given the glimmer of fear that hovered all around, it was in bad taste. A disaster that's anticipated each day but doesn't come. Respite for 24 hours.

The train crawled through the dark, finally reaching Goregaon station. With relief the passengers got out of still dark compartments and surrounded the motorman wanting to know more, wanting to know what to do next. The motorman, typically brash with a harassed look, rudely told everybody who was listening not to pester him with questions because he didn't know what was wrong either. Confused commuters now milled about, wondering whether to walk the half mile to the nearest over bridge to platform 1 to take a slow train or to take the easy way out and cross the tracks. Ten minutes later, the ladies compartment was empty - most women choosing to take a slow train instead of waiting for this one to make up it's mind. The men of course stayed put, knowing that no way on God's earth would anyone be able to get into the general compartment in a Borivili bound train at Goregaon during rush hour.

Some fifteen minutes later, a sudden burst of light and it was Diwali inside the train! The women standing on the platform rushed inside, amused to see just eight women left from the hundreds a few minutes ago. Patience always wins, we said as we congratulated each other for being sensible and for waiting. We cracked jokes about how we'd never ever get a chance to be in such an empty train again. We laughed about the volume of suddenly available fresh air and a miraculous choice of seats. Strangers suddenly become friends, the laughter replacing the confusion and the worry.

Haltingly, lights on and off, the train plunged into the suburban darkness and finally reached Borivili. With a sigh of relief, we got off, reliving an adventure that now seemed like fun, once we were on safe ground. The key was not to panic and make a costly error like jumping onto tracks or crossing tracks in darkness. Nothing is so important that you must lose your life to get there.

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I managed to get my hands on a copy of The Da Vinci Code. To say that it's a page turner is putting it mildly. I read through a hundred odd pages in the time it took me to reach work. At Churchgate, I was still buried in the book when the train came to a halt and I looked up in strange confusion, surprised that I had reached so soon. I wondered for a brief instant whether to get off or go back in the same train so I could continue reading. Fortunately, sense prevailed and I reached work like planned.The book is fascinating, yes. It makes you want to know what's going to happen next. But since I'll most likely finish it by the time I reach home today, the pleasure of continuing the story can wait for evening (or even lunch time!)

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Tomorrow's a holiday. Wish they had elections more often :)

The Congress candidate in our area is Govinda's PA. I'm not sure how that qualifies him to be a politician. The BJP candidate has done some work for the area. But he brought Togadia to campaign for him. That changed my mind. So who's left? Candidates from parties like Jan Surajya Shakti , Lok Rajya Party, All India Krantikari Congress.... The lone woman candidate is from the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha. I've never heard of it before, no clue what it stands for. Should I give her a chance? It's really a question of who will do the least damage while in power. Well, I have about 24 hours to decide. Maybe I'll vote for one or maybe for none :) Maybe next time, I'll stand for elections instead, so atleast I don't have to waste time thinking about such things - if a choice isn't obvious at the first glance, then it's a choice that is not straight from the heart.

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Our ballot will determine whether the quality of our life gets any better, stays the same, or possibly, worsens. That little mark of indelible ink has more power than we know.

Go, MW's. And choose wisely.