Swami boards the train, and enters the reserved compartment to begin his journey. Its probably the first time he is travelling alone and towards an unknown destination.
His heart is a mix bag of feelings. He is excited to meet people and make friends while also being afraid of thieves and thugs. Part of him wants to meet the world with a guarded approach like a trained ninja moving forward, but his mannerism is so very open and maybe naive. He wants to unshackle the shy and introvert image and change into a seemingly cool persona of an outgoing, socializing and enterprising alpha. He believes in a world where ideas, behaviors and emotions are absolute. Clearly, he doesn't yet know his own self. He doesn't yet know the difference between his beliefs, strengths and fears. Time will tell, but today his eyes are gleaming with the hopes of an adventure, new friendships and a subtle fear of the unknown.
Swami gets to his berth and secures part of his luggage under the common space with a lock and chain. Shoes and back pack are stuffed together to serve as a pillow. Having secured his lock, stock and barrel, he pulls on his sheet and goes to sleep. There are disturbances and rowdy noises in the vicinity, some times far away and at times very close. They keep him uneasy, and scared in his sleep.
He looks at the nearby bunks, and soon discovers a bunch of equally nervous folks, just like him. They are all new in this journey of exploration, freedom and growth. But everyone has a slightly different character, while some seem to be outgoing and social, others are observers. There are potential leaders and some easy going folks. Then there are a few who can mesmerize an untrained mind with their conversational skills alone, only to be disillusioned from this charisma later. All sorts of variety is present around Swami. This wonderful collection is probably the most comprehensive sampling of all kinds of human minds in their formative stage. So much to learn and so many friends to make. And so many lessons, for life.
In this novel milieu, Swami makes a friend. The genesis of this friendship is the need for company against the unknowns, but the necessity soon develops into a true brotherly bond. Swami and Singh complement each other, one being the brain and calming voice in critical situations, the other being the group's quotient of free spirit and brawn, whenever needed :) They spend precious hours discussing their families, women, society and what not ! They often step up to the occasion in each other's defense or support, or to strategize their way out of sticky situations and thoughts. This bond is not just complementary, but also of mutual respect and unbreakable trust, something that will become legendary among this bunch of young minds. There will be other members of the group who will come very close but some how will fail the test of naivety among friends.
One night, Swami is woken up by a feeble voice. He opens his eyes and notices a beautiful silhouette politely asking him for help. She points towards the open window through which rain is pouring in. He is still drowsy and all he can sense is a female figure, with her feeble voice coming from deep space behind him, hard for him to comprehend. But his unconscious mind understands the gesture and the presence of a pretty girl. A smile automatically appears on his face with his eyes still half closed, and he pulls down the window. All this happens like a male with his hormones on auto-pilot, and Swami goes back to sleep.
He remembers the girl and finds her next day in the train. They make friends with each other, but break up bad soon enough. This is the first heart break and lasts the whole journey. The longing for her company won't go up until the end.
Days, months and years go by and many memories are made. Some painful, and some of little joys and triumphs. These are the makings of character and friendships more than any other formal learnings. Swami and Singh will stay together during thick and thin, repeating the daily routines of discussing each and every thought in a young man's mind. They will not leave any tangible mark in their social circles except that people will always talk of them as honest friends.
There will be a day when they will deboard this train and end their journey together. That day, this whole bunch would step out of this reserved but independent compartment of life and venture in a new world where reservations are to be made using your own skills, call it hard work, smart work or just talking your way in/out of a situation. The friendships will stay and memories cherished. Experiences with people will be carried forward and sub consciously applied to all the up coming human contacts, off course new experiences will refine them, for good or bad. But the forward motion will not stop. And they will never forget this journey !!
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