The Lifeline

Renu, was feeling extremely pleased. After all, she had done so much work in a single day.Coming from Vasai to Goregaon in an early morning train to collect the three new sarees from Motilal Nagar, then going to the Topiwala Market. There, at her regular tailoring shop, she got the blouse pieces cut from the sarees. She had the old measurements of her sister-in-law and mother-in-law and asked the tailor to stitch the blouses with the same. While waiting, she called the two ladies at home to check if they wanted any special design for their blouses but they both seemed happy with the standard cut and look. Renu, being younger and a lot more fashion conscious, looked through the magazines at the tailoring shop before zooming on a new design for her blouse. She was excited that the tailor agreed to make her the latest Kareena style designer blouse.

Leaving the cut pieces with the tailor, she put the three bright sarees in a big carry bag and moved on to her next mission… shopping! She went to the City Mall nearby and straight to the Shopper’s Arcade where she picked up two fancy salwar kameez and a gorgeous black saree with a lot of glitter on it. She always wanted one such saree for the special occasions. By the time she wrapped up her shopping, it was almost 2 pm and it was time to head back home for trains going to Vasai and Virar post 3pm would inevitably get very crowded and with two big bags of new clothes in her hands, she did not want to risk it. She took a shared autorickshaw and reached the Goregaon station, and when her train arrived, she was pleasantly surprised that the second-class ladies compartment looked almost empty. She jumped into the compartment and went straight to the window seat and sat down. She then stood up once to put the two bags in the luggage counter above, switched on the fan and once again took her seat. A couple of old ladies joined her in her enclosure from the next stations and by the time the train reached Borivali, all the seats were taken. While the other passengers were talking to each other, Renu pulled out her ear plugs from her purse and started watching a movie on her mobile. She had never had the luxury of sitting and travelling in the local trains, and as the cool breeze from the window kissed her face, she closed her eyes and dozed off. When the train reached Vasai, one of the passengers gave Renu a gentle shove to wake her up. She got up and put her hand up to bring down a bag and then got off the train in a hurry just in time before the train moved on.

Renu was excited and wanted to reach home quickly to show the things she was carrying. She decided to give herself a treat by taking an autorickshaw to reach home instead of the usual twenty minutes of brisk walking. Just as she stepped out of the station to stand in the queue for the auto, she realized that she had only one packet in her hand instead of two. She opened up the packet to find the two salwar kameez sets neatly kept in two cardboard boxes. Oh my god, the bag with the four sarees… I left it in the train… how could I make such a blunder? She turned around and saw that the train had left and the last of the passengers who had got off were leaving the station too. She walked back to the platform and sat down on the empty steel bench, holding tightly to the one bag left in her hand and the other on her forehead, hiding away the eyes that were tearing.

How could I be so careless? What will Anju didi say? She will feel so terribly sad as the three expensive sarees were gifted by Anju’s father for his daughter, her sister-in-law and the mother-in-law, meant to be worn on the occasion of his son’s wedding planned for May in their native village. She put her head up, hoping to see some Good Samaritan bringing back the lost packet. She looked to the right, she looked to the left, but alas, there was none. She needed to speak her heart out to someone and took out her phone and called Bhavesh, her husband. She narrated the whole incident as it happened and the eyes went wet again, her voice choked as she completed her tale. She then nodded her head and kept the phone down.

Bhavesh was at that time working at Bandra Kurla Complex at the Diamond Bourse as a cleaner in one of the offices. He spoke to his manager and asked for a half a day off and then called his mother who was working as a housemaid at a house in Goregaon.

Aayi, something bad has happened. Renu has misplaced the bag with the sarees in the train… he went on to explain the incident as was narrated to him.

Smita, the calm mother asked Bhavesh to add the daughter-in-law to the call…. Renu, don’t cry. Go home now and tell Anju about the loss, as it happened. You know her, she loves you like a sister and will understand. I will ask Bhavesh’s father to buy us new sarees that we will wear for the wedding. Yes, the three blouses that you have given for stitching will go waste, but it is ok. Mistakes happen and can happen to anyone.

No, Aayi, I cannot face Anju didi. She will be devastated… no, I just cannot do it!

Ok then, let us do one thing. These sarees were bought recently from Anju’s maternal uncle’s shop at Girgaum. I know the shop there. Let us go there right now and see if we can get identical sarees. If we cannot, then we will buy three that are almost look alike. On our way back, we will give the tailor another three new blouses to stitch. That should take care of the problem for now. We will also have to tell Anju’s uncle not to speak about the new purchase to anyone.

But Aayi, these were expensive sarees with heavy zari.

Don’t worry Renu. I have kept all the money that I get in my account from the Ladki Bahin scheme separately for some unforeseen emergency and this is a real crisis for us. I will go to the post office now and take out the money. You take a fast local now- for Churchgate, I will board it from Goregaon and Bhavesh can also reach Marine Lines station around the same time. We will then go to the shop together and hope for the best.

The other two on the phone agreed that this was the best option for now and the trio started moving from the three locations towards the heart of the city. As planned, the trio met at Marine Lines station and went to the saree shop where they were greeted by Anju’s uncle who was surprised to see them. Smita took the lead, as the senior member, to explain to the uncle about the loss of sarees and what they had in mind and how with his help, happiness will reign at their Vasai home once again.

We get sarees from the manufacturers in lots but mostly each one of them is unique. Rarely will we ever keep two identical sarees at one time in the shop. The best we can do is to select three sarees which resemble the ones lost. For that I will need to see the pictures of the lost sarees.

Yes, I have the photos of the sarees on my mobile. I will share them with you now, said Renu.

Ok, that is good of you youngsters that you take pictures of almost anything and everything. At least now you can say the pictures do have some utility….and the man started pulling down sarees from the shelves and compared them with the photos. He even shared the photos with his other employees who were free, as afternoons were relatively less busy. All in the shop almost ransacked the counters and the store behind. It appeared as if some thief would have entered to carry out a heist. Sadly, no match was found… none at all!

The Search

The Uncle said, Smita Didi, now that I have the pictures, I will speak to the place from where we had sourced these sarees. I am sure, they will arrange to send us similar sarees in the next two weeks. Since the wedding is still a month away, you will still have enough time to get everything ready as per schedule. I promise not to speak to Anju or anyone in her family or village about the lost goods. And one last thing, you take such good care of my niece, you will not have to pay for the same. Let the new ones be gifts from me.

Thank you, Bhau. You have saved us so much trouble…said Smita and the three left for home.

With the oath of secrecy weighing heavily on all three, it was late evening by the time they reached home. Smita, got busy with the cooking, with Anju helping her. Renu went to her room and lay down complaining of intense headache. She just came out to have dinner but she only ate a few morsels and then went back to her room. She did not utter a single word and did not look eye to eye with Anju even for a single moment. Next morning, she remained in the room and did not go to work. Everyone in the house knew that she was not feeling well. When all others had left for work, Anju, went to Renu’s room and spoke…

What happened sister? Last night, I heard you cry from my room. Do not keep anything from me. Did Bhavesh hurt you or speak to you badly? You are my younger sister and you should speak freely with me.

Hearing this Renu sat up and threw herself into Anju’s arms and broke down. Renu cried incessantly while Anju kept consoling her… Arrey behen, kya hua?

I am sorry Renu didi. I have foolishly lost all the new sarees your father gave us. It happened yesterday in the train… and she sobbingly narrated the whole episode.

Anju pulled Renu close to her and kissed her forehead and said… It is ok. Mistakes happen. All we have lost are some sarees. Much worse can happen on trains. We can always buy new ones. You did not lose them on purpose, you too lost your own special saree as well which was in the same bag. We will go tomorrow to buy new ones. For this small thing, you were so upset… you thought this Didi of yours will get angry and accuse you of bad things… never ever think like that.

Renu smiled as tears kept rolling down her cheeks and hugged Anju tightly… Oh Didi, thank you so much. I am sorry not just for losing the things but thinking wrongly about how you would react.

Anju kissed her again and the two sisters-in-law began setting the house in order and cooking the afternoon meal together.

Next morning, Renu left for work and on her way back home, in the crowded compartment, she heard a woman speaking about having found a bag a couple of days ago. Renu reached out to her and said, I lost a bag with four new sarees two days ago.

You are lying… said the elderly woman. My bag contained old sarees and clothes and not new ones. If you really lost the sarees, tell me what were their colours?

Renu, went to her photo gallery on her phone and showed her the pictures. She did not have a photo of the black sari she had bought for herself and so described it vividly to the lady.

The other woman started laughing… You are lucky. I found the bag kept on the luggage counter before getting off at Virar station. Since no one was picking it up, I initially wondered if it was hiding a bomb or something but then brought it down and found it contained four beautiful and expensive sarees. I was planning to hand it over to the Railway Police tomorrow if no one were to claim them. Good that we met today. The bag is in my house. Take down my address and phone number. Come and take the bag in the evening.

Renu, despite the crowd around, bent down and touched the old lady’s feet and with folded hands thanked her profusely. She got off the train at Virar and, along with Bhavesh, took an autorickshaw to the place where the lady had asked them to reach. They took the bag, looked inside and were overjoyed. They handed the old lady a packet containing sweets and chocolate for her family. They returned home and happiness prevailed in their humble abode. The three ladies in the family did an impromptu dance with the men clapping their hands while giving the beat.

The Lifeline

Trains…the Mumbai locals… are what keep this city going. While there is a lot of crowd, dirt, fights and foul language on board, there is also a pot full of goodness lying within its core. Sometimes I wonder whether these railway tracks, quite like the meandering holy rivers of India, along which people build their homes and lives, creating a never-ending mound of dinge and squalor all around, continue to serve as the lifeline- taking the people to their destinations and homes every day, connecting the city with the ever-expanding suburbs. Only on days when heaven opens up its floodgates and the rains come down relentlessly for days that the world stops for the people in this Mahanagar. It happens only once or twice a year during the monsoons when these tracks get submerged. On all other days, the journey seeking the Amrit Kumbh goes on. In Mumbai people do not have to wait for twelve years or a hundred and forty-four years… it happens every five minutes for them.

SS

Pictures: Courtesy Internet