Everyone wants to avoid but willy-nilly gets drawn into it due to lack of choices. Yes! Almost all of us find ourselves making our moves in complex MINDGAMES in a variety of situations, in different environments and against unique players. But never had I imagined that the realization of this funny but interesting manifestation of human behaviour will take place in one of the most unexpected of places - …a railway train compartment!
An eerie silence prevails at the time of boarding where everyone is keeping their reservation status a big secret and the only ones thumping their chest are with confirmed reservation of a few of the best berths. And then there are groups who want to make memories of the trip together, but their last-minute bookings leave them with berths scattered all over the coach. One could empathize with the solo travellers, especially the young men who are first in line to become the sacrificial lamb if somebody (mostly senior citizens) is need for berth adjustments. Not even an hour passes by into the journey, he his bombarded by requests from multiple sections of the coach by different passengers, co-passengers and sometimes the officials. The officials' approach is quite amusing; while they show kindness to the elderly, their inability to directly instruct passengers to exchange berths leads them to employ indirect tactics. They subtly encourage one person to request the other, skillfully playing on emotional angles.
Passengers who have RAC that is reservation against cancellation are also in the game as much, but they have their opponent and options clearly cut out. To start with there is no confusion about the berth they have to share, and they don’t care about the one they would eventually get. They are just thankful to the almighty for being kind enough to finally let them stretch their feet and call it a day. But the game picks up momentum when neither of the RAC ticket holders get a berth even when it is almost bedtime. Subtle bonding that starts with both lamenting their fate, begins to consolidate as the night falls. The legs move and make space for one another gradually dissolving the boundary clearly marked all this while. Strangers become sort of distant cousin sharing a common bed just like the childhood days, when they all cramped together on a small bed but enjoyed every moment of it.
And then there are the con artists who ooze confidence of a relaxed traveller and pretend to be absolutely unaffected by the chaos around them. The expressions almost mock the fellow traveller for all their struggle forced by ticket unavailability or bad planning. Surprisingly everyone around gets convinced as well of the lie being presented as truth till the rightful passenger of the berth arrives a few stations later or the T.T refuses to take any kind of deal from him. The smile that breaks on everyone’s face once the imposter leaves is not sharp enough a reply to the mocking, they all suffered initially but is a face saver and everyone’s happy about it (as if they could do more…)
I may have experienced this a thousand times in my life before and even may have played almost all the characters in the anecdote above but only related to it on a recent train journey that I was on after ages. I was travelling to a small town in Rajasthan to attend a marriage in the family. The place doesn’t have an airport and we didn’t have enough time to go to the nearest airport and then make an overnight train journey back to the destination. So, we decided to take the direct train to the town but unfortunately spent too much time deciding and as a result all our tickets were RAC at the time of booking and the journey unfolded almost in exact same fashion as I have shared above.
Many might call it an ordeal, but I had great fun living every moment of it. The nostalgia was distinct and romantic, what I detested all my growing years suddenly had me soaking many emotions dipped in memories which I will always cherish just like I did this time…
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The primary insight I've gained from this journey is the inspiration to incorporate similar characters into a comparable situation and environment. Crafting a taut scene with the potential to unfold as a thriller, comedy, or perhaps another genre has sparked my creative drive. There's an innate sense that the outcome will be truly gripping.