"Mera Bharat Mahan"

"Mera Bharat Mahan", no I am not being satirical....I am speaking my heart. I don't remember when was the last time I really felt so good about India!! In fact, just a few days back  I asked my husband, "given a choice of good job anywhere...where would you prefer to stay?" To which, his answer was..INDIA.. Well, to be  honest, somehow I was not convinced. If the same question was thrown at me, I would have said US or Europe or may be another place...but India!!! I was not sure then, but today. Today, I am more than happy to be in India.

So, why am I feeling so strong about this country today!! What went right, or may be wrong, that I sit back and smile at this day, to an extent that I am writing about it!! Before I tell you about it, you must know when it's about encounter with strange, weird, bizarre things, my timings are really great.

Now, to start with, the first peculiar thing here is -my office hours 7.00 am- 4.00 pm. Working in media means you can't afford to be late, specially when it's a news channel, you work LIVE. This means to be in office at 7, I need to leave home by 5.30 to board the respective trains (about which you must have already read). I will not be exaggerating if I say that I rise before sun. Someone leaving home at that odd hour can only be seen half asleep. Like always, when I finally manged to reach station in my sleep walk, I realized my slipper strap had pulled itself out realizing its ultimate freedom.

Yes, my home is a 2 mins walk from station, but, even before I could have thought of going back to change my slipper, my mobile beeped. A message from Srinivas, my colleague. It was not just an sms, but a silent note, like the one before a storm. The message read- hi, would not be coming to office today... I read, and I saw my train making a grand entry. Other days trains often run behind the time, and today it was before. This is why I said my timings are really great!! Now, knowing that I will be the only person during the morning shift, I had no option but board this train.

Holding the torn strap between my toes I dragged myself inside the train. On an obvious note the train was unoccupied, as only sheep wake up so early to graze farms, the ones seated in this train including me - fall in that category. Yet, I had limited choice as most of the seats were drenched. I found a bench half wet and occupied the parched portion. This was my half-an-hour relaxation from looking at the strap staring at me.

Post the relaxation period, dragging myself out of  the wheeled compartment I got  down at Kurla (my first stop). I was limping on my left foot and towing the right one on platform 8 to be on platform 4 to board my next train. I stopped, I saw, I smiled, I headed....towards a cobbler who was sitting on platform 8. My grip on the loosing strap got firm helped me to walk up to my rescuer, the shoe-man. He smiled at me, I reverted with a smile. "Sorry," said the shoe-man...."sorry!!" I repeated. I mean why sorry of all the things, I thought. "mere paas nahi hai (I don't have)," he said. "kya nahi hai (don't have what)?" I asked. "...seene ke liye sui dhaga (don't have the needle and thread to mend it - my slipper)", he replied. Arrggg...."kaise type ke mochi ho (what kind of cobbler are you)?" I snapped, as if he was answerable to me. "mei joote chamkata hoon (I polish shoes)", he replied with an innocent smile. This time I was in no mood to smile back. Time was running fast, and there I stood gasping in front of a flight of 20-stairs to climb and another 20 to get down at platfform 4. On normal occasions this was just like a small jump over puddle, but today was a different day. My longish small journey across the 20-20 stairs cost me an extra 7 mins and another train,that honked past me,not to mention a wait of  another 10 mins for the next train only endorsed my "omnipresent struggle with time".

One would argue that I could have easily walked down bare-footed, why this hassle...isn't it? Yes, I would have if the ground below(wet with mud and over-leaking public lavatory) would have been welcoming enough.

After a wait of 10 minutes....I finally got the train..and got down at Byculla. For a week now I was loving this station over Dadar, as it is much closer to my office. But today I loved it even more, because of the cleanliness that it had worn. Unlike Dadar's muddy, wetty, algaed, spitted, pitted platforms, Byculla is cleaner...most importantly drier, which gave me the confidence to walk out from Byculla barefooted, holding the deceptive slippers in my hand. I hurried, only to find my bus leaving me behind. "If I would have read one of those 'star prediction of the day', would they have warned me of missing trains and buses today!!" I wondered.

Running for trains and buses, I felt like being betrayed in love. Yes, I loved these pair of slippers, my mom bought it for me on my wedding, and they betrayed me at this last hour. Accepting my loss and knowing that my late entry at work is inevitable, I took a cab. On my way to office I texed Sama, my team-head, "can you get me a new pair of slippers on your way to office!!"

I worked till mid-noon.....all in expectation of a new footwear that Sama would get for me. She was in, but only with her slippers on...."there is no shoe store near my place", she expressed regret. Fine, I thought, there was nothing to worry about till I was in office.

Cut-short 4:00 p.m. time to leave. Have never been so unexcited about going home. The whole morning drama will be repeated again. I was not ready for this unwanted attention again, but as the saying goes - beggars are not choosers. I tried dragging myself with the torn slippers on. I reached the main entrance and heard one guard highlight my helplessness to the other, "chappal tooti hai" (slippers are torn). Well, that was it and I took off the slippers and walked straight towards the main road.

Catching everyone's eye I decided to wait for my bus to station and get the bothering slippers mended. My bus came, overflowing with people....I stepped back. It was then, an old man...shall I say a kind old man...accosted me..from nowhere, pointing his finger to the other side of the road he said, "there is a cobbler sitting right next to the stop." I thanked him and hurried in the direction he pointed in search of my savior. And there he was, under a tree....in a small tent made of black umbrella, with his box of accessories. I stood there seeing my slippers getting mended and realised that if I had been in US or Europe I would have never found a cobbler right next to my doorstep. I would have to walk down to some store to buy a new one. It's India that I can think of getting it mended and use, then re-use it. I was in my thoughts and smiling when the shoe-man interrupted "Rs 5". I paid and left.

It's funny indeed that the thing which started bothering me around 5.30 in the morning and never left me until 4:30 p.m, now seemed very amusing and trifle. The small episode inspite of being a common occurance for many left me with a different feeling today. That my problem finally got resolved, made me feel happier, as if some battle was won when the rest of the world was conspiring against me. Not to forget, it was possible only because I was in India, and no "US or Europe" would have had this service :-)