Hi all! As promised, I'm back with my very first story for the column. Its the oldest metro story I can recall, and believe me it still moves me to tears! Tears of laughter, of course. Nothing to sob about here! Its a pretty funny one.. So let me get on with my narration.
I remember clearly I was in school at the time of the incident- It was one of those days when my school van turned up late, and I decided to take the metro instead. Initially when you're new to things, you take quite some time to learn the ropes. Back then, I was still awkward with metro rides- getting to the right platform, stepping into the right train- all that i was still rusty with!
I was traveling alone and it was going to be a long ride from Race Course ( nearest to school) to Guru Dronacharya metro station (nearest to home). But as soon as I stepped into the pleasant air conditioned compartment of the metro, I was filled with relief! EMPTY seats! Well, almost.. At least, I got a corner to myself- the thought of carrying my heavy schoolbag on my back 'standing' was hardly attractive.
Soon, our metro glided out of race course and made its way towards Gurgaon. I remember spending the first ten minutes of the metro ride in bliss! I was still marveling at my luck and was thankful for the corner seat that I had bagged, when the discomfort started.
Before setting off for school that day, I had decided to slip on my contact lenses. It was pretty adventurous of me actually- it was the first time I had worn them to school. Being heavily myopic, I'm dependent on my nerdy spectacles for good measure, and there were and still are times when I get bored of the nerdy look, and hate what spectacles can do to my face! So, on that particular day I decided to wear my contacts and flaunt my eyes a bit. ( Who says we went to school only to study? There were no male attention seeking tactics behind this act though, if your mind is running in that direction! I went to a Convent school) Little did I know then, that looking good comes with a price tag- and guess what- I paid with my tears!
Suddenly, I had this annoying scratchy sensation in my eyes. I blinked my eyes twice, but the sensation persisted. My vision was getting affected too- I looked around and saw the few ladies in the compartment, in their blurred form. I didn't panic, because this had happened to me before- sometimes while wearing lenses my eyes would get dry. But the catch was, that after a while the sensation would go! Here, the idiotic scratchy feeling would just not leave me. I had this mad urge to drown my eyes in water, when God heard my prayers and rewarded me with water- in the form of tears!
Before I knew it, there were tears streaming down my face! No, I wasn't literally crying- I suppose my eyes needed moistening desperately, so they started hyper-actively creating water, and that in turn was causing the great Ganges to flow from my eyes! But this is when the real fun started. Two aunties, who were sitting in the opposite seats, were in a rapt conversation with each other, until my uncontrollable display of tears attracted their attention.
Whatever their conversation was about- they forgot all about it. I, had now become the focal point of their discussions. Well, I don't blame them- I must've looked like quite a sight- my big eyes oozing with tears, and my desperate urgency to wipe them off would've set a trail of colorful stories in their mind- one of these stories fell onto my ears, and I was horrified! They tried to hush it up, but loud Delhi aunties wouldn't know the first thing about hushing anything up!
So, this is how Gossip monger Aunty A communicated to Over eager ears Aunty B- " Must've failed in one of here subjects in school!" I almost choked on my tears when I heard that!
Aunty B had another interesting theory- " These days, girls concentrate more on their boyfriends (she emphasized the word) than studying for exams! "
At that point I could have butted in and told them that I'm very much single and was one of the toppers in my class,(Irony at its best!) but I was desperate to get out of the train. My tears were getting worse. We had crossed Chattarpur; 15 minutes more in the company of gossiping aunties was not a very comfortable prospect.
Aunty A was subjecting me to merciless scrutiny- "Just look at her- she is traveling alone- Kids these days get into a lot trouble."
Aunty B, by this time was looking at me with sincere sympathy in her eyes; as if at long last, she could feel my pain! I remember at this point, I had put on a bright smile to assure them that everything is not as bad as it seems, but that got them staring harder at me! "2 more stations and I'm home", I thought desperately to myself!
My eyes felt sore from all the crying, and I wondered tiredly why not even once they didn't feel the need to ask me what the crying was all about! Not that I was looking for something like that- that saved me a lot of trouble actually! I would've had to tell them about my contact lenses, and they were not the type to buy that kind of explanation, so its great they didn't try to get to the bottom of it!
I abruptly got up, when it was announced that my station is next, and literally stumbled out of the train when the doors opened. That was the last I saw of the Ultimate 'Gossip Girls' duo! (Thank God !) Their insane conjectures added to my watery discomfort, were making my head reel!
After that, I NEVER wore contact lenses to school! The memories of the metro ride were enough to put me off lenses for quite a while! But this was one of the earliest memories of the metro I still fondly look back upon! When I play it in my head now, it was no less than a rib tickling scene from a Priyadarshan Film! Gob Bless both Aunty A and B, wherever they might be! :)
I remember clearly I was in school at the time of the incident- It was one of those days when my school van turned up late, and I decided to take the metro instead. Initially when you're new to things, you take quite some time to learn the ropes. Back then, I was still awkward with metro rides- getting to the right platform, stepping into the right train- all that i was still rusty with!
I was traveling alone and it was going to be a long ride from Race Course ( nearest to school) to Guru Dronacharya metro station (nearest to home). But as soon as I stepped into the pleasant air conditioned compartment of the metro, I was filled with relief! EMPTY seats! Well, almost.. At least, I got a corner to myself- the thought of carrying my heavy schoolbag on my back 'standing' was hardly attractive.
Soon, our metro glided out of race course and made its way towards Gurgaon. I remember spending the first ten minutes of the metro ride in bliss! I was still marveling at my luck and was thankful for the corner seat that I had bagged, when the discomfort started.
Before setting off for school that day, I had decided to slip on my contact lenses. It was pretty adventurous of me actually- it was the first time I had worn them to school. Being heavily myopic, I'm dependent on my nerdy spectacles for good measure, and there were and still are times when I get bored of the nerdy look, and hate what spectacles can do to my face! So, on that particular day I decided to wear my contacts and flaunt my eyes a bit. ( Who says we went to school only to study? There were no male attention seeking tactics behind this act though, if your mind is running in that direction! I went to a Convent school) Little did I know then, that looking good comes with a price tag- and guess what- I paid with my tears!
Suddenly, I had this annoying scratchy sensation in my eyes. I blinked my eyes twice, but the sensation persisted. My vision was getting affected too- I looked around and saw the few ladies in the compartment, in their blurred form. I didn't panic, because this had happened to me before- sometimes while wearing lenses my eyes would get dry. But the catch was, that after a while the sensation would go! Here, the idiotic scratchy feeling would just not leave me. I had this mad urge to drown my eyes in water, when God heard my prayers and rewarded me with water- in the form of tears!
Before I knew it, there were tears streaming down my face! No, I wasn't literally crying- I suppose my eyes needed moistening desperately, so they started hyper-actively creating water, and that in turn was causing the great Ganges to flow from my eyes! But this is when the real fun started. Two aunties, who were sitting in the opposite seats, were in a rapt conversation with each other, until my uncontrollable display of tears attracted their attention.
Whatever their conversation was about- they forgot all about it. I, had now become the focal point of their discussions. Well, I don't blame them- I must've looked like quite a sight- my big eyes oozing with tears, and my desperate urgency to wipe them off would've set a trail of colorful stories in their mind- one of these stories fell onto my ears, and I was horrified! They tried to hush it up, but loud Delhi aunties wouldn't know the first thing about hushing anything up!
So, this is how Gossip monger Aunty A communicated to Over eager ears Aunty B- " Must've failed in one of here subjects in school!" I almost choked on my tears when I heard that!
Aunty B had another interesting theory- " These days, girls concentrate more on their boyfriends (she emphasized the word) than studying for exams! "
At that point I could have butted in and told them that I'm very much single and was one of the toppers in my class,(Irony at its best!) but I was desperate to get out of the train. My tears were getting worse. We had crossed Chattarpur; 15 minutes more in the company of gossiping aunties was not a very comfortable prospect.
Aunty A was subjecting me to merciless scrutiny- "Just look at her- she is traveling alone- Kids these days get into a lot trouble."
Aunty B, by this time was looking at me with sincere sympathy in her eyes; as if at long last, she could feel my pain! I remember at this point, I had put on a bright smile to assure them that everything is not as bad as it seems, but that got them staring harder at me! "2 more stations and I'm home", I thought desperately to myself!
My eyes felt sore from all the crying, and I wondered tiredly why not even once they didn't feel the need to ask me what the crying was all about! Not that I was looking for something like that- that saved me a lot of trouble actually! I would've had to tell them about my contact lenses, and they were not the type to buy that kind of explanation, so its great they didn't try to get to the bottom of it!
I abruptly got up, when it was announced that my station is next, and literally stumbled out of the train when the doors opened. That was the last I saw of the Ultimate 'Gossip Girls' duo! (Thank God !) Their insane conjectures added to my watery discomfort, were making my head reel!
After that, I NEVER wore contact lenses to school! The memories of the metro ride were enough to put me off lenses for quite a while! But this was one of the earliest memories of the metro I still fondly look back upon! When I play it in my head now, it was no less than a rib tickling scene from a Priyadarshan Film! Gob Bless both Aunty A and B, wherever they might be! :)
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