We know what you did when you didn't have a platform ticket - Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1, please read that and if you haven't slept by then, come back and read this.

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In amazement, we saw the train on the adjacent platform moving.

Railway full joking joking in the night also.

We continued. Now you are bored, I am bored.

We had a exchanged our byes, best of lucks, happy journeys, half an hour before. Still, we persisted to stay on till the train left.

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11:50 pm. After sirens on every platform but ours, thhe train slowly started moving. another round of byes and all the pleasantries, to our dear friend accompanied by his students, one by one, Ragu, Bhupati, the Russian and I jumped in cinematic style to the platform, as the train gathered pace. A grandma sitting on the platform gave a look with her a jaws parting to either side, seemingly saying "Freakin' Devil! What on all earth were those?"

We didn't pay attention.

Up the Sabarimalai style stairs and on the way to 'Destination: Outside the station'. I just casually mentioned that we hadn't taken platform tickets and slipped into conversations of societal development, economic policy, a better India, misgivings in the education system, philosophy, globalisation, ticket examiners,......Did I say ticket examiners?? Even before we could say that, a white shirt and a black suit, with a man in them appeared before us with hands wide open saying the words 'platform ticket'.

Now.

The platform number written in red.

Not being able send messages from the 3310.

The train getting late.

It was midnight.

To Thomas Hardy, it would have been a perfect setting for a targedy to happen and so it was for me too. The tragedy already happened, as the "external forces" had indicated. "Tess of the D'urbervilles" (Hardy's character in th book of the same name), was alone to suffer everything. I had company.

We stood there.

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Ten minutes later, we were still standing there.

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FINALLY, twenty minutes later............................., we still stood there.

(continued in Part 3)