Whenever I undertake a train journey that spans for a few hours, I am engrossed in reading a book or listening to an audio or texting someone; and between all of this, I do go off to sleep at times, only to be woken up by someone sitting next to me, to take the food that is being served.

I refrain from making any conversation with the person sitting next to me. It is rather strange , as I do like to strike a conversation with people around me, in general. There is however a reluctance to this, when I travel by train or for that matter even during the rare times that I fly somewhere. Interesting learning about myself, as I begin this blog ?

After many many years, I decided to do none of what I normally do, during this train journey. As the train sped by, I looked out of the window to see..

– A suburban train that passed by, carrying passengers to stations nearby. The train was brimming with passengers, some sitting in their seats, some standing in the aisles and near the door and some sitting on the topmost step of the train. I could not but watch the ones sitting in the topmost step of the train, in different compartments.. Two men in their 20’s perhaps with their backpacks on and happily chatting with one another.. two middle aged women giggling away.. a man who had dozed off and I was wondering if that was indeed a precarious thing to do.

– A station with its concretised platfom and one that was sparkling clean. So clean, that there were many a men who were lying on it and talking to their friends. This was a platform that was not covered and it just opened to the sky. These men were either attired in their shirts and trousers or in their vests and lungis. The latter made me wonder if they were travelling somewhere (in this attire?) or were they just lazing in the station!! Well, I was looking for women who maybe lounging as casually, but could not find even one ?

– The passing fields which were sometimes green and sometimes a dried up yellow and sometimes barren. In some fields were these bundled bales of hay. They were so beautifully bundled that they looked like cylinders, all ready to roll.

– Tall palm trees or areca nut trees (not sure which of them they were), dotted across the fields. Some close together and some far away. Their height and the way the crown of leaves looked down (no pun intended!! ?) was a sight to see.

– Houses dotted across the landscape, with people sitting outside and talking, and children playing cricket or volleyball. There are times when there would be the odd house or two, and then vast amount of open land, and then a few more houses set quite a distance from each other. There was the beauty of the open landscape and fresh air that was welcoming; at the same time coming from a city life, I could not but help think how these people lead their lives. Will it not be lonely? Weren’t they scared of the empty space around? How will they reach a hospital in times of emergency? Well, they must be having their own questions when they see us living in the city!!

– A huge sprawling campus of a college. The walkways in the campus looked beautiful. The football ground and the basketball court looked filled. The youngsters walking along the walkways gave the feeling that India certainly is growing in its own way. Education draws people from different corners to different corners!!!

– A well laid road that is devoid of traffic and here is girl who looks more like a teenager, cycling away happily. What a blessing it is to have such an open space to cycle, not worrying about an oncoming traffic or a pothole that one needs to ward away from!!

– An over bridge across a station that has just two women walking on it. As they walk down, there is no one else around and it is fairly dark. Ladies, aren’t you scared?

After a while I was getting bored in my seat and I stepped out of the compartment. I could not resist the temptation of opening the door and sitting in a single seat, that was close to the door. Though the breeze blowing at me was a trifle warm, it really did not matter at that time. It was wonderful to look at literally nothing, given the darkness in front of me. The darkness did not scare me, not able to see anything did not rattle.. Wouldn’t darkness and the unseen actually create fear normally? So what was different this time? The difference was in the darkness being something that was passing me by, and I knew the destination I was heading towards. Funny isn’t it? When we are sure of what we are going thru and also what is ahead of us, we don’t feel fear and we are able to look at things differently!!

With the train hurtling by and the door wide open, I was still in the single seat, wobbling ever so slightly. Robin Sharma’s book ‘Who will cry when you die?’ flashed in my mind. Now why did that thought occur to me?

Life seems to be travelling at a great speed and situations just zip past. Why would I want to think about who will cry when I die? Will it really matter? Should I think about who will cry when I die or would I rather think about the legacy that I would leave behind?

A legacy that has contributed to enriching people’s lives.. A legacy of memories people would smile about.. A legacy of support that people would pass on to someone else, in turn.. A legacy that has empowered people to empower many others.. A legacy that just radiates an empire of contribution!!!

A journey that started from watching outside of me, within a few hours, has traveled to watching within me. Seems quite a distance traveled, for a journey that is so near!!