I know, I know..All the mommy bloggers must think – better safe than sorry. That they would rather have an over-cautious baby-sitter than a callous,frivolous one. But it isn’t just about baby-sitting. Don’t we all go a little overboard in our interactions with strangers, especially in unknown lands? Or am I the odd one out here?

Here`s the incident I was talking about.

My annual leave (in the Indian armed forces,you get 60 days of annual leave and you can take all of that at once or in two installments) was to begin. And my sadist C.O had sanctioned the leave just 4 days before it was to begin. Which meant that, as always, I would have to go to the Jammu railway station directly, to purchase a ticket for the 2-days journey home, on the day of the move. And as always, there was no assurance that I would get a confirmed ticket.

After a 5 hours trip from the L.O.C to Jammu city,in a wobbly old bus, on circuiting mountain roads, I was dead tired when I finally managed to reach the station. And there in front of me, was a line at the ticket counter that extended as far as the eye could see. There are 2 counters for army personnel at the Jammu Railway station, where we had to exchange our travel warrants for tickets – meaning thereby that I couldn’t stand in the general reservation counters. I frantically ran around the place,trying to figure out some other way. The train I wanted to catch, was to leave in less than an 2 hours. Finally, after having asked someone to reserve my place in the line, I ventured inside a dark corridor behind closed doors that read ‘RESTRICTED ENTRY’ for the railways personnel only. In a completely dishevelled
state I ran along the corridor,trying to find some senior railways officer to request for a ticket. It was a dark, damp and dingy corridor. And I was quite scared by the people around. Tall, well-built men with narrowed eyes and long beard,clad in pathan suits and black turbans.No Women. My military mind instantly jumping to weird conclusions at their appearance!

And then through a glass door marked 'ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT', I saw this old man-must have been around 50 or so – sitting behind a huge stack of dusty files, chewing his pen. I took a few tentative steps towards the door, trying to decide whether to go in or not. The man didn’t look quite civil. But it was too late to back off. The man had seen me and was motioning for me to enter the room. I did, hesitantly. My mind playing dirty tricks on me. I fidgeted. I was extremely uncomfortable. I didn’t like being in the same room as this old man, who could’ve been a rogue,for all I knew. Or a rapist. Or a murderer. Things like this weren’t uncommon at all. Especially in Jammu.

Anyway, I extended the army reservation warrant towards him and told him what I wanted. That my train leaves in exactly 1 ½ hours and I needed a confirmed ticket. Because it’s a 2-days journey. And because I was traveling alone.Without saying a word, he went over the warrant. Then rang a bell. An office runner appeared. He handed over the warrant to him and asked him to get it signed by “Sharma Saab” and get the ticket back. I blinked. Then I blinked some more. Finally I mustered up the courage to ask him. He said he`ll get me the reservation in some reserved quota they have for VIPs! It was as simple as that.

My heart skipped a beat. I should`ve been thrilled. I was going home on a reserved ticket. But wait a minute,not so fast. My fears took over. Why on earth would this person do something like this for me? He doesn’t know me. What does he want in return? I kept wringing my fingers together. The old man looked at my tired face and said,

“Chai piogi?” (Will you have tea?)

I gave him the dirts, “ No thank you. How long will it take Sir?”

“ Aa jayega. Train to 7 baje hai na?” Tthe ticket will be here. The train is at 7 right?)

I took a deep breath. Fished inside my bag, till I could lay my hands on the pepper spray,ready to use if need be. Thank God I had the good sense to buy it from Delhi on my last trip home.!

The old man, sat there trying to make small talk. Finally he gave up after 10 minutes of rude,mono-slyllablic replies.

I looked around through the glass door to see if I could spot anyone outside. No joy! By that time(and it was almost 20 minutes that I had been sitting there!) I had worked myself up into a total frenzy. I was convinced that the man was a psychopathic killer, who rapes his victims mercilessly before killing them. I kicked myself mentally for being such a fool. This was Jammu,dammit. How could I walk in here without a moment`s thought? What am I to do?

With a thousand thoughts volleying back and forth, I stood up,ready to flee. But the old man stopped me.

“ Rukh jao bachche. Abhi aa jayega ticket.” (Wait a while,kid. The ticket will be here.)

Almost in tears, I asked him to return my reservation warrant. He could sense my agitation. However without another word, he walked towards me. The hair at the back of my neck rose. This is it, I thought. I fastened the grip on the pepper spray and waited with bated breath for him to make a move towards me.

But the old man didn’t even look at me. He walked to the door, flung it open and called out to the office runner. The lad came running. He said that “Sharma Saab” had just arrived and that he was issuing the ticket now. The old man asked him to hurry up. Then turning back, he returned to his seat.

I was so stunned by the whole thing, I didn’t know what to do. I did so want to trust this stranger, here in the middle of an unknown land, who didn’t have any reason to help me out, but for the sake of humanity. But there was this nagging fear,still.

Finally, the office runner appeared with my ticket. The old man handed it to me. A reserved ticket in 3^rd a.c , in my name!

As I started to thank him, he stopped me.

“ Mere bachche bhi door rehte hain. Unke liye bhi yahin karta!”

(My kids stay away from home too. I would’ve done the same thing for them as well”)

As I walked away,ticket in hand, I couldn’t help but wonder. What has the world come to? In a world where crime in all its forms, takes a front seat, is it ok to look at humanity with an eye of suspicion at all times? Or should we allow ourselves to let our hair down,once in a while? And if we do, what kind of price will we have to pay? Would it all be worth it then??