Distant Horizon - Chapter One.

Ganadevta Express leaves Howrah station at 6.05 a.m. This is Saturday morning and a large crowd waited at platform number eight from where the train would leave in a short while.

"Are all these people waiting for Ganadevta express, daddy?" Sayan, a thirteen-year-old, asked his father.

"Yes, this is a long platform and can accept a twenty-five coach train."  Shyamal replied while keeping an eye on their belongings, his wife and his father.

"I can see people everywhere. How big is this station?"

"It's the second oldest station and one of the largest in India." Shyamal said in an absent-minded manner. It seemed that he was worried.

Sayan noticed that. He knew that his father would be irritated if he asked any more questions, and so he asked his grand father, "Is it really so, dadu?"

Sayan addressed his grand father as ‘dadu', who coolly replied, "It's not only that. Howrah station's twenty-one platforms handle over three hundred trains each day, serving more than one million passengers."

"More than one million passengers per day? It's great." Sayan exclaimed.

Shyamal took out the railway ticket that he purchased a few minutes ago from his pocket. He was a railway employee, and therefore could travel free along with his family. The ticket was meant for his father. 

Shyamal tried to read that, but gave up because of poor light on the platform. He talked to his wife, Sefali, in a low voice. Sayan and his dadu couldn't hear that in the din.

"Like us, are all these people bound for Tarapith, dadu?"

"If not all, most of them will go there. Many more will board this train on the way. Just wait and see the fun."

"In that case, we won't be able to get any seat."

"Don't worry, as soon as the train is placed on the platform, I will jump on to it, and keep your seats. The three of you can board the train leisurely. That is the practice here. That's what I was telling your mummy." Shyamal assured his son.

Most of the passengers were bound for Tarapith, a place of pilgrimage.  Saturday is auspicious for offering obeisance and getting a glimpse of the idol of Mother Goddess, the ruling deity of that center of pilgrimage.

"Did you visit Tara pith earlier, dadu?"

"Yes, I went there only once. You know that in spite of my age, I am not so religious minded. There are many like me in this crowd, who are going there simply to spend the weekend or to give company to their friends and families."

"How do you say that?"

"I found many of them enjoying themselves with wine and ..."

"And what?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Okay. Some of the passengers may be heading for Santiniketan, which is famous for a classical ashram-type university, established by Tagore."

"You are right." Dadu gave up because he knew that Sayan was so inquisitive that it was difficult to satisfy him. 

Meanwhile, the passengers laid a siege on the platform. The empty rake was then placed, and there was a free for all to board the train. Shyamal was no exception and therefore he could get seats in an unreserved compartment on first-come-first served basis. In the ensuing rush to enter the coach, his father drifted to another coach, which was discovered once they settled down.

"Where's my father?" Shyamal sounded worried.

"He must be somewhere nearby. Don't worry about him." Sefali assured her husband.

By this time Sayan occupied the window side seat. Shyamal was a restless chap; therefore it was quite natural for him to get worried. 

Shyamal's father appeared in a short while. He had landed in another coach with every one pushing and shoving everyone else in their eagerness to board the train. He could locate his family when things settled down.  The old man was a retired person, sickly, and very slow.

Sayan was not interested in knowing what was going on inside the coach. On the contrary, he watched movement of passengers on the platform.  As the departure-time approached, more and more people tried to board the train as if this was the last train on earth, thought Sayan.

"I am getting down now. I'll be back in a few minutes after reading the ticket. There's no light here." Shyamal told his son.

"What's there to read in that ticket, dad? I find that you are after that piece of paper right from the beginning?"

"I am not sure whether the booking clerk has issued a correct ticket. I want to find that out."

"Don't delay much. You are so forgetful that you may miss the train." Sefali told her husband jokingly.

Shyamal's father didn't pay any particular attention to the goings on. 

Sefali was now comfortably seated beside Sayan. She wanted to occupy the window side seat. That was possible only if her son   agreed to switch places with her.

It was dark even on the platform. So Shyamal moved farther into the illuminated area within the shed. Then he went on reading the ticket as if it was a vital piece of document.

Shyamal was deeply worried. It appeared that something else was razing through his mind at the moment. 

He was immersed in his mental world. The train started with a short whistle on time. Shyamal missed the train.

Sefali was now worried because she found that her husband hadn't come back.  Sayan shouted, "Look there mom. Dad is running; he is trying to board the running train."

"Can you see him?"

"You can locate him if you look from here." Sayan almost cried.

Sayan's grandfather wanted to pull the chain to stop the train. But he failed to reach that place because of so many passengers standing between him and the chain. 

A passenger advised him not to pull the chain for that would attract heavy penalty.

"Shyamal must have boarded some other compartment." Thought the old man and gave up. The train picked up speed gradually.

"Father couldn't board because the gate was crowded."  Sayan lamented.

"How could your father miss a train while remaining on the platform?" Sefali asked Sayan.

"He has boarded some other coach nearest to him and will appear later when the train stops at the next station. Since the train is connected from end to end, Shyamal can come to his coach even while the train is running." Sayan's grandpa assured his daughter-in-law.

"Tickets and money are with him. We will be in trouble if he fails to turn up." Sefali expressed her apprehension. She had a haunch that something was wrong with Shyamal. 

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