Lower Berth

"You kept putting off taking leave from the office all this time. But now that you've taken voluntary retirement and are at home, you can finally come. My son and daughter-in-law have come from the U.S. Will you at least come now to see them?"

This was the heartfelt request of my close friend. She lives in Nagpur. She has invited me countless times to visit her, always planning her vacations in such a way that I could join her. But I was never able to go. I worked in a central government office for 33 years and still had four more years of service left when I opted for voluntary retirement. Each time she invited me, I would tell myself that I should go next time. But for some reason or another, it never happened.

Two years ago, I went to her son's wedding. However, due to an urgent work at the office, I had to return to Chennai immediately after the wedding, without even spending a couple of days with her. Her son and daughter-in-law live in the U.S.

Now that they have come to visit, she has invited me again. Not only did she invite me, but she also went ahead and booked my train ticket. Now, there was no way for me to escape. So, I set off on the journey. When I was leaving, my ticket was not confirmed. However, she assured me that it would definitely get confirmed. And she was right—it got confirmed, and I was on my way. Even for my return journey, my ticket was not confirmed, but I was hopeful. The plan was to stay there for a week and then return.

My friend lives in a small town about 15 kilometers away from Nagpur. There was no pollution in that town. Since I traveled in December, the cold was unbearable. But in the mornings, as soon as the sun rose, I saw flocks of birds I had never seen in Chennai. So many birds! From tiny sparrows to larger pigeons, I saw a variety of migratory birds. I even saw some rare parrots with entirely red heads, not just red beaks.

Spending time with my friend's son and daughter-in-law was great. The week flew by before I even realized it. My friend, excited about my visit after so many years, cooked an elaborate feast every day. She insisted that I stay another week, but I promised to visit again next time.

My return ticket was confirmed, but there was a problem. My reservation was on the Tamil Nadu Express from Delhi to Chennai. Due to heavy fog in Delhi, all trains were significantly delayed. I kept receiving messages that my train was running late.

In addition to that, I had an upper berth in the second AC compartment. Since I have back pain, climbing up is difficult for me. My friend's son suggested that I request someone to exchange their lower berth with me.

The Tamil Nadu Express, which was supposed to reach Nagpur at 1 PM, arrived at 7 PM instead. My friend's husband told me on the first day itself that the train was delayed. I optimistically said, "I am leaving tomorrow, so by then, everything will be fine. It will definitely arrive at 1 PM tomorrow as usual."

On the day of my departure, I received a message that the train would only arrive at 9 PM. So, we had dinner at 7 PM and left for the station by 7:30 PM. Since the station was 15 kilometers away, my friend's son and daughter-in-law accompanied me. Just ten minutes before we reached the station, another announcement informed us that the train would now arrive at 10:30 PM.

Since we had extra time, we went to Haldiram’s, bought some orange-flavoured sweets, and then reached the station at 10 PM.

The station was crowded. People were lying down and sleeping everywhere. They had been waiting all day. Then, there was another announcement that the train would now arrive at 11 PM. This time, it arrived on schedule. My friend’s son and daughter-in-law bid me farewell as I boarded the second AC compartment.

After placing my bag on my berth, I looked around. A young boy, around 18 years old, (let's call him Suresh) was sitting on the lower berth below my upper berth. I was relieved, assuming that he would exchange his berth with me. But when I asked, he immediately replied:

"Sorry… I can't exchange it. I've already swapped my seat three times. I just got here and lay down. I won’t swap again."

I replied, "That’s okay. You don’t have to move. I am just asking if you could switch to the upper berth right here."

He refused. Instead he asked me to request TTE(Train Ticket Examiner) to allot the side lower berth in the same bay which was was now empty - because the young man (Ramesh) who had occupied the seat before had agreed to swap it with a lady who had deboarded the train at Nagpur. So Ramesh was now sleeping in the upper berth.

When the TTE arrived, I requested that lower berth, and he agreed, as no one else had booked it until Chennai. He reassigned my upper berth to another passenger.

Even though Suresh didn’t give up his berth, I mentally thanked him for directing me to the side lower berth. I laid down, and it was already past midnight.

I had barely slept for half an hour when someone started coughing vigorously. It went on for nearly 45 minutes, ruining my sleep and making me anxious about the germs spreading.

Just as the coughing stopped, another person started snoring loudly. It was so loud that it rivaled the train's noise. The cougher and the snorer seemed to be taking turns. How could I sleep in such a situation? I just lay there with my eyes closed. As it was half past 5 am, I got up to freshen up. Seeing me awake, Ramesh in the upper berth got down to charge his phone, as the charging points were only available on the lower berth. My phone battery was also low, so I told him I wanted to charge mine as well. He quickly packed up his bedding and insisted that I go back to the upper berth.

I refused, explaining, "I barely got any sleep because of the coughing and snoring. I finally relaxed here. I had asked the TTE for this berth. I’m not going to the upper berth."

I made it clear that the lower berth which I was occupying was allotted by TTE  duly giving my upper berth to someone else and that he could not claim now as he had already swapped with someone else.

He snapped, "I don’t care. This lower berth is mine. Vacate it. If you don’t like it, go tell the TTE or anyone else. Just get up."

He started addressing me disrespectfully, using informal words like "you" instead of "sir/madam" and repeatedly calling me "old person," as if to provoke me.

By the time I went to freshen up and return, he had unfolded one of the chairs in the side lower berth and was sitting on it and had kept my beddings in another folded chair. He plugged his charger in the port. 

Annoyed, I didn’t argue. Instead, I calmly took out my phone, unplugged his charger, and plugged in mine. I sat down thinking I would adjust, not unfolding the chair which made him uncomfortable to sit in the other chair.

This reminded me of an incident from my youth. When I was 20, I was traveling with my parents on the Charminar Express. A couple was occupying our reserved seats. Despite our protests, they refused to move. My mother got angry, and my father calmly checked the chart. Realizing they were in the wrong coach, they left, but not before we all had an unpleasant experience.

Now, I thought, "I’ll just sit here until Chennai, no matter what." I closed my eyes and started listening to a story on Youtube. I had my breakfast at Vijayawada and noticed that he didn't eat anything. He appeared very uncomfortable. He didn't eat anything at lunch either.

After some time I noticed that he was not present in his seat. He came wobbling after a few minutes.  He looked sick and exhausted. I just looked at him. He started requesting me.

“Madam, I don't feel well. I had been to Kullu-Manali with friends, played in the snow, rode bikes, and now feel unwell. I vomited twice. I am unable to climb to the upper berth. If you don't mind, shall I lie down here for sometime?” 

I pitied him and asked him if he had eaten anything. As he told me that he didn't eat anything , I advised him that not eating anything for long hours lead to vomiting and offered him a biscuit packet and medicine. He thanked me and laid down. 

Before reaching Chennai, he said, "I’m very sorry, madam. I was frustrated due to the train delay and took it out on you."

I told him, "It’s okay. But remember, we have no right to show our frustration to others. Always think, 'How would I feel if someone did this to me?' Then you won’t do it."

By the time we reached Chennai, he felt better. He was being picked up by his sister.

I got down, thinking about this unique experience.