The Brightly Lit Kiosk

     It was her last day in India. Yet another vacation was coming to an end, there were so many people she had wanted to meet, many places she had planned on visiting, and there were so many things left unsaid. She wanted to tell her mom how much she loved her and how badly she would miss her. She wanted to take a long look at her dad and give him another long hug. My next  trip, she thought, I will try and organize my time better. I must try and visit my friend in Pune, my cousins in the village, and go to the temple on the Hills. Why does time fly by this quickly when I am here. While she was brooding over these things, her mom was ranting through the customary words of caution, "Have you checked you documents, your passport. Do you have your train ticket? Keep your money safe and accessible." She was nodding yes, yes and yes. She was sitting in the air-conditioned compartment of the train to Chennai. She would reach Chennai the next morning, and had to wait till the end of the day before she could board her flight to New York.
    It was time she sent her parents away before they started getting emotional. It was one thing to see her mom cry, but from the last two trips her dad was getting very emotional every time she left. Maybe age does that to people, she thought. To save all parties involved from the melodrama, she suggested they all leave before her train departs. With much opposition they agree. After a re-run of the long good-byes, the hugs and tears, her family left. She finally sat down and took a look around. Until now she was oblivious to the fact that she was still in the station, her train very much on the platform. Her train should leave in another 10 minutes. She was staring out the window and remembered all those countless trips her dad had taken her on, ever since she was a kid. He loved to travel and always took the family on at least two trips a year. Oh gosh! I am going to miss him, she thought. Emotion-check!! She started looking around to take her mind of this thought. She started taking in the sights on the platform. However, no sounds entered her compartment through the closed glass windows.
    On the platform she saw a small brightly-lit kiosk where a variety of snacks and goodies were being sold. Chips, soda, biscuits, cookies, chocolates and different kinds of snacks in all kinds of attractive packaging. A scrawny looking little girl with a runny nose, unkempt hair, in filthy ill-fitting clothes approached the seller.She pointed to one particular bag of goodies and said something to the shop-keeper. She realized that the girl was a beggar and she must be living on the platform itself. The shop-keeper shooed the little girl away. She continued looking around. She saw a few luggage porters, dresses in bright red shirts, idly sitting around on a bench, smoking. There was a Punjabi man in an orange turban having his lunch. The man was concentrating on tearing pieces off a thick paratha bread. He dipped it in some achaar pickle and appeared to be savoring it immensely.  She looked through the open doors of a waiting room and saw a marwari lady with a bright green sari draped on her head. The lady's  hands were covered in glass bangles of vibrant green and she was feeding her child. She saw a group of tribal women sitting on the floor fanning their faces with the ends of their saris.  She then turned around and saw an old couple staring in different directions lost to the world. A few young adults, mostly on a college trip, sat in a huge group animatedly laughing and telling stories. She was behind the sound-proof glass, and could not hear any of this, but she could certainly connect the sights with their sounds.She saw a few people sleeping on the platform itself in the sweltering heat. There were carts laden with fruits, food, newspapers surrounded with throngs of people trying to bargain and buy. Men and women of all ages, dressed in all kinds of clothes, were hurriedly walking or running to catch their respective trains on various platforms. As she took in her surroundings, she realized how true it was to say that the railway station or train travel furnished one with a microcosm of India.This is India for you, she thought. How long before I can experience all this again.
    She then glanced at her watch, why hasn't the train started? It was supposed to leave ten minutes ago. She saw the little girl at the kiosk again, this time carrying a half naked baby, showing him to the shop-keeper and pleading with him again. The shop-keeper shooed the girl away. The girl left disappointed. The girl came back without the baby this time and started talking to the shop-keeper again. The shop-keeper shooed the girl away, yet another time. Just then there was a loud whistle, the train was finally ready to leave.She was so lost in the little beggar's antics she forgot she was waiting for the train to leave. Suddenly, she looked through her purse and found a twenty rupee bill. She took it out, wanting to give it to the little girl. She could not give it through the window, this was a closed compartment. She heard the whistle again, the train will leave now. She was suddenly filled with a deep urge. She had to pass on that bill to the girl. Why am I feeling this urge?! Strange, she thought. She quickly went towards the door. The little girl was on the platform, closer to the the door at the other end of the compartment. The train started moving. She realized she had to get to the other door. But there was a good chance she would have passed the girl by the time she reached the other door. She started waving towards the girl. The little girl was not expecting anyone would wave to her, so she looked away. I have to give her this bill, but why?! She was confused at this sudden urge of hers. I must be going crazy, she thought. She finally caught the attention of a man who was standing in between her and the girl. She waved to him and he ran towards her, she asked him to give the little girl the twenty rupee bill.  He yelled to the girl and she ran towards him, he pointed towards her standing at the door of the compartment said something tot he little girl and handed her the bill. The little girl looked at her standing at the door of this moving train surprised, confused and plainly blank. It took less than a minute for all these events to transpire. She kept looking at the girl, and the train now passed the girl. She could clearly see that the little girl's face now lit up.The girl kept looking back at her. She pointed to the little shop and signaled the girl to go there. The girl was jumping up and down, clapping with glee now realizing what had happened. The girl went to the shop and was talking to the shop-keeper. That was the last of the girl that she could see. She kept looking till the girl was just a blurry dot on the platform. The train kept moving, and she could not see the platform anymore. She stood at the door for a long time feeling the wind on her face. She finally took a deep breath and sighed. She returned to her seat. She sat down and closed her eyes, the last vision of her home-town safely tucked in her heart, a pair of small brightly lit eyes.