This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 38; the thirty-eighth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for the month is "The Woman on Platform Number 10"
I sat on a bench on platform number 10 weeping incessantly, keeping my head down to avoid the stares from the passersby. I couldn't take it anymore. My world had ended. All that I had dreamt of and loved had ended. I couldn't see a future for myself without the man I loved so much. He meant the world to me. He was all that I had hoped for in my life and lived for. I couldn't see anything beyond him.
"I just want to end it all", I blurted.
"It won't help, dear", a voice suddenly spoke out."There's much more to life than what you can see now".
For the first time, I became aware of this middle-aged woman dressed in a plain saree sharing the bench with me.
I looked up with tears in my eyes to see a comforting and reassuring motherly face.
"I am sorry, but are you talking to me?", I asked.
"Yes, dear", she replied and she placed her tender hands on mine.
Somehow it felt better.
"But, you don't know what I am going through", I replied.
"It doesn't matter, it's still not worth dying for", she replied. And for some strange reason, I wanted to believe her and I did.
So began a new chapter in my life.
I began meeting her daily before I caught my train. Meeting her was the highlight of my day. Listening to her comforting words was something I began looking forward to. And then there were times, she would quietly listen to all that I said, only adding a word or two every now and then. Age knew no barrier and I shared my life with her like I did with no one else.
I told her about the boy I loved and how he had broken up with me. How I had hoped against all hopes that he would come back to her.
And that day, when I sat crying on this very bench, I had learnt that he had gotten married to someone else.
"Someday another nice man will come your way and love you. You too will learn to love him like you never did and you will thank God that you lived to see that day".
"If a relationship didn't work out, then it wasn't meant to be",she said.
I just hoped her words would come true.
"I see you here everyday and for some reason, I am sorry but I never asked you whether you are waiting for someone or come to see off someone", I asked her a week later.
"Yes, I am waiting for someone", she said. "He told me that he would meet me on this platform near the indicator".
I learnt that she loved this man Raghu who lived in another town and he had told her to wait here. She had thus made it a point to come everyday at 10:00 and wait for the Saurashtra mail that arrived at the platform at 10:00 am.
I arrived next day a bit after 11:00am. I realized that I must have missed Vandana when I saw that she wasn't there.
"Did you see the lady who always sits here at 10:00", I asked the fruit vendor nearby.
"Who, that crazy woman ? Yes, she did like she always does and went away after the Saurashtra mail left the platform", he said.
"What do you mean crazy?, I asked.
"Madam, some people think she is crazy but personally, I have never seen her do anything crazy. She comes quietly and sits there and leaves just as she came, without any problems. These days, ofcourse, I see her talking with you. To me she looks fine. But I think people call her crazy because she has been doing this for a long time now. I have seen her atleast for 2 months that I have been here. It appears she is waiting for someone to arrive on that 10 o'clock train", he said.
This was shocking to me as I couldn't think of anyone who could be so patient enough to wait for a loved one for such a long time. I wasn't sure about bringing this up when I met her next day but decided to wait before I broached the topic.
I soon realized that in Vandana, I had found a motherly figure, a friend, a confidant, I so longed for as a girl.
My own parents didn't know or rather didn't seem to care about my life. My father was busy with his business while my mother was busy with her social work. It was an irony that while she believed in helping the unfortunate in society, she had little time for her own daughter and the happenings in her life. And whatever little time her parents had together, they would spend it fighting.
Vandana taught me about love,trust,compassion,patience, relationships and a lot more about life than I could have imagined. She taught me that this life is a gift that needs to be treasured and so are the people you love and who love you.
"People don't realize the importance of what they have until they lose it, be it a thing or some life precious to us, be it someone else's or our own", she said.
She taught me to art of forgiving. "Start by forgiving yourself for the things you did without intending to and also those you didn't. Then you will realize that its easy to forgive other's too. It isn't your fault that your parents don't get along", she said and added "Sometimes people take a long time to realize this while some don't. Only time will tell but you cannot always make them see sense. Not everybody meets people who can help them see sense".
I shared with her my ambitions and aspirations. I told her how I wanted to travel and see the world. I told her that travelling would make me very happy. "Happiness is closer than you think", she said. "You only need to look in the right place", she said smilingly. "But you will understand it one day, dear", she added.
She told me finally that she now doesn't remember how long she has been waiting for Raghu and she would continue doing what she knew best - wait patiently for him on platform no. 10. He had said that he would come and she trusted him. I didn't know what to say and I prayed that Raghu would come soon.
It had only been a around 3 weeks since I had met Vandana but it seemed like the most beautiful time of my life. Rather this was a new lease of life that I had got on account of her. That day, she had saved me from a grave mistake.
And how true her words had come. I had met this wonderful man in the office I had recently joined and before I knew what had hit me, I realized we were in love with each other. He threw me off guard when he suddenly proposed marriage to me. I was absolutely delighted and though initially wary of any new relationship, I wanted to say yes. I told him I wanted sometime.
"I want to share a good news with you", I told Vandana as we sat on our bench.
She waited expectantly with eager eyes before I just blurted, "I met this wonderful man in my office and though its only been a few days that we know each other, he has proposed marriage to me. I am excited and I want to say yes but I am scared. I don't know what to do".
"Get him here to meet me. I will let you know what you should do", she said.
The next day, I got Amish to meet Vandana at the station. She motioned him to sit down and had a chat with him. She had asked me to not be around, so I was absent-mindedly flipping pages at the nearby bookstore, throwing nervous furtive glances in their direction.
She told me that she would let me know tomorrow just as we left for work. She did add something before we left though.
"There can be no love without respect and trust. Love is to be treasured like a child who needs to be taken care of. Both of you, dear souls,are fortunate to have come together in this universe and that itself is a miracle". We smiled as we continued, only more or less intellectually understanding the depth of what she had just told us.
"He is a good human being. He loves you a lot and will take care of you. He keeps his head on his shoulders and feet planted firmly on the ground. Besides that there are other virtues him. He is the right man for you", she said similingly and hugging me, when I met her the next day.
It was strange that I had brought Amish along to meet Vandana while my parents didn't have the time to meet him yet.
That day I was informed that our visa's to go to Japan for a month long training had arrived and that we would have to leave in a week's time.
I began looking forward to this trip and the best part would be that Amish would be coming along too for this training. But the thought of missing out on my daily meeting with Vandana wasn't something I was too happy about.
On the day I was to leave, I met Vandana and spoke to her for long and we hugged a number of times. I couldn't stop my tears, knowing that I would be missing her, a woman, I had grown so close to, a stranger from all angles and yet who meant everything to me. What would I have done without her.She blessed me and I parted little knowing what turn my life would take.
I came back a month later and the very next day was waiting for Vandana at our special bench.
The Saurashtra Mail came and left and yet there was no Vandana.
I grew alarmed and looked around when the fruit vendor spoke.
"Madam, your friend hasn't been coming for a few days now. Perhaps, whoever she is waiting for,finally arrived", he said.
I grew excited on hearing this about the possibility that Raghu had finally come and decided to go to her house at the address she had once mentioned. "But then what if Vandana was sick", I thought.
"Is this Vandana's house?,I asked the elderly couple.
They looked at each other before the elderly gentleman asked,"Yes, but what is your name?"
"I am Shruti and I am her friend who used to meet her at the station. I was wondering if Vandana is allright?
Or has Raghu finally arrived? Where is Vandana? I can't wait to meet Vandana". A torrent of questions came rushing out.
The couple again looked at each other silently for sometime before the gentleman spoke.
"Wait Wait, be calm. How do you know about Raghu? Do you know him? he asked but continued,
"Raghu came a about a fortnight ago. He finally had the courage to come here. Why now when there is nothing? Apparently he had to marry someone else due to family pressure".
"What do you mean nothing", I asked.
He looked crestfallen as he said,"Vandana left us for good. She couldn't take the wait anymore. As the days went by, she grew more tired and depressed and finally ended it all for herself"
"What?", I asked hardly believing what I had just heard.
"Yes, she had waited for Raghu to come by the 10 o'clock Saurashtra Mail everyday on platform no. 10 and when he didn't keep his promise, she threw herself in front of that very train one day".
This was simply too incredulous to hear. The Vandana I knew, the woman who had stopped me from commiting suicide, couldn't have done this to herself. I didn't know what to think. I was too shaken.
"And that cursed Raghu", the elderly lady spoke," Now what did he come for? To see if Vandana was still alive? She was just a little girl when she lost her parents and since then we raised her like our own. Such a lovely girl, she was. And now he comes, 2 years after she left us for good".
"2 years ? But...but...how can that be? This is impossible. No, this can't be. I just met....", I said as my head began reeling.
I walked out bewildered and began walking towards the station.
Its only then that I began realizing the true meaning of some of the things that Vandana had mentioned, which I had found quite peculiar. "People don't realize the importance of what they have until they lose it, be it a thing or some life precious to us, be it someone else's or our own", or "It doesn't matter, it's still not worth dying for" and all those lessons about life.
And now that the love she had waited for did arrive finally, her long wait was over, only to carry on her journey alone.
Strangely, even in her death, the woman on platform number 10, had taught me to live.
Truly, truth is stranger than fiction.
--------------Sushil Shirke
"I just want to end it all", I blurted.
"It won't help, dear", a voice suddenly spoke out."There's much more to life than what you can see now".
For the first time, I became aware of this middle-aged woman dressed in a plain saree sharing the bench with me.
I looked up with tears in my eyes to see a comforting and reassuring motherly face.
"I am sorry, but are you talking to me?", I asked.
"Yes, dear", she replied and she placed her tender hands on mine.
Somehow it felt better.
"But, you don't know what I am going through", I replied.
"It doesn't matter, it's still not worth dying for", she replied. And for some strange reason, I wanted to believe her and I did.
So began a new chapter in my life.
I began meeting her daily before I caught my train. Meeting her was the highlight of my day. Listening to her comforting words was something I began looking forward to. And then there were times, she would quietly listen to all that I said, only adding a word or two every now and then. Age knew no barrier and I shared my life with her like I did with no one else.
I told her about the boy I loved and how he had broken up with me. How I had hoped against all hopes that he would come back to her.
And that day, when I sat crying on this very bench, I had learnt that he had gotten married to someone else.
"Someday another nice man will come your way and love you. You too will learn to love him like you never did and you will thank God that you lived to see that day".
"If a relationship didn't work out, then it wasn't meant to be",she said.
I just hoped her words would come true.
"I see you here everyday and for some reason, I am sorry but I never asked you whether you are waiting for someone or come to see off someone", I asked her a week later.
"Yes, I am waiting for someone", she said. "He told me that he would meet me on this platform near the indicator".
I learnt that she loved this man Raghu who lived in another town and he had told her to wait here. She had thus made it a point to come everyday at 10:00 and wait for the Saurashtra mail that arrived at the platform at 10:00 am.
I arrived next day a bit after 11:00am. I realized that I must have missed Vandana when I saw that she wasn't there.
"Did you see the lady who always sits here at 10:00", I asked the fruit vendor nearby.
"Who, that crazy woman ? Yes, she did like she always does and went away after the Saurashtra mail left the platform", he said.
"What do you mean crazy?, I asked.
"Madam, some people think she is crazy but personally, I have never seen her do anything crazy. She comes quietly and sits there and leaves just as she came, without any problems. These days, ofcourse, I see her talking with you. To me she looks fine. But I think people call her crazy because she has been doing this for a long time now. I have seen her atleast for 2 months that I have been here. It appears she is waiting for someone to arrive on that 10 o'clock train", he said.
This was shocking to me as I couldn't think of anyone who could be so patient enough to wait for a loved one for such a long time. I wasn't sure about bringing this up when I met her next day but decided to wait before I broached the topic.
I soon realized that in Vandana, I had found a motherly figure, a friend, a confidant, I so longed for as a girl.
My own parents didn't know or rather didn't seem to care about my life. My father was busy with his business while my mother was busy with her social work. It was an irony that while she believed in helping the unfortunate in society, she had little time for her own daughter and the happenings in her life. And whatever little time her parents had together, they would spend it fighting.
Vandana taught me about love,trust,compassion,patience, relationships and a lot more about life than I could have imagined. She taught me that this life is a gift that needs to be treasured and so are the people you love and who love you.
"People don't realize the importance of what they have until they lose it, be it a thing or some life precious to us, be it someone else's or our own", she said.
She taught me to art of forgiving. "Start by forgiving yourself for the things you did without intending to and also those you didn't. Then you will realize that its easy to forgive other's too. It isn't your fault that your parents don't get along", she said and added "Sometimes people take a long time to realize this while some don't. Only time will tell but you cannot always make them see sense. Not everybody meets people who can help them see sense".
I shared with her my ambitions and aspirations. I told her how I wanted to travel and see the world. I told her that travelling would make me very happy. "Happiness is closer than you think", she said. "You only need to look in the right place", she said smilingly. "But you will understand it one day, dear", she added.
She told me finally that she now doesn't remember how long she has been waiting for Raghu and she would continue doing what she knew best - wait patiently for him on platform no. 10. He had said that he would come and she trusted him. I didn't know what to say and I prayed that Raghu would come soon.
It had only been a around 3 weeks since I had met Vandana but it seemed like the most beautiful time of my life. Rather this was a new lease of life that I had got on account of her. That day, she had saved me from a grave mistake.
And how true her words had come. I had met this wonderful man in the office I had recently joined and before I knew what had hit me, I realized we were in love with each other. He threw me off guard when he suddenly proposed marriage to me. I was absolutely delighted and though initially wary of any new relationship, I wanted to say yes. I told him I wanted sometime.
"I want to share a good news with you", I told Vandana as we sat on our bench.
She waited expectantly with eager eyes before I just blurted, "I met this wonderful man in my office and though its only been a few days that we know each other, he has proposed marriage to me. I am excited and I want to say yes but I am scared. I don't know what to do".
"Get him here to meet me. I will let you know what you should do", she said.
The next day, I got Amish to meet Vandana at the station. She motioned him to sit down and had a chat with him. She had asked me to not be around, so I was absent-mindedly flipping pages at the nearby bookstore, throwing nervous furtive glances in their direction.
She told me that she would let me know tomorrow just as we left for work. She did add something before we left though.
"There can be no love without respect and trust. Love is to be treasured like a child who needs to be taken care of. Both of you, dear souls,are fortunate to have come together in this universe and that itself is a miracle". We smiled as we continued, only more or less intellectually understanding the depth of what she had just told us.
"He is a good human being. He loves you a lot and will take care of you. He keeps his head on his shoulders and feet planted firmly on the ground. Besides that there are other virtues him. He is the right man for you", she said similingly and hugging me, when I met her the next day.
It was strange that I had brought Amish along to meet Vandana while my parents didn't have the time to meet him yet.
That day I was informed that our visa's to go to Japan for a month long training had arrived and that we would have to leave in a week's time.
I began looking forward to this trip and the best part would be that Amish would be coming along too for this training. But the thought of missing out on my daily meeting with Vandana wasn't something I was too happy about.
On the day I was to leave, I met Vandana and spoke to her for long and we hugged a number of times. I couldn't stop my tears, knowing that I would be missing her, a woman, I had grown so close to, a stranger from all angles and yet who meant everything to me. What would I have done without her.She blessed me and I parted little knowing what turn my life would take.
I came back a month later and the very next day was waiting for Vandana at our special bench.
The Saurashtra Mail came and left and yet there was no Vandana.
I grew alarmed and looked around when the fruit vendor spoke.
"Madam, your friend hasn't been coming for a few days now. Perhaps, whoever she is waiting for,finally arrived", he said.
I grew excited on hearing this about the possibility that Raghu had finally come and decided to go to her house at the address she had once mentioned. "But then what if Vandana was sick", I thought.
"Is this Vandana's house?,I asked the elderly couple.
They looked at each other before the elderly gentleman asked,"Yes, but what is your name?"
"I am Shruti and I am her friend who used to meet her at the station. I was wondering if Vandana is allright?
Or has Raghu finally arrived? Where is Vandana? I can't wait to meet Vandana". A torrent of questions came rushing out.
The couple again looked at each other silently for sometime before the gentleman spoke.
"Wait Wait, be calm. How do you know about Raghu? Do you know him? he asked but continued,
"Raghu came a about a fortnight ago. He finally had the courage to come here. Why now when there is nothing? Apparently he had to marry someone else due to family pressure".
"What do you mean nothing", I asked.
He looked crestfallen as he said,"Vandana left us for good. She couldn't take the wait anymore. As the days went by, she grew more tired and depressed and finally ended it all for herself"
"What?", I asked hardly believing what I had just heard.
"Yes, she had waited for Raghu to come by the 10 o'clock Saurashtra Mail everyday on platform no. 10 and when he didn't keep his promise, she threw herself in front of that very train one day".
This was simply too incredulous to hear. The Vandana I knew, the woman who had stopped me from commiting suicide, couldn't have done this to herself. I didn't know what to think. I was too shaken.
"And that cursed Raghu", the elderly lady spoke," Now what did he come for? To see if Vandana was still alive? She was just a little girl when she lost her parents and since then we raised her like our own. Such a lovely girl, she was. And now he comes, 2 years after she left us for good".
"2 years ? But...but...how can that be? This is impossible. No, this can't be. I just met....", I said as my head began reeling.
I walked out bewildered and began walking towards the station.
Its only then that I began realizing the true meaning of some of the things that Vandana had mentioned, which I had found quite peculiar. "People don't realize the importance of what they have until they lose it, be it a thing or some life precious to us, be it someone else's or our own", or "It doesn't matter, it's still not worth dying for" and all those lessons about life.
And now that the love she had waited for did arrive finally, her long wait was over, only to carry on her journey alone.
Strangely, even in her death, the woman on platform number 10, had taught me to live.
Truly, truth is stranger than fiction.
--------------Sushil Shirke
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Introduced By: Shreyasi Majumdar, Participation Count: 01
