Part 1 – Chuku-Buku train
‘Why do you like trains?’
‘Because you like them, Daddy.’
‘That’s all?’
‘No. I like trains because it does Chuku-Buku and it goes zzzuuuiiii’
‘And what is the thing pulling all the bogeys called?’
‘Engine! A locomotive! You have to do better than that Daddy, I know you are a locomotive driver, haha!’
‘But I am not driving now am I?’
‘No. I say no. I say we are going on a vacation. Just me and you!’
‘That’s my girl. I say you sleep now so that you are wiidee awake when we reach Ooty in the morning. What say Captain?’
‘No. I want to look out the window for a while.’
‘But its dark, and don’t you want to see the flowers tomorrow?’
‘I do. I want to see everything when you are around and that includes looking out the window now and not sleeping until we are very sleepy. Come watch with me soldier.’
‘Yes, Captain’
And so, the cool mountain wind blew through the grilled window and onto the father and his little daughter who sat huddled cozily inside the train bogey. They were looking out into the darkness of the Western Ghats which showed an occasional silhouette of a mountain or a hillock. The half moon wasn’t as grand as the full, but the little kid stared at it for a long time. She could swear that the moon was following along with them and she was happy believing that.
‘Saab! Din’t expect to catch you here in the back. And the daughter I am seeing for the first time. Lovely surprise. I don’t need to see your tickets. But I want to ask the little princess here. Where is your ticket young lady?’
‘Daddy has it’
‘I don’t have it.’ Daddy replied.
‘Then we have a problem. I will have to let you off at the next Station. Your Daddy can stay.’
The girl was transfixed.
Seeing that, the Ticket collector burst into a hearty chuckle and rustled her neatly braided hair.
‘I am just kidding sweet girl. You can stay as long as you like. Your Daddy is a Hero around these parts, you know?’
‘I know’
‘Has he told you about the Doodhsagar incident?’
‘No,’ the little girl replied and turned to Daddy with a look of betrayal.
‘I’ll be off now. I am end-route today Saab. I am coming all the way till Ooty. Long night ahead.’
Father nodded and smiled at the Ticket collector. He smiled back and waved goodbye to the girl. She waved back.
After dinner, which consisted of three hard chapatis and some cold Brinjal curry, Daddy heaved his little girl to the bed at the very top, her favorite, and then he climbed and snuck in next to her. In the Chuku-Buku of the train and in the gentle swaying of the bogey and in the warm embrace of her father, the girl slept soundlessly, dreamlessly.
The father could feel a cough coming up, and so he held a white kerchief to his mouth and coughed as muffled as he could. He could immediately feel that there was something wrong with the cough. It was a broken one, and a sinister one. He observed the white kerchief, now blotted with a bit of blood, and he felt a tingle slicing his spine. On his chest, he could feel the gently weight of his little princess’s tiny head. He could see the tiny head moving up and down as his chest breathed in and breathed out. At once, he could feel it coming. Somewhere in the corner of his eyes, on the blurred edges, a vulture flew in circles, coming in and out of his view.
‘Today of all days?’ Daddy asked nonvocal to no one in particular.
All he could hear in reply was the steady Chuku-Buku of the train and the slowing lub-dub of his heart.
—End of Part 1—
This story is now available in audio format for free on Spotify!
