It was 3.00 Am in the morning, but Somnath Banerjee couldn’t close his eyes for a moment – each time he attempted, he failed miserably. He could barely see the portrait of ‘Father of Nation’, dangling helplessly against the prison wall, in the dim light of ‘zero’ volt bulb.
In a way, both were siblings of the same misfortune!
One attempted to save the nation, and is held in captivity for more than half a century in most of the government offices, often in company of cobwebs, lizards and a sheath of dust. Other attempted to save the life of 3 year old kid from getting into the clutches of the begging mafia, and is held in captivity for more than half a day with none to strike a chord, except mosquitoes.
For Somnath— the seasoned Project Manager from a well known software company in Bangalore, life is at crossroads!
It all happened on the Friday evening, when he saw his mother off at the Railway Station. The train started moving and Indrani Devi, his mother, rung his mobile and requested him to search for a missing child of a co-passenger, who was left behind, in jiffy. Someone pulled the Alarm chain, and the train was grounded, eventually.
The plight of the kid, who may eventually fall into the hands of the begging mafia, formed a collage in Somnath’ mind. Without wasting any time, Somnath did his best by coalescing with the Railway Authorities and the RFP Personnel. The search went in vain and was subsequently wound up.
After an hour or so, he received a call update from Indrani Devi stating that the kid was infact found in one of the tail end compartments. “Thank God” said Somnath, and a sign of relief befell on his face. Giving the updates to all concerned, Somnath trotted towards the parking lot. Just as he was about to get into his car, he was stopped by the RFP Personnel –a drunken Constable, who almost dragged him to the RFP station.
RPF threatened of slapping a section 14, which has a penalty of Rs 1000 and an imprisonment up to one year! And for what? For APC or for ‘Pulling the Alarm chain’ without sufficient reason! Somnath’s pleaded his innocence and then protested by stating that he was never inside the train, but had performed a good Samaritans duty. Everything went deaf ears.
The RFP too wanted an amiable solution. In simpler terms, all they wanted was a few Hundred Rupees for that day’s evening drink. It was a deal, they said. However, the credential of being the son of Aurobindo Banerjee—Winner of President’s Medal for the Best Teacher –, History Professor at Jadavpur University, didn’t allow Somnath to pick up that deal.
And that was the biggest mistake for Somnath! By around late night, he was transferred straight into the Railway Prison at Bangalore Central.
Being a Friday, Somnath was produced only on the coming Monday, before the Railway tribunal. Meanwhile, it was a free ‘3 Nights and 2 Days’ package from Indian Railways, though! The tribunal didn’t have any solid evidence against Somnath, and was thus released from the prison!
Reaching home, Somnath was bemused for quite some time and decided to watch the Television. The talk show ‘How Indian Railways turned profitable’ was getting streamed, by a prominent News Channel. Anchored by a famous News Reader, the panel included the Railway Minister, Bureaucrats, an Eminent Economist, a Social Worker of ‘Sardar Sarovar’ fame, and few Politicians from across the bench. The students of JNU enriched the show by throwing intricate questions at the Panel.
Cliché statements like ‘Customer is the king ‘, ‘India Shining’, ‘Indian Railways – the largest Railway Network ‘kept ramming his ears. On another frontier, the ‘3 Nights and 2 Days’ package kept abrading against his pugnacity, like a sand paper on teakwood. The ordeal— that his wife, Tapti, underwent in locating him & employing a lawyer to fight the case, the trauma that his mother underwent upon learning the turn of events while onboard , the frustration that his Dad experienced in trying to reach him over his mobile phone— found its way straight into his faculties of mind, for further living in this democratic country.
Though, I am not in control of the situation, its fine. I am in control of the ‘Remote’, Somnath mumbled to himself.
And the rumbling television found itself tasking rest. Will it have the opportunity to host another show of semblance again? Perhaps not!
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Monday, March 22, 2010
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