Certain events, although the monetary value involved is peanuts, will not get erased from memory. This happened a few years ago and I’m sure that the man behind the railway counter would not remember it as he probably encounters many such or even better events on a daily basis.
The venue was Aluva railway station. No sooner did we reach the station did the train arrive. My friend Madhu Nair, a writer and American returnee, took the ticket and rushed along to get into it. I thought of going inside the platform to check if my friend got a comfortable seat. I headed for the ticket counter to buy a platform ticket.
When my turn came, I kept a Rs 10 note inside the pigeonhole. A disembodied voice said, ‘’No change, give me Rs 3.’’ I replied, “I’m sorry. I do not have Rs 3 as change.’’ Without a word, a ticket along with my own Rs 10 came out of the hole. I stood confused and looked at him. In a hurry to serve the next in line, he said to me, “Keep the ticket with you. Get the change from somewhere when you come out of the platform and give it to me.” I went inside looking for Madhu, but couldn’t find him. He might have got a seat somewhere. The train started moving and I waved off aimlessly at the train.
I came with Rs 3, got as balance from the platform book shop. When giving the coins to the man at the counter, I asked him, ‘’How did you know that I wouldn’t go away without giving this money?’’
A smile bloomed slowly on his face. He said, ‘’I know that the person who lined up over here and took the trouble of buying a platform ticket will not leave me in debt!’’ I said, ‘’I’m delighted at your hospitality. Thank you very much for trusting me for a ticket that has now turned priceless!’’
That made my day! From what I heard, people had stopped buying platform tickets since long. The officials also found it to difficult to check whether people are all having platform tickets. So none bothers. And none checks too.
The taxi man also told me that he had never heard of anyone buying a platform ticket and that mine might be the only such ticket sold that day. The term itself, he bets, would be quite unheard of to many of the commuters and their chaperons!
But as I noticed during my next visit, the law lives on—with a penalty of Rs 250 plus another fare charge. There’s an ailing board, subdued in colour, that still notes: Entering the platform without journey/platform tickets is punishable under law.
Suresh Nellikode
Email: suresh.nellikode@gmail.com