As a Train Ticket Conductor, I have been to many places all over the India. I have completed 15 years in this job. I have encountered numerous kinds of people, soft speaking and ruffians alike. All these years i have been through many kinds of experiences, but nothing beats the experience i had on a cold winter night of December 1999.
I had joined Indian Railways just a few months back. I was eager to prove myself, make a name of mine in this world and be rich and happy etc etc. My posting was in Bihar. I was in charge of the route from Balliya to Mujaffarpur. One day my duty was on Darbhanga express which starts from Pune and last stop is Darbhanga Junction. The total journey of this train is of approximately 40 hours.
On Balliya i boarded this train. By the time it reaches Balliya it is 1 o clock in the night. Being a cold and foggy night, i had put on my sweater and a thick coat on top of it. Even then i was feeling chilly. Since by now it is almost nearing the end of its journey, many passengers have reached their destination and the train was almost half empty. There were very few new passengers who had made a reservation from this station. At about 2 AM, i was done with my ticket checking duties and i had another 3 hours to spend by the time it will reach Mujaffarpur.
So i thought to take some rest in one of the AC coaches, as i had seen many empty seats during my prior visit. I found a nice empty compartment in 2nd AC coach. Got a blanket from one of the porters and sat comfortably on the seat. Blame it on the warm blanket in a cold weather and being late in the night, i soon felt drifted away and was happily sleeping. After some time i woke up with a jolt. The train was standing somewhere away from the station and it was 3 AM. I thought it must be somewhere near Hajipur. I was about to go out and check what was the matter, i suddenly saw a girl sitting on the seat in another compartment adjacent to where i was sitting. She was looking very intently at me. I was not sure if i had seen her when i entered this coach. So i went to her and asked - "What is your name?" She didn't reply. I asked her - "Whom are you traveling with?". She said - "With my Papa". I asked - "Where is he". She simply pointed towards the toilets near the end of coach. Feeling satisfied with her answer, i decided to make another round in the coach and find out where we were. There was one family who was supposed to get down at Darbhanga and few people were supposed to get down at Samastipur and Mujaffarpur. Otherwise the coach was mostly empty. I asked one of the tea vendor - "Where are we?" He said - "Sahebji. Train has left Hajipur and is waiting for green signal".
Soon the train started moving, and now i decided to return back to my comfortable seat. When i passed by the girl, i saw that she was crying and sobbing. I asked her - " Why are you crying? What is the matter?" She said - "Papa hasn't come yet and the train will leave him." I tried to console her - "Don't worry. Your Papa will come soon. He is just in the toilet". But she started sobbing more loudly. Now i was feeling embarrassed and awkward. So i told her - "Let me go there and find your Papa". I checked both the toilets, but no one was there. I thought maybe he has gone to the one of the toilets on the other side of the coach. So i went there, but again both of them were vacant. Now i was starting to get worried. Where is her father. What kind of irresponsible person are there?
I again went back to my seat. She came to me and asked - "Did you find him?" I said - "No. But i am sure he will be back soon. Tell me what is your name ? where are you .." I wasn't able to complete my sentence. She started crying and shouting hysterically with a shrill - "What have you done to my Papa? Where is my Papa" I tried to calm her by patting my hand on her head, but she stopped my hand in the mid air with both her hands. I swear i can still feel those icy cold hands. She gave me a violent push. It was so surprising that how come such a little girl got so much power. My head banged with one of the iron plate of a seat and i lost my consciousness
When i opened my eyes i saw several people standing near me. One of the gentleman was sprinkling my face with water. Another person was fanning over my head with a newspaper. I sat upright and asked - "Where is the girl?" But it seems no one has seen that girl and no one has heard her cries. They were about to get down at Mujaffarpur when they saw me lying on the floor of coach.
Till this day i am thinking about that girl and who she was. Was she just my imagination or something really paranormal happened to me.
(c) Anup Mayank 2012
I had joined Indian Railways just a few months back. I was eager to prove myself, make a name of mine in this world and be rich and happy etc etc. My posting was in Bihar. I was in charge of the route from Balliya to Mujaffarpur. One day my duty was on Darbhanga express which starts from Pune and last stop is Darbhanga Junction. The total journey of this train is of approximately 40 hours.
On Balliya i boarded this train. By the time it reaches Balliya it is 1 o clock in the night. Being a cold and foggy night, i had put on my sweater and a thick coat on top of it. Even then i was feeling chilly. Since by now it is almost nearing the end of its journey, many passengers have reached their destination and the train was almost half empty. There were very few new passengers who had made a reservation from this station. At about 2 AM, i was done with my ticket checking duties and i had another 3 hours to spend by the time it will reach Mujaffarpur.
So i thought to take some rest in one of the AC coaches, as i had seen many empty seats during my prior visit. I found a nice empty compartment in 2nd AC coach. Got a blanket from one of the porters and sat comfortably on the seat. Blame it on the warm blanket in a cold weather and being late in the night, i soon felt drifted away and was happily sleeping. After some time i woke up with a jolt. The train was standing somewhere away from the station and it was 3 AM. I thought it must be somewhere near Hajipur. I was about to go out and check what was the matter, i suddenly saw a girl sitting on the seat in another compartment adjacent to where i was sitting. She was looking very intently at me. I was not sure if i had seen her when i entered this coach. So i went to her and asked - "What is your name?" She didn't reply. I asked her - "Whom are you traveling with?". She said - "With my Papa". I asked - "Where is he". She simply pointed towards the toilets near the end of coach. Feeling satisfied with her answer, i decided to make another round in the coach and find out where we were. There was one family who was supposed to get down at Darbhanga and few people were supposed to get down at Samastipur and Mujaffarpur. Otherwise the coach was mostly empty. I asked one of the tea vendor - "Where are we?" He said - "Sahebji. Train has left Hajipur and is waiting for green signal".
Soon the train started moving, and now i decided to return back to my comfortable seat. When i passed by the girl, i saw that she was crying and sobbing. I asked her - " Why are you crying? What is the matter?" She said - "Papa hasn't come yet and the train will leave him." I tried to console her - "Don't worry. Your Papa will come soon. He is just in the toilet". But she started sobbing more loudly. Now i was feeling embarrassed and awkward. So i told her - "Let me go there and find your Papa". I checked both the toilets, but no one was there. I thought maybe he has gone to the one of the toilets on the other side of the coach. So i went there, but again both of them were vacant. Now i was starting to get worried. Where is her father. What kind of irresponsible person are there?
I again went back to my seat. She came to me and asked - "Did you find him?" I said - "No. But i am sure he will be back soon. Tell me what is your name ? where are you .." I wasn't able to complete my sentence. She started crying and shouting hysterically with a shrill - "What have you done to my Papa? Where is my Papa" I tried to calm her by patting my hand on her head, but she stopped my hand in the mid air with both her hands. I swear i can still feel those icy cold hands. She gave me a violent push. It was so surprising that how come such a little girl got so much power. My head banged with one of the iron plate of a seat and i lost my consciousness
When i opened my eyes i saw several people standing near me. One of the gentleman was sprinkling my face with water. Another person was fanning over my head with a newspaper. I sat upright and asked - "Where is the girl?" But it seems no one has seen that girl and no one has heard her cries. They were about to get down at Mujaffarpur when they saw me lying on the floor of coach.
Till this day i am thinking about that girl and who she was. Was she just my imagination or something really paranormal happened to me.
(c) Anup Mayank 2012
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