A Silly Accident – an Excoriation

I was careless. I guess it would end years of precarious existence as a sort of acrobat jumping into running trains, descending from locomotives which are still in motion, and so on and so forth. See, I didn't realise trains are metal monsters that don't have much of a soft mushy heart. It does its job without the soft flesh and a billion dreams it carries back and forth. (Six million people travel in Bombay trains and I guess if each has 116 dreams that would be a billion dreams. Remember, Bombay is a city of dreams, sour or not, I don't know.) I guess it had to end someday and I made a firm resolve after the incident a few hours ago. There's no way this could go on forever, seeing that age is also catching up, hm? One of the things about growing old is you keep thinking you are still young until the mirror in the bathroom – while shaving – reminds you that you aren't. That's why I shave every day.

Tired after a day's back-breaking work I badly need my perch inside the train to read a book on the way back home. So usually I jump into the train before it stops to get in before the crowd does. I guess it improves my chances if I do this act, which is of finding a seat in the bone-crunching rush hours, which runs well up to 10 p.m. in Bombay. No way I could wait till that time, this blog waits for its master to be home soon to write.

So, today I jumped, and then there was this hulk of a man with a big bag who dashed against me as I jumped and... I lost my balance. I swivelled on the bar I held on to, almost sliding down to sitting level. My leg grazed against the steel bar and I lost an acre of skin (sorry, exaggerating! But I lost enough of integument to be concerned.). I somehow gathered myself and got a seat, too, to rather sheepishly observe myself being observed by tut-tutting co-passengers who had pushed me in the first place.

So I promise to this blog that I won't be careless henceforth and heretofore. I would rather stand and read that all important novel even if my leg buckles under me. It takes that all important accident to change one, make one better. What if it is drastic and excoriating!?