Man on the seat


I was in the suburban train.
He came and sat diagonally opposite to me and smiled a wan smile. He took off his slipper and with some effort, he lifted his leg and kept his leg on the opposite seat (my side). I took a glance and looked away - it looked swollen. Without any prompt he showed how his foot was swollen and began to say something. Though I was a bit unsure on why he wanted to say, I proceeded to show interest and listened. He began to say something - in the noise of the train, I did not quite hear what he said except that he pointed at his feet and showed...
Do you understand Marathi he asked. I nodded. He said he was working as a security guard and standing for 12 hours has made the foot swollen.
I asked him, if it pained?
He said, a bit.
And is it curable? I asked him
He said, yes. I have shown a doctor and he charged me 800 rupees for medicine. So, it will get cured. Thats all we spoke.
The train reached the next station - it was flooded with passengers and he had to move his foot. The oncoming passengers gave him no courtesy for a swollen leg. He moved as fast as he could, placed his bag in front of him (between us) and the training trundled along.
His faced showed that he looked defeated and a little down- as it sometimes happens.
He smiled, perhaps to himself, perhaps he cursed his luck or felt bad that his feet was hurting and he needed it to get better for him to do his job each day. 
In due course, he dozed off. I noticed him again. He looked a little down on luck. Perhaps around 50. Lower middle class - a honest worker - not poor or anything.  
For the last few days, a hundred rupee note has been refusing to go into my wallet - my wallet was on the top rack in my luggage - I never carry the wallet in my pocket especially in Mumbai. But this note has somehow never gone into the wallet. And every day for the last couple of days, it has been lying in my back pocket - through change of clothes. I got an idea...I took that note and put it in his bag. And got off at my stop. He was still dozing. 
The 100 rupees wont do anything to him - it wont make him rich - it wont even pay a part of his medical expense. But, I thought, when he discovers the note in his bag as he might, later in the night or the next day, he will think of it as ‘luck’ or even ‘Lakshmi'. And who knows that luck or positive energy might enable him to do? That might just spark a bit of happiness in him and be passed onto his family…I dont know, but I came home with a bounce in my step...
Perhaps the note was meant for something else or somebody...

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