The Flight of A Butterfly

Whenever someone says to you the word 'travel', what comes to your mind? Long train rides? Noisy stations? Or just the fact that you can now relax during the journey? Indian Railways .....  The arteries and veins of India. The lifeline of a billion people . It has been praised worldwide for its efficiency and its sheer amount of work. The surveys know better. I have been fortunate enough to watch it from close quarters. Close enough to say that for people who work in Railways it is not just a job, it is a way of life.  To start the narrative from somewhere, I'll tell you this. Both sets of my grandparents worked in Railways, my parents also do. So we have a closer association than you can imagine. Our house was situated less than 100 meters from the train station. We were so habituated to the horns conking that we actually missed it when we moved out. The Railway station was and still is a very fascinating place for me. I don't know why but I n...

You know I was wondering all these days what to write. Something trivial enough to be missed yet significant because it taught me something. The other day, I was sitting in front of the TV and my mom came back from work. Instinctively I asked her a question. And then it came to me. What to tell you. My mom is a gynecologist.  Needless to say, she has to go to the hospital at all the odd times for deliveries and cesarean sections. Middle of the night, lunch time.....so many times. That is a sacrifice she made. Her peace of mind. My brother and I are habituated to this. As kids, wait......we still do it!!!- one of our favorite games is guessing whether that family had a boy or a girl. We would even place bets. That is one standard question we always ask as she returns home. Boy or girl? And since welcoming a child into the family is always a great event, my mother usually becomes a part of the celebrations. I love it. I love how people distribute sweets, and their laughte...