A Train Ride

There is something mesmerizing about traveling through the city in the early hours of the morning. People are either quiet and absorbing their surroundings, or are sprawled on benches catching up on the last dregs of long lost sleep. Outside the train, through the dirty glass window, you can catch sight of the early morning tempos and bikes trying to get to places before the city traffic stretches its arms and yawns to greet the sunrise. Though it's chilly outside, you don't really know what kind of day lies ahead, gray or sunny? Every once in a while a neon board shines through the grimy window, leaving you wondering how much longer before somebody switches it off. It suddenly strikes you that you never took into account the fact that it would still be dark once you reach your destination. The subway might just be deserted at this time. But then again, you feel the bulge of the pepper spray against your leg and take comfort in it. I have loved Chennai like a home. Though I've spent the last three years living on the highway on the outskirts, it never fails to amaze me how much safer I feel here than I ever did back home. I could never imagine taking a metro this early by myself. It's as if the women don't exist after dark and before daylight. The select few who do, either have their own cars or are chaperoned around by their men. Fear is a way of life.
But that's not what I set out to write about. I am awaiting the sunrise. When the birds start screaming in the sky. I am waiting for a new day to dawn. Today, I am headed on a journey which will probably bring to end another journey that I had undertaken a long time ago. The winds of change blows straight, into the face of time..
Someday, I will write an ode to this city, but not today. Today, I will sit back and enjoy the ride home. I will be back, at least one more time, if not more.