I looked at my watch. It was 10 O’clock. My wife and
daughter were fast asleep, so were the couple who took the upper berths. The
other couple with their 1 year old son on the side berths were just completing
their dinner. The only loner in that coupe was deeply immersed in a Rajesh
Kumar thriller. So I waited for some
more time, until he closed the book, and asked, “Shall I pull up the middle
berth? Only then did he realize that I was waiting for him - I then understood
the power of Rajesh Kumar thrillers. He apologized and helped me set up the
berth.
Dear Toastmasters and Guests,
Sleeping at 10 pm is a luxury that never happens at home. So
I tried to make up the best of the opportunities I get while travelling in
trains. So that day, I set up the bed and slid under the sheets, waiting for
the sweet lullaby of the train to pull me into deep sleep.
Yes, I did hear the lullaby, not the sweet lullaby of the
train, but a mash up of whistles and clucks. I turned around and saw that the
couple with the kid have set up a nice cradle with a long sari tied up to the
bars on the upper berth. Excellent idea! A nice cloth cradle right inside the
train! The father was rocking the cradle and that hideous lullaby came from
him.
Good father. Especially in India it is rare to see such
scenes of fathers rocking the cradle and singing or rather attempting
lullabies... I then saw the reason. The mother was fast asleep. Her leg was
under a heavy bandage. She may have had some painkillers and hence asleep. I
realized that I was seeing the exertions of a father forced to take over from
his wife, with no prior experience or KT whatsoever!
His inexperience and ineptitude literally showed through! He
was literally rocking the cradle – it was swinging wildly, and I cringed
whenever the head of the boy appeared to almost hit the window! I would not
trade my place with that sweet little boy for even a million bucks! The father
was exhorting the boy to go to sleep, as if pleading with the boy would do the
trick! The kid was fully awake and laughing with joy at the thrill ride and the
pleadings of his father!
I decided to intervene. I asked the father to stop rocking.
I jumped down from the berth and showed him how to rock the cradle in a slower,
but rhythmic manner. I also asked him to
stop whistling and start humming some tune.
He learned quickly and started rocking as I instructed him
to. I climbed back on the berth and took a deep breath of satisfaction for a
job well done and slid myself back into the sheet. Soon I heard him humming the
tune of “Why this Kolaveri di?” Not sure if he was looking at his wife when he
did that.
Not even Dhanush’s melody could make that kid sleep. Halfway
through the song, the boy started crying. My sleep said good night to me and
disappeared! I looked out of the sheets. The kid was sitting upright on the
cradle, crying as well as shaking his head to the tune! The poor father looked
at me with dismay. I played with the thought of teaching that poor soul some
nice lullabies, but decided against it in the interest of time.
I decided to take out my next trick. I decided to become the
villain. I looked at the boy as villainously as possible, and put my finger to
my lips showing the universal sign of silence. The kid lied down and stared at
my eyes as if to scare me. I did not give up. As the father switched off the
lights, I kept my eyes trained on the kid and my finger on my lips. He too did
not take his eyes off me. But soon they started withering, as the father
started rocking the cradle gently. Yes,
in a couple of minutes, I succeeded in making the boy sleep!! The father
thanked profusely and climbed on his berth to sleep.
