The last metro

The clock showed the time; too late for my liking. I rushed to the metro station hoping I8217;d keep my appointment. The train was reasonably packed and I jostled my way through to find a peaceful spot to stand. Suddenly, a chirpy voice interrupted my thoughts: 8220;Would you like to sit?8221; I was ready to plonk myself down, once my benefactor had got up; but I saw her waving both her hands asking people to shift to let me join them. Red in the face, I had no option but to squeeze myself in and murmur, 8220;Thank you.8221; That utterance was enough to open the Pandora8217;s box hidden in her mouth.

She excitedly asked if Hindi film music interested me. Taken aback, I replied in the affirmative. Without further ado she asked me to recite three songs. She talked animatedly and, once I had done so with the correct lyrics, she sought my opinion as to which song would be best suited to impress her friend of the opposite sex. I wondered if she was confusing me with someone known to her as she began to show me pictures from her mobile phone, including those of sea creatures. 8220;Lunatic8221; and 8220;crazy8221; were the words hammering away in my mind but she was oblivious to the impression she was making. She was loud enough to keep the other passengers in good humour, glaring at us in both amusement and pity.

She reminded me of someone but I didn8217;t know whom. She said she would welcome her friend with her favourite song. Very suggestive, but she couldn8217;t care less. Suddenly, the metro stopped at a station. She was halfway through a sentence, looked up, and darted out without even a nod.

She was the 8216;Jab we met8217; effect personified. Kareena Kapoor must have inspired her. She was even dressed in the trademark long skirts. No wonder she looked familiar. But her devil-may-care attitude and exuberance lit up my day. She reminded me of my faded youth. The feeling lasted through the day and I found myself humming the song 8220;Yeh ishq hai baithe bithaye8221; while climbing the stairs, instead of a dreary one like 8220;Chaine se humko kabhi8221; which is more often on my lips.