Whistle stopper

When our first baby arrived in Calcutta, my wife and I started looking for a suitable name.

When our first baby arrived in Calcutta, my wife and I started looking for a suitable name. Certain names did seem apt, but then my wife decided to name the baby after a flower. She had my green signal, but with riders. One, the name should be limited to two syllables. This eliminated names like chrysanthemum. Two, such a name would only be a nickname.

We zeroed in on Poppy. Some friends did remark that it was a girl8217;s name. But I retorted that my son will be able to take that in his stride. Later, with experience, we did not take long to find another suitable name, Daisy, for our second son. But that is another story.

We were living very close to Dum Dum railway station. Electrification of the tracks was still a far cry. Mercifully, the noise pollution in those days was low, and the whistles of the steam engines were sharp and clear which, in fact, regulated our lives. Early in the morning we got up to the piercing whistle of the first local taking commuters for the morning shift. At breakfast we were greeted by the Ranaghat Express. The undulating whistle of the Lalgola Express at 10 pm made Poppy restless. That was the time for his last feed.

Brought up in such an atmosphere, he developed an irresistible attraction for trains. As the days passed, his interest in trains took new dimensions. He covered the walls with graffiti of trains. At times I took him to Dum Dum station to watch them at close range. On such occasions, it was difficult to persuade him to return home.

One Sunday afternoon, to our utter panic, we found Poppy missing. We searched everywhere for him but there was no trace of the child. A massive hunt was organised. People went to different locations, but came back without a clue. Just when I thought of contacting the police, the telephone rang. 8220;If you are looking for Poppy, he is safe with me,8221; purred a voice at the other end. 8220;When I got down from the local train, I found him all alone on the platform, as if he had come to receive me!8221;

It was Dolly Chatterjee, our neighbour, speaking from Dum Dum station.