There's not much to look forward to everytime I took the packed train to work and back again. Contemplating getting sqeezed in between all the strangers (cant call of of them strangers tho.. maybe nodding acquantance as I see some of them almost daily on the train) like a tin of canned sardine just deflate me more at the end of a working day.
But now and then, its presented some of the most interesting, shall i say, comedic relief to an otherwise boring routine. Just a couple of nights ago, on a packed (as usual) train back home from work, I was provided with such relief. I was trying to ignore all the crowd and concentrating on solving a Sudoku puzzle, when I suddenly heard a voice joyfully singing, not humming mind you, but really singing out loud a Tamil song.. one after another. At first i found it annoying as heck, then I started to find it comedic, when the guy suddenly graciously inform everyone and no one in particular, "I'm not mad or crazy ok.. I'm just happy..".. then he happily resume his singing. Man, was he a happy bloke, cos he didnt stop singing... from Tamil songs to funny Malay ditty "Kecik kecik, lembu jaga, sedah besar, masuk askar....".. or something to that effect. Thus i was treated with a free concert to entertain me on my journey.
Most time when I took the commuter train (in the morning or in the evening), i promptly close my eyes and fell asleep. That's if I'm lucky enough to get a sit, but if not, i dont let that stop me from catching a few Z's. After years of numerous train rides, i'm proud to say i'm an expert at sleeping on my feet. But on the rare ocassions that sleeps just escapes me, i turn to my next favourite passtimes, reading, crossword or sudoku puzzles, or if i have none of those on me.. people watching. I observes how ppl sleep on the train (and hoping i dont look even remotely like that when i was sleeping), how the guys just cant seem to keep their knees together when they are sitting, but instead splayed them out as widely as possible, how some ppl just cant help but read the papers the person next to him/her is reading to the point of getting right into their faces. How a lady's clothes doesnt match her 'tudung' or how humungous is the brooch pinning the 'tudung' in place perching on a lady's head like big dung beetle on a .. well, a dung. Or enjoying the brilliantly melodic musical composition of various snores and snuffles of sleeping passengers...
Thats about all that makes the daily commute on the train bearable... the interesting characters u meet and the various human behaviors, good or bad. Takes one's mind off one's problems and fatigue when oblivion is hard to come by.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment