I travel through a field of dissonance and harmony, just like everything else in this universe. The journey may or may not be eternal, but eventually I’ll get to see the undiscovered depths of it all. But to pause, take a breath, and to look through the cacophonies for harmonies, all the while embracing the tunes and battling discordances around me? Now that’s an adventure I tread on.
A month ago, I hopped on the brand new Vande Bharat Express, train number 20644, onward to Chennai. At the moderate speed allowed by the Indian broad gauge limits, the machine and I soared, breaking the morning mist in style. Away from all the burning quandaries in life.
As I eased back into the comfort of my seat, against the window, surprised by the hospitality in the C5 coach, there appeared a good old friend running along the tracks. Nostalgia!
It waved at me, running and dodging the obstacles. I waved back. This one was a particular variance, you see. I think of it as a gestalt of all my childhood memories about trains. It hid into a lush mountain and pulled me into a vista with all the clickety-clack rhythms from all the trains that preceded this one. The nostalgia got stronger as I recollected the smell of tar, the brakes, the hot sun, and the sunless dawns from my childhood.
At 124 beats per minute, the bogies and I slid on the rails. My destination, well that was unknown. I strolled from one end to the other, smiling at all the faces that smiled back, tipping my imaginary hat to the happy horn from the locomotive, all the while listening and feeling the train’s rhythm through my feet.
It was a dance. My thoughts, the bogies, and the rails.
Right there I knew that these moments, and the moments to come throughout the trip, trivial or momentous, all must be defined with a language I adore.
Music!
With what I know and what I experienced throughout this journey, I put together some electronic instruments to mimic the horn with the click-clacks and express everything I remember. And composed a variant stream of these emotions to life.
I call it, Escapade at 5!
A journey for me to remember. A score to the moments that would go into the pages of one of the happy chapters.