The lady in the train

37degrees
We were sweating profusely.
I had conveniently changed into my shorts and t-shirt.
The train was full, beyond all capacities I can imagine… around 20 people and 8 seats (bahut nainsaafi hai!!) and not to mention the infinite baggage.. huh!! I felt like kicking myself…
As we made our way inside the train or should I say pushed, kicked, cursed and somehow got inside and somehow seated ourselves into whatever place we got (fortunately both the lower berths were ours), she entered..
Clad in a black burqa, only her eyes visible to the outside world, she was carrying three kids.. yes three!!
And then came the bags…..
Finally her family settled, they had 2 seats, side upper and side lower, the upper was stuffed with their infinite bags and the family of 6 stuffed on the lower seat(the lady, her hubby, her MIL and her 3 kids)….

She had beautiful brown eyes, perfectly crafted
I couldn’t move my eyes off hers.. no hints there, they were really beautiful..
But that wasn’t all..
The elder kid (must be around 4 years, not more than that) was sleeping in her lap and her identical twins (10 months old), one each in her hand.
She continuously juggled between the kids, feeding one, making the other one sleep, helping her old MIL drink, eat and everything else…
The kids continued taking chances crying and throwing tantrums sometimes one after another and sometimes together… we were having a tough time… but she dint budge..
Her eyes showed no hint of pain or restlessness, no frown on her forehead… She continued nursing her kids…
At dinner time, she actually fed her MIL with her own hands, served her hubby who was cute enough to make her eat along with him..
And oh the dinnertime! For each morsel of food, she inserted her hand inside her burqa and ate..
Night must have been a challenge for her, as there was no place for her to rest her back. The elder kid slept on the seat in a corner and there she sat throughout the night putting her twins to sleep…
Each time I got up, she was up doing something or the other for the kids or taking her MIL to the washroom…

Tough times
Tough people… don’t know how she manages her life!!
I felt a feeling of pity, a strange helplessness.. her acceptance..
I don’t know how to put it down.. though what made me happy was that her hubby was pretty supportive. He was up with her all night, trying to pacify the kids, though they’d sleep only with their mother. He took care that she had food and never once did I see him frown either. Each time there were hawkers selling food, he’d ask wifie dear if she wanted to eat!!

Such is life.. such is love…
Helps you pull on life without complain :)

God bless you, lady in the train :)