WAH, KYA SCENE HAI!

                                                                                By Padmaja Menon

The day began as any other except for the fact that she was going to Borivili. Her

husband had offered to drop her but at the last moment she decided on the local. What the heck, it had been a long time since she had travelled by the tube.She finished all her chores early and hopped on to the train in time . Thankfully she got a place to sit. She stretched out her legs and relaxed. It was a well earned rest. She had an interview lined up at the boy’s school there . She was writing a book about teenage children and this interview was very important for authentic writing. She sighed, today’s generation was so different. Ekdum hi-fi.

It was rather late when she finished her interview. The kids had amazed her with their comments. Specially class 11. Their views on rape was hilarious. ‘A man with a pokey bon’!If they came across one they would just castrate him! Would any of them rape a girl?

 That had them thinking. Ummmmm ,wellllll….. mebbe not , depends on the girl…… and one said if a girl doesn’t want to be raped she wouldn’t be. What exactly he meant she couldn’t say but he clarified by saying that she should use her wits and if not she at least the people around her. Anyway she learnt a few things that morning and there was a smile on her face as she boarded  for return.. As October evenings were wont  it turned dark soon and she sort of dozed in the twilight. The lights twinkled as houses lit up in the dusk and it was quite a tranquil night.

 When she woke she realized it was due to a funny , eerie silence around her.She sat up and looked around her. There were just a handful of passengers and some were leaving the compartment too. She looked out and just about made out that there was still lots more  time to entrain. Then why……It was at that precise moment that she did a double take. Her eyes literally popped out. For in the seat opposite one passenger  had his fly open and  a girl was touching or holding his erect penis. She remembered seeing this character  when she had boarded the train. He looked drunk but was dressed like a TT.

But this….. She looked at the girl, a girl of about 14 or 15 and she seemed petrified. Oho so it was not a lusty couple.(this was India after all and all the Mtv’s and remixes and Mallika sherawat’s and Rakhi sawant’s  notwithstanding, no one indulged in sex shows in public).The man was now rubbing her hand up and down his organ. The girl tried to pull her hand away and he slapped her hard across the face. She cringed and he went back to rubbing. His expression was changing and then to her disgust he stood up and threw the girl across the seat , spread her legs and almost fell on her.

Mrs Menon looked around the compartment. There were two couples and two adult men and everyone were in a freeze mode. She suspected that one of the watching men had an erection too. She was about to witness a rape scene and do nothing. It was like a nightmare. What had that boy said. A man can’t rape a girl if she has her wits about her. The girl on the seat had nothing at present. She was in shock. ‘And if not she at least the people around her’.  Yeah right! The people around her!! All frozen in shock.Ok, she was also  one of the people around the victim. And what was she doing?The others wouldn’t meet each other’s eye. No one wanted to get involved. It could lead to a gang thing , a mafia thing, an unwanted harassment thing. No, no one wanted any part of it.

 Mrs Menon thought what if it were my daughter?She had two daughters and she and they had always been a buffer for each other, a support system and they helped each other face problems together. It was a strong symbiotic relationship , rooted in love and understanding and solid enough to withstand temporary buffets. Her children believed in her, admired her strength and also looked up to her for lots of things. She was their protecter too, the proverbial tigress when it came to protecting them from the big bad world. If she did not do anything about protecting this poor girl , it would be akin to losing her daughters.

 This girl had a mom somewhere who was unaware of the grave danger her daughter was in. If she had been here she would have made an attempt to save her come hell or high water. If Mrs Menon did not do anything now she wouldn’t be able to look herself or her daughters in the face ever again. She should have her wits about her. What could she do?.

The rapist’s mind set now was to explode his venom into the girl. And there wasn’t much time considering his groping and poking. He was inebriated , she could smell cheap liquor. It was pervading the compartment. She  should act.

 But before that one of the men shouted suddenly.

 ‘Aye kya ho raha hai. TT ko bulao’.

The molester turned around , his thighs pressing down brutally on the girl.

 “Kaun bola ? Main hun TT! Kya kar loge”

He said menacingly. No one moved a muscle. He went back to slobbering and slurping at his victim. Mrs Menon was stumped. So were the others. Now other curious onlookers were peeping in from the corridors. At least one of the co passengers had guts. Mrs Menon acted

 “Hey namard”‘ she screamed, or rather she thought she screamed but her voice was just a squeak. She cleared her throat and tried again. The TT(bloody tomcat) turned around and glared at her. Steady, steady thumped her heart. No point in inflaming him. Use your wits use your wits, screamed her heart. In his state only sexual gratification would work. She could bludgeon him with something even push him, kick him but that might make the situation worse. And then she would have to answer for it. Police ,pattalam…..no no easy does it……He was still glaring at her. In a trice she pulled her pallu down.

Mr Menon always said that her cleavage fired him. “Maja karna hain to idhar aana re’ she said in a what she hoped was seduction personified voice.  Mr Menon would love this she chuckled.She bent towards him ,the cleavage exposed in all its glory. He removed his crushing grip on the poor girl but not fully. She had him intrigued she could see as were the other passengers. He looked down at the girl

“Wo to dari hai aur thaiyar bhi nahin Apun ke paas aa” Mrs Menon smiled.and dimpled at him .The TT was by now somewhat flabber gasted types.His erection went down. He looked down at it. Taking her cue, Mrs Menon winked at the man who had shouted at the rapist. Hope he would understand ,she prayed….

 He better…. “Chal uth idhar aa”, she continued purring like a horny Cheshire cat. Ease off you moron….leave that girl get up screamed her insides.Suppose he realized she was ….no she was galvanized into action 

She touched his face ,yuckkkkkk

 “ab yeh ghar mein dapther main patha lagega, teri naukri jaayegi na chal mere saath jobhi kar,” She thrust her bosom at him. Stupid males what was it that fired them at the sight of these two globules she thought unkindly. and  continued sexily

 “kisi ko patha nahin chalega. Us bogey me chal  chal na  …….”

Mrs Menon pulled his hand and tugged, he sat up…… and the girl crawled out. …He looked dazed…. And at that moment the  man who had shouted, bashed his head with his laptop. A satisfying crunch could be heard.

That was the only available heavy thing around. Normal people do not travel with knives or guns….He collapsed like a deflated balloon. Mrs Menon demurely covered herself.

 There was silence in the train. Then everyone leapt into action mode.Quickly the man was trussed up with a dupatta eagerly offered by someone and another someone offered a bottle of water to the not raped girl who broke into noisy, breath less harsh cries – like sobs.

 Mrs Menon hugged her and shhhhhed her. Some Mother somewhere would not have to read in the newspaper about a girl being raped in the local train…..that girl could have been her daughter…. The sight of the now out TT(who would guard the guardians) made her feel that he had not got his just deserts. Tomorrow there might be an inquiry he might deny the whole thing , there wouldn’t be any witnesses who would come forward , who has the time anyway?... It would be better to push him out of the train. Let him break a leg or arm or let him die or better become a vegetable… . She decided .

But before that a janta poll. Everyone instantly agreed. Without any more ado Mrs Menon removed the dupatta, it  shouldn’t be a clue later and all the people in the compartment rolled him down the aisle and out of the train. Thud. he fell. A scream rent the air as the train hurtled past. Good riddance to bad rubbish mouthed the now almost normal not raped girl!

 Mrs Menon gave her the thumbs up sign. Everyone followed suit. Mrs Menon ‘shut upped’ all the  praises and thank yous and that was really braves that followed.

She called up Mr Menon and told him what had happened. All the people heard her vociferous, “You are wrong, the girl is very decently dressed in a nothing visible salwar kameez! The male TT was drunk!”She switched off in a huff. And said very loudly “These males……” All the passengers smiled hugely.