Gold bangles & a promise

Wg Cdr JS Bhalla (Retd )

AFTER returning home from our honeymoon, we received a telegram from the unit,  ‘House allotted confirm acceptance’. I decided not to take the house due to financial crunch. ‘Don’t refuse the offer, we will manage,’ my better half persuaded me.   

 While we were still in the process of settling down, my wife went back  home for Lohri. After the celebrations were over, she boarded the train for Ludhiana, much to the annoyance of my father who wanted her to stay back for some more time.

 Planning a day out, I reached the railway station well in time, but the announcement of the train being late put me off. Thirty minutes of late arrival seemed like eternity. My heart was beating unusually fast when the train arrived. We were meeting after a few days of judaai. Moving up and down, searching each compartment, I failed to locate her. Maybe she had missed the train, I thought. Those were ‘mobile-less’ days. ‘Are you Flt Lt Bhalla?’ a young boy asked. A little shaken, I replied in the affirmative. ‘Sir, your wife has got down at the Doraha railway crossing and is waiting for you there.’ 

Trusting it to be true, nervous, but engrossed in my thoughts, I drove to Doraha. After parking my rickety Lamby under a shady tree, I saw her in a state of shock, standing near the railway crossing with her bag. She struggled hard to hold back her tears when I gave her a big hug. ‘It was chilly, so I boarded the train with three layers of winter clothing. I went to the washroom and removed my  glove. I heard a  jangling sound, and mindlessly, took off the other glove. I saw my bangle rolling down the washroom, disappearing in the wink of an eye. The bangles had sentimental value for me. I wish I could have grabbed them. 

‘With the help of co-passengers, we managed to stop the train. Two youths got down with me to look for the bangles. Leaving my bag with a railway chowkidar, we walked down the track covering a long stretch. But no luck,’ she narrated the incidence with anguish and disappointment. I heard her patiently and consoled her for the loss, meekly promising to replenish the loss, hopefully soon. Cancelling our day out, we drove back to Halwara.  

A lot of water has flown under the bridge since. A gentleman’s promise made five decades ago remains unfulfilled. I think it is time to keep my word. I realise it is long due. If not now, when?