Even as the train sped slowly and surely along its way, Shri Nathji’s mind ruminated over the words of a poem on the journey of life:
Jis gaarri men hai jaanaa tujhko ik pal chhin men ab aati hai
Kuchh der naheen baandho bistar ghanti updesh sunaati hai
Kare shant aur engine garje hai, tthar tthar moraa jeeyaa larze hai
Kar tark vatan uss desh chale jahaan se aati naheen paati hai
Yahaan chor uchakke ghoomat hain, jo daav pech ke pakke hain,
Koyi gaantth katar le jaataa hai, koyi kartaa aatam ghaati hai
Ik utari aan savaari hai, ik chalne ki kare tayyaari hai
Yahaan to ticket hee dekhe jaate hain, Naheen poochhat kaun see jaati hai
The train that you must get on, comes but in a moment,
Time slips by, wrap your beddings, the bell a message sounds.
With roars and shunts comes the engine, and my heart begins to tremble,
Leaving our country, to a land we must go, from which no letter ever comes.
Thieves and robbers abound here, well-versed in their craft
Some would pick thy pockets clean, others wound thee to the heart.
Comes here a passenger now, and there one who would leave,
Tickets are all that are checked, of caste no questions asked!
And it was thus that after a long and tedious journey of several hours the train finally arrived at Prayag Station, Allahabad. Shri Nathji, Mateshwari, Pran Nath and Priya Nath were finally at their destination. There was no one at the station to receive them because Shri Nathji had not informed anyone that he would be arriving by that train. Had he done so, crowds would have thronged to the railway station to receive him. However, Shri Nathji had preferred to enter the city in silence.
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