We Are All Co-Travellers In The Same Train Poem by Gita Ashok

Though we all come from different origins
and wish to travel to different destinations,
we are all co-travellers in the same train.

The train that chugs along happily
amidst picture-perfect landscape.
We may all be in different compartments -
yet we are all co-travellers in the same train
sharing all our joys and sorrows,
successes and failures,
dreams and regrets,
aspirations and agony.

Amidst all our fun and camaraderie
is a lurking fear…
a fear of a landslide,
a fear of a raging fire,
a fear of sabotage,
a fear of dacoity,
a fear of derailment…
and a plethora of unknown fear.

But masking all our fears
is the pristine landscape outside…
the rolling hills, the beckoning dales;
the imposing azure sky, the wandering white clouds;
the shimmering, placid, blue water;
birds in flight, cattle grazing in a pasture,
a sea of white sheep coming downhill,
silhouetted, swaying palm trees,
temples, churches and tiny houses dotting the environs…

The train takes us to new, unknown
and unexplored stations -
where we find new places, new faces, new expectations…
Our journey is tiresome,
it is indeterminate.
But does that really matter?
Ultimately we are all co-travellers in the same train
heading towards one common final destination.

So what are we worrying about?
Let’s travel together in harmony
and cherish every bit of this happy journey.

23 June 2010
10: 50 am