The Choice

The Choice

Last week Wednesday I attended the MUSS meeting in Titiwangsa. On my way back I was stuck in the KTM commuter train in Sentral Station. An announcement was made that there were some technical difficulties and the train would be delayed. And the train just stood there, the doors were wide open and the air-condition was at full blast, it was very cold inside. The train was stationary for almost an hour plus !

I could see the frustration on the faces of many people, just like me they were angry too. After a long tiring day, all that one needs is to go back home and rest or spend time with your family. But here we were stuck in the middle of KL and it was approaching midnight. As time passed more people became impatient. For most of them KTM commuter is the only means of transport, that’s the only way they could get back home. Other trains went on different routes and taxis are just too expensive after midnight. Practically, we were prisoners, trapped in a train with it’s doors wide open, we could leave if we want to but we knew this was the only way home, and that is what made this prison special in a sense, because we’re angry with the poor service but we still cant leave !

Amidst all the frustrated and angry faces I saw the guy sitting next to me. He was answering some questions in a paper that has a title “Fisika” (only later I knew that it means Physics in Indonesian), the whole train was filled with an aura of resentment and one man was answering a bunch of physics questions. I was bored and my stomach was hungry. So I decided to strike a conversation with him. His name was Afiz. He was sitting for preliminary examination for an Indonesian University, thus the Physics question paper. After some talking and getting to know one another I actually ended up reading a revision book on Physics which he was having !

After some time of reading I couldn’t take the cold in the train. Some other passengers were standing outside the train, since I couldn’t bare the cold, I returned Afiz his book and walked outside. There were lots of people there, not only from my train but also from other trains that were stranded too. Some of them were talking, some were smoking, some just stared blankly, deep in some sort of imagination. But then I saw this group of two boys and a girl. They were actually practicing their Bharatanatyam (it’s a classical dance form originating from Tamil Nadu), they were spinning, turning and moving as accordance to the dancing styles. I was just amazed to see them bravely dancing amidst all those people, they were not embarrassed nor afraid of being judged.

Then it dawned to me. There are two types of personality traits that I observed. All of us were stuck in the same station and all of us were delayed. Some were frustrated and angry, but some, like Afiz and the Bharatanatyam dancers made full use of their moments, and somehow expanded their ability and talents. Someday or another we would all get stuck in some sort of situation or delay, and it’s up to us, either we frown or grow upwards. It’s a matter of choice…