the lost child

I stood at the railway platform. The trains were running late. The luggage compartment was adjacent to the lady compartment. No sign of the trains coming. The platform was getting crowded. One by one public increased. Beggars, sellers, fruit sellers, fish sellers, nostalgic stench spread everywhere. The dirty smell of sweat also mixed with it. The woman's perfumed face looked like a wilted wrinkled face.

There were rumors of male children stealing cases from the hospital or nursing home. If a male child is stolen from public places, the voice rose against it. Such a rumor and confusion filled platform.

One ragged saree wore woman stood on the platform. Waiting for the train. She stood with a child who was crying at the platform. Child missing is not new in Mumbai like places ....in that case she mocked of breastfeeding to the child. She held the child in both arms as embracing him like hugging or meeting each other position.

The climax was going on when one aged woman looks at her behavior and realizes that she was just playing the fake role of mother of breastfeeding ..even the child did not stop crying.

She caught her hand. She fumbled her saree to see if she actually covered the Child under it. She did not feed the child. Her blouse part was closed.

The aged woman had followed the ragged woman. She observed her behavior, her movement was oscillating. Her nervousness was increasing. one by one her heart pounded, her strokes pulsated. Moment by moment it increased. Her criminal looks detected on the obscured face. Now she thought that her plan would be disclosed before the public.

Handkerchief gangs were there waiting with the stroller babysitter. It often included a woman, standing near the luggage box. The people who sell second-hand mobile and even theft drifting mobile used to sell at Dadar TT station beside. They mostly sell baby toys and such things.

That day Ganesh festival had arrived. That hustle and bustle were carried on platform. The train was also late. it added confusion fuel into it. Misunderstanding between railway and traveler.

The handkerchief gang seemed hurried. Because they have to go first to set up the show before Ganesh decoration Mandal. Lots of people gathered there to see the decoration. They traverse at the junction, then got off at Dadar. And some at Thane station. Many couple groups were divided into them. They parted as couples at every station. There they got more crowd. They could sell more things.

A Lady train announcer blared on speaker. Extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused to local travellers due to the train late going to CST. The train arriving on platform no 2 was late due to some technical problems.

It caused local traveler's work to slow down, face the burden of tomorrow's works. It added extra work. No extra expense was given by the company in case of a train late or ...some excuses for workers in decreasing the burden of today's work.

Some were in tension that if the delivery did not reach on time, it will forfeit them. Small business holders were also scratching their heads because they had no other option but to train medium. They thought that goods or orders, if not despatched on the transport, will be canceled by the party tomorrow. Anyhow it must reach to party office by any means of transport, not in handy as a train as it consumes a low budget to get to the destination. it is convenient for anybody in the budget form.

The beggar was in tension because they have to reach a smart station if he wanted to earn more money. Here people already were tensed so nobody was interested in paying alms as money to beggars. So beggar also prayed to god to run trains on time. And work runs smoothly and fastly and tomorrow.

Her suspicion grew quickly. Her look upon her behavior....child not sucking milk from mother breast...she never tried to show tension on her face. No emotion, no disposition impressed upon her face. No clue that she is the mother of her childhood except that she holds a child in her enclosed breast. Why did she behave alarmed?

Well, middle-aged woman was looking at every angle into her disposition. She inspected her. she doubted and suspected her and confirmed her doubt.

She screamed at the top of her voice. She clutched her hand, tossed her sarees lace hitched and moved away with some brave movement ...she crossed her eye toward public to see that ..it gave the sudden movement of attraction for the crowd ..as well saree clad woman shouted at her ...no sooner station got crowded..

Somebody asked a question.....what happen, lady.....

Middle-Class woman said ...showed her finger toward a ragged woman ...disclosed matter before the public. She said....that woman has an abducted child with her ...I followed her since she was absconding with a child. She ran away from behind slum locality. When I noticed her I just followed her until she came to the station ...she didn't have any idea that I was watching her....when she was waiting, I declared and asked her one more time ...she was silent and dumb like a cow....

Railway police came ......and lady home guard. Caught her both hands and she was brought to the inquiry office.

Well, the middle-class woman also came with her ....some married and unmarried woman added the mob..also supported the matter

Senior railway officers came and asked, Cohered matter rigidly, Large middle-aged crowd gathered now. Some were outside the office to see the matter, Some parted thinking that if the matter got worse then the police would be cross-examining them. Some people were not mingling into this matter instead they get information outside from inquiring. Some didn't know what happened at the platform and whether police will make Witness responsible by cross-checking one more time ....so many people did not interfere with such matters like ....money stealing ..gold snatching ..money pocket picker. .such matters, no people get together to support it and help police also against people and support criminals ..most criminals are cigarette and drug smokers..so police get them released the next day. Curiosity viewer drew near to see what happened on the platform.

Three-star police came to solve the matter. On duty, railway police indicated main control of the incident

She was aghast,....! at the surrounding lookers and people, police in the enquiring mood. The middle-aged woman snatched the child from her breast. Noticed and observed the child and screamed out loud…

       "A male child"

'His face looks like a foreigner ...grey hair, brown face,

Now matter became worse. It was a case of child stealing, somebody said, Outsider.

Who to blame now ..how to judge it.

The woman was remanded in the custody room and she felt guilty about the crime she had done..

She was stretched to the inquiry room ...it was shift change of some morning police to be ready to go home and the new charge had been surrendered to a new duty officer at the time of the crime.

She was alarmed and speaking and murmuring in south Indian language ....so nobody understood her language.

One woman came who knew her mother tongue, she blurred in that language. Tied her hair bunch in grip, moving her head toward up and down motion and jostling and jerking on the ground, slapped on her mouth very rapidly, but she could not speak.

She even told everyone that this is my child ......my own ...child .......

If this is your child, Why did you not feed her? The child was crying with hunger and weeping from the very root of the stomach..getting swoon due to the stench of hunger.

One woman came ahead and held her hand above her blouse part and pressed her milk part with pinch movement so rapidly that it sprayed milk on everybody.

She confirmed that she had a child of her own ..but how to decide that child belongs to her except she has milk in her breast.....

So confusing it was! How to solve this ...

One woman forced her to tell her real story ...after a long pause, she took a big sigh.

She rubbed away her sweat dropping from eyelid due to crying eye.

She forwards herself ahead and started to narrate her story.

One day she was working as housework and the family owner clutched her hand and said that you would get pregnant for a baby for the family heir. He promised me a lot of money.

I was ready to become a surrogate mother of a child to give an heir to that family and he hired me for a year in his house as a paying guest. The wife slept with him ...and one day I got pregnant for him.

After eleven months my name was registered in a private hospital for my serving and they appointed a private nurse for my care.

I gave birth for the first time. I became the mother of a child. I knew the first time experience of the feeling of a mother, what a mother is!  I was very excited at that time. I was not legally the mother of the child, I gave birth to a child, but it belonged to another mother. My part was just to give birth. The child had a new mother and father then.

I took leave that day from a child without feeding my breast milk for the first time. The nurse fed the child a bottle milk. They banned giving my breast milk to my child..if the child tastes it, they will have to feed breast milk always to the child.

They put me away from the child after the child took sight, they never showed me my child's face for the first time, how it looks.

I wanted to look at my child's face ..but nobody listened to me that day.

Because I was hired mother of a child .....just to give birth ..that was my work ...for that, I was paid for it..

But in me, one mother was hidden in my inner form .. I could not control that feeling of touch ...it became part of blood ...

I left the house the next day after seven days... I was staying in the next building behind near slum areas...also working in that house as a female servant ... first-time lady owner who possessed my baby looked happy and enjoying .. I was working household works that day ...the cries of the baby were caught by me. It fell on my ears. I could not control my emotion. I heaved a heart-rending sigh ...I could not live without my child ... I nourished it in my mother's womb for 9 months and still could not touch him.

I want my child ..want my child ...feed milk but ..child could not suck milk... I tried when the house lady was out of the house for a party and she submitted child authority on me ...but the child could not suck breast milk .. I tried hard but failed it.

My child could suck milk ...he had a habit of bottle milk ...so he could not suck breast nipple. It felt very soft for him to feel.

I am a surrogate mother ... I am not his mother... I sold my womb for some money ...sold myself ...

What can I do about that, it was six months since that incident, my breast was filling with milk day after day and I had to waste and l collected my breast milk by pressing breast and threw it ..

How can I live without my child?

One day I got a chance ...nobody was in the house except me and child... I took the child and fled with him towards the railway station. This woman saw me when I was running very rapidly and quickly. She caught me and asked me ...but I refused to tell her anything ..then she clutched my hand and I got rid of her hand by hissing and jerking.

All viewers and public hearing were stunned at what actually happened. She was just half crouching over a foot and pressed the child tightly to the chest there, stand still and motionless...few minutes everything grew serious, the atmosphere was something like great sorrow fell over everyone.

Surrogate mother ....said by a bystander.

The new duty officer was late home because his duty hour was over he waited  last two hours. The next in charge duty officer was waiting in the line.

Now the train problem of late is solved. the train started coming on time now, people on the platform now seemed less crowded.

Now the platform was totally dispersed with passengers...