Goli No 18... Nagesh and me ..... vasai cha pool..

........year 1975......dombivili.......a smalltown.......still a village on the fringes........ metamorphosing in to a town.............vasai-dombivili- railway bridge was under construction............90 % of work was completed........vasai was on western railway edge.........dombivili on central railway edge ...... this bridge connected western railway to central railway.......passing thru so many villages on the fringes of Mumbai around the creek.......

nagesh 12 yrs.....our land lords grandson.......... bold... courageous........ adventurous........my guru.......i was 10 then.........nagesh introduced me to vasai bridge........on the edge of diva creek.........25 ft above ground level ........ single line rail track........ goods train running on trial basis...... three times a day........ we would chase the slow moving goods train every evening and jump into the open wagons …….. la …. Sholay ishtyle……… and play jai …. Veeru in the moving goods train …………

There was a sweet spot........... Dangerous spot ..... a place where....... vasai-dombivili- railway line ..... crossed the thane dombivili central line railway track....... with four tracks of suburban both fast and slow trains running below...... the fifth track was for goods train....... Nagesh & I ..... one evening were sitting on the bridge above tracks ....... in banyan and half chaddis ...... legs dangling 25 feet above ground level...... looking at the trains criss-crossing below ........ counting bogeys …..

Suddenly we saw a goods train...... open wagons filled with 'waalloo' (sand)...... moving at snails pace on the fifth track ....... Nagesh looked at me with excitement ...... he shouted. "Dan ta…..dan..... Venkyaa, chal udhi maru yaa...... sholay sarka...... he shouted gabbar mein aaraha hoon .....meaning.... let us jump..... from 25 feet.... into the moving goods wagon below....... filled with sand....... before i could realise ....... he jumped filmy style ...... I could actually see him frame by frame going down .......

he landed on his hands and legs on the waalu (sand) in the goods train ....... slowly the train picked up speed ........ but i saw nagesh motionless...... lying on the waaloo..... I didn't knew what to do..... i was shell shocked ....... whether to jump ....... which was impossible for me ...... or to call for help ....... and then i saw ...... nagesh moving ...... in the wagon ...... he stood up and started waving his hands towards me ......

I climbed down the bridge and ran towards the track ....... behind the goods train ...... in a few moments ....... i saw nagesh limping on the tracks ...... but his face was radiating with success, joy and happiness ......... I gave him a shoulder ....... his shoulder and wrists were writhing in pain ..... but nagesh was still smiling ...... my hero had grown .... by a few inches in my heart ....... my respect for him increased .....

the next few days ...... i saw nagesh limping with a sprained leg and a fractured hand ..... asking me ....... to accompany him to vasai-dombivili bridge .......... I and nagesh spent many evenings ....... on the bridge ..... with the sun setting on the creek ....... and the trains passing below us ...... remembering the great leap ........