THE DIVINE INTERVENTION

The heavy rains of November inundated Chennai, where I was studying engineering, almost submerging streets and homes. After going home to celebrate Diwali with my family, I was returning to get started with my semester exams when my commute was cut short.

After a comfortable journey in the night, the train abruptly halted in the outskirts of Chennai at around 8:00am. Management informed the passengers that the train was delayed. The tracks were completely submerged in water and it needed to be pumped out.
Passengers, after waiting for sometime, decided to find other ways of reaching their homes.
I was very worried and indecisive, so I called my father for advice.

'Appa, the train has stopped. We have been stuck here for a while now and I am not sure if I should leave the train or wait for the train to move,' I said.

'Stay on the train, Mahathi,' my father suggested. 'You should stay with a family to ensure your safety, especially if you are worried about traveling in a foreign place.'

I agreed with him and stayed on the train with a family that decided to stay as well. We waited for another hour and the train still hadn't moved. I was extremely nervous. I was tired of waiting, so I suggested that we leave somehow. After some hesitation, they agreed and we made our way out of the train and walked to the nearest local railway station with the entire luggage.
We decided to take a local train to the Chennai Central Railway station, since the station had good connectivity and it would become easy for us to travel to our respective homes from there. However, upon getting into the train, we were told that the tracks' conditions were so horrible that even the comparatively light local trains could not travel through all the water.

When I heard this, tension crept inside of me. Several thoughts entered my head. What if the roads are completely flooded? Do I even know the route to my college? Can I do it alone? When will I reach home? What if something wrong happens? Is it safe for me to travel all alone? I didn't want to travel through unknown roads with luggage that was heavy as a mountain.
The route that the family had to take was entirely on the opposite direction. They had booked themselves a cab to get to their destination. I tried booking myself a taxi too, only to be turned down because of the long journey of about seventy five kilometres to my home, in the heavy rain.

I was completely demotivated when I met a woman on the train. Small in figure, she seemed to be in her early thirties. She carried a suitcase in one hand, and fingers of the other hand were locked to tiny fingers of a child, probably her daughter, of about five years old. The child was in tears, apparently because she was denied a toy that a vendor nearby sold. We struck a conversation, and she informed me that she too was stuck in the same train that I was, although I never actually had seen her before on the train. She seemed to be in a major problem. After introducing herself, she confided in me.

'Dear, I do not know you but I have to ask you this. I didn't expect the train to stop like this, because otherwise I wouldn't have even travelled. I've come to Chennai to see my niece who studies medicine here. She is at college and she cannot pick me up. I know nothing about Chennai and I am really worried about reaching home. Will you help me out?'

I wasn't even sure I could help her when I was the one helpless but nevertheless, I promised her that everything would be all right and asked which area she had to go to.

'Urapakkam,' She blurted.

Urapakkam was very close to my area of stay and it came to be as a great surprise. Without any hesitation, I suggested that we go together. Although it may have seemed like I was the one helping her out of trouble, I was extremely delighted to find myself a company.

Eventually, all went well. We made our way to the destination by travelling in buses, trains and what-not. I'm not sure if it would have been possible without her moral support.
I managed to reach home by around 4 o'clock in the evening and even though all drenched, I was happy with my experience.
God certainly does manifest when you most need him, and for me, her favour was no more than God's help.