Work on the Lines and a Dinosaur Tram?
Ueli was up early and ready the next day. But, the driver was just not coming. The clock ticked away…7:00, 7:10 am….15, 20….What on earth was wrong???? The young tram was getting restless and worried . This never happens he thought. He counselled himself to cool down and think. And then he saw the board. It was Saturday and the tram service on the lines on which he worked was stalled for the weekend . There was work going on in the lines and the workmen were at it.
Oh! How could he have forgotten?!! And whatever would happen to his meeting er….er…with the other pretty tram? Ueli plunged in a pool of gloom and sulked the morning away. Well, he looked cross and Peter, one of the other Cobra-Trams in the depot noticed this and asked “Hey, young man all okay?” . Ueli nodded and kept quiet but Peter somehow did not seem to be convinced. He quietly said “ You can tell me if you want. Maybe I could be of some help.” Ueli almost did but realised, after all there was nothing really that he could say! How stupidly was he behaving already! Monday, yes, Monday he would see her. It would be a regular work day. With the thought, he pulled himself together.
Soon he heard voices. It was the Manager. “Sorry Ueli for taking your holiday off. We have appointed you for duty from noon onwards. You will be avoiding certain stops, plying on few new ones for these two days. The driver will explain to you the route.”
But Ueli wasn’t sorry . It was as well that he ran along the lines and did some work. There was still time for him to leave for work and he poured over an interesting article about trams in the nearby cities .They looked similar like him and yet different, he noted. The Combino was also a low-floor tram . Due to its modular design using standardised components, and the resulting reduced costs, the Combino was for a time one of the most successful tram types. They had been complemented by a new design of trams called the Avenio, which had been built on the design technology of Combino Plus in Sul de Tejo and Budapest. Unlike the Combino, it did not have suspended sections but rather two axles under each body section. In essence, they were like a train of two axle cars.
It was time to leave. Ueli crossed some of the regular stops that he always did and now was excited to go through this tunnel and onto a new area of the city. He crossed housing areas , malls , eateries , found men and women lounging in the warm spring sun and children playing . He had almost reached an end of the city and crossed perhaps the last stop when he saw not far from him something which actually looked like him but not quite !
Intrigued he stopped and looked again . Well, this thing, very well had two compartments. It did have and electric line on which it ran, but the windows were smaller , much smaller , the passenger doors never closed, the seats inside were wooden and arranged parallel to the body and there was graffiti all across the outer body . What on earth was this thought Ueli?? He had after all evolved from previous generations of Trams. He had perhaps chanced upon a discovery. Perhaps this was a Dinosaur Tram!!
The Tram from the East and the Shooting
“Grüezi” greeted Ueli . But there was no response. “Grüezi” said Ueli again but his most earnest and polite greeting seemed to be falling on deaf ears. But, he was dying of curiosity. He had to talk to this, er, Dinosaur Tram and find out more about him. He tried speaking in English. “Hello” he said and the Dinosaur tram seemed to move . He smiled and muttered something which sounded like “nomoskar!” What was that ? What was that? Thought the young tram . But at least the Dinosaur had responded and he was still smiling.
“ Halloo , ich bin Ueli und arbeite bei ZVV. Ich bin vor kurzem eingestellt worden. ” ( Hello, I am Ueli and work with ZVV. I have been lately employed) he introduced himself, smiling, proud and hopeful of a friendly response. But there seemed to be not much. At last, the Dinosaur Tram said, also smilingly “ Haalloo. Ami Madhusudhan Bandhyopadhyay.” ( Hello. I am Madhusudhan Bandhyopadhyay .) “ Bandy was?” ( Bandy what) said Ueli “ Entschuldigung. Noch einmal bitte. Ich habe gar nicht verstanden.” ( Excuse me. Once more please. I did not understand anything) .The Dinosaur Tram seemed to have understood something for he said something which sounded as “ Madhushudhan Bandhyopadhyay. Jaani, jaani…ota boddo boro naaam. Apni amake amar daak naam dhore dakte paren…Montu. Chotto, shundor. Montu.Montu. Amader Bangali der shokol kaar ekta bhalo naam aar ekta daak naam hoy. ” ( Madhusudhan Bandhyopadhyay. I know, I know, its a very big name. You can call me by my pet name. Montu. Short and pretty. Montu. Montu.) Understandably, the young Swiss Tram was baffled. But ah ..he caught a word… Montu. Perhaps this Dinosaur was called Montu! He said aloud “Montu. Montu.” And to his joy, found that the Dinosaur’s smile broadened. Ueli gave a big nice smile and said: “ Ah, endlich habe ich verstanden. Sie heissen Montu. Es freut mich Ihnen kennen zu lernen!” ( Ah, at last have I understood. You are called Montu. It pleases me to know you) “ Amar khub anondo holo apnar shonge aalap kore.” ( I feel happy to have made friends with you)…responded Montu.
As if this excitement was not enough, suddenly Ueli saw a young man and woman surrounded by a whole crowd of people who seemed to be intently working with apparatuses which seemed alien to the young Tram. Ueli thought, what he heard was music. He was unsure because he had never heard or seen something akin to that before and yet there seemed to a certain rhythm to it. Puzzled and amused he looked on, only to find this pretty woman in a flowing garment to be twisting and turning to the beats of the sound and the man to be cavorting around her. “ Wir sind ’twas verspätet wegen des Aufnehmens eines indischen Films. Wir danken sie für ihre Geduld und entschuldigen sich bei Ihnen. “ ( We are running a little late due to the shooting of an Indian Film. We thank you for your patience.) The announcement broke into his thoughts. A movie. An Indian Film. It was now a little clear to him, but still many questions surfaced in his mind. It was time to go. “Tschuss” he smiled and waved at Montu who responded back and left with the promise “ Wir treffen uns wieder!” (We will meet again!)
Ueli could hardly wait to retire for the day and find out more about the shooting and Indian films. At last relieved of his responsibilities for the day, Ueli poured over the internet. He learned that for long had the Indian film industry shot films in the Swiss Alps and in Switzerland. Of late, the most famous one was “ Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge”. It was basically a romance , where this pretty demure girl falls in love with this handsome young man. He checked out the video and despite the melodrama seemed inadvertently to be enjoying the movie and the songs and dance…” thujhe dekha to ye jaana sanam, pyaar hota hai deewana sanam…” , the familiar locales, and yes, Zürich and the famous Swiss Bell for the cows!
It was late and he had to retire for the day. At night Ueli caught himself smiling as he thought about the boy and the girl in the movie. It was sweet, he thought. I must see the rest of the movie tomorrow. The girl was pretty and demure. Pretty and demure, he thought and a warm feeling engulfed him. A fleeting image of the pretty and demure red Tram crossed his mind and a tingling, warm feeling tickled his heart. Yes. He had to see her, he thought and drifted off to sleep smiling.
