The Stalker at the Station
1Monday, October 8, 2012 by RuthSeq
I travel by train everyday to and from work. I get done by 7:30pm,
Monday-Saturday and today was no exception. There was quite a rush while I
walked up the main entrance stairs of Kodambakkam station, I was lost in my own
thoughts and climbed the stairs two at a time with my head facing the floor.
Midway, I noticed a pair of legs about 3-4 stairs ahead of me that had stopped.
I moved aside and looked up to the face that belonged to those legs. The man
was staring at me. He had stopped completely and was looking straight at me,
completely unaware of the people pushing and squeezing around him. I found it
odd but continued climbing the stairs. Someone long ago told me that the best
thing to do is to ignore people who whistle, stare or call out to you. By
reacting negatively, for example, making a face at them or saying something
rude back, you are still giving them the attention they want, so I walked past
the man without acknowledging him.
Photo courtesy- Google Images
As I reached the top of the stairs I glanced back and noticed that
he had turned around and was still looking at me with an odd obsession. I
walked a little faster over the bridge and before turning to get on to the
stairway that would lead me to my platform I glanced back again and noticed
that the man had now started walking towards me; his eyes still glued to me. This
is when the alarm bells in my head began to ring, my heart started beating faster.
I ran down the stairs and over to a bright spot where there was a mix of men
and women. Even if he follows me here, I thought, he wouldn’t dare do anything
funny in front of so many people. I was also aware that while the safety of
these people was temporary. It wasn't a solution. My objective was not only to
reach home untouched but to reach home without leading the guy to where I stay,
in order to avoid future problems.
The man had now walked down the stairs and stood about 10ft away
from me. He stood under a tube light, picked up his phone, pretended to talk
into it and continued staring at me. Step 2, I decided was to get a good look
at him. Have a clear description for the FIR, if I, God forbid, had to file. He
must have been about 27-30years old, lower-middle class, around 5’7” in height,
dark skinned, round black eyes, slightly unshaven oval face, wearing a white
shirt and beige pants with black sandals, carrying no bag. He looked a little
drunk. A minute passed, he continued to stare at me and no one noticed.
In my third week in Chennai, at around 2pm in the afternoon, while I
walked to a restaurant for lunch, a dog ran after me on the road and began to
circle me and snarl. He jumped at me, I screamed, he jumped again, I wacked him
with my purse. He continued circling me; I looked around at the men and women
on the road, who had all stopped to stare, but none of them took a step closer
to me nor picked up a stone to fling at the dog. They just stared at me even
though I screamed and asked for help, a few even smiled. Had it been Bombay, I
knew I would have received help instantly. I lost faith in the people of
Chennai that day; I knew that no matter what my situation was, I could never
rely on them. The same applied to my current predicament, which is what made me
more afraid.
I looked around the platform in search of a policeman/woman. There
were none. The man came a few feet closer and continued to stare. I must do
something I thought. I must make people aware; I must let him know that people
know he’s harassing me. There was a middle aged man sitting next to an older
man, so I walked over to them and asked them where the constables generally
sat. They said there was no such thing as having a couple of policemen allotted
per station. They asked me why I needed one in Tamil and I clearly pointed to
the man and told them that he’s been following me and hence I want to report to
a policeman. They laughed and said, he must be taking a train too. I shook my
head and tried to explain, but they weren’t interested and began to talk among
themselves again. The man saw all this, but it didn’t seem to disturb him, he
continued to pace around slowly and look at me. My heart began to pound.
There has to be a Station Master. I spotted it and quickly walked
towards it. The man followed. I walked fast, he walked calmly. I reached the
Station Master’s office, walked in and announced, “There’s a man following me,
can you call a policeman?” The Station Master must have been in his late 50s,
tall, lean and balding. I could hear my heart beating faster. He picked up the
mic and announced for any on duty station staff to report to him. He told me
there was a train coming and I should board it and go home. I began to say that
I don’t want the man following me home, before which he cut in and said, “I’m
really busy, there are 2 trains coming in, there is no policeman.” I looked out
the door, the man was passing by, so I screamed, “That’s him! He’s been
following me” The station master ran to the door and called out to him, he
walked a little faster but didn’t turn around to look. The station master gave
up and walked back in. I began to speak again but he interrupted me rudely and
said, “Madam, I’m really busy, you are stressing me out, if my temper increases
I will not get sleep all night, please sit quietly. Sit for as long as you
like, there is no policeman; please call your parents and ask them to pick you
up.” I didn’t bother explaining that I had no parents in this city. I sat quiet
for I knew that though the Station Master wasn’t the loveliest person in the
world, I was still safe in his cabin.
Photo courtesy - Google Images
I stood at the cabin door, as my train entered the station. The
station master got busy making calls, punching buttons, he walked out with his
green light. Another train came on the other side of the platform, he got busy
again. I kept looking up and down the platform in case I spotted the man. I
wanted to know if he had left on one of the trains or he was still lurking
around on the platform, waiting for me to leave the cabin. The trains left. I
hadn’t spotted him. I was still nervous, I couldn’t leave just yet. If he got
on to my train and got off at my station, I’d be in big trouble. Chetpet, the
station I get off at is really empty by 8:30pm and my walk home is on a quiet
lane that isn’t well lit. I sat back in the cabin and waited.
I need to inform someone about what was happening. I should have
called someone in Chennai, a friend or someone who lived close by but instead I
called my brother David in Goa. Though nothing had happened, the way that man
stared frightened me, the whole chase had made me edgy, I need to be comforted.
My voice was shaky while I narrated the incident to David, he listened
carefully and was calm, which reassured me. I asked him not to inform my mom
(she still doesn’t know) and told him I’d call him once I reached home. The
station master made another announcement, calling out to the staff. Soon 3 men
walked into the cabin. They got the gist of the story from the Station Master
and then walked out to looking for the man without asking me for a description
of him. They were back in 2 minutes to tell me that there was nothing to be
afraid of, the man wasn’t around. Ya right.
Five more minutes passed, another train going my route entered the
station, I stepped out of the cabin, waited for the train to stop, looked
around to see if the man was around or entering the train. Since I didn’t see
him, I walked back in, thanked the Station Master and ran into the train.
Photo Courtesy - Google Images
Through the journey I tried remembering Psalm 91, the prayer for
protection, I couldn’t remember all of it, but I kept repeating the verses I
knew. ‘He who calls to me, I shall
answer; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him..” I
got off at my station, took a good look at everyone who got off, the people on
the platform and then began to walk home, with frequent paranoid glances behind
me, just to make sure that he wasn’t stalking me. Mission successful: I had
reached home untouched and without the bugger knowing where I lived.
On retrospect, I shouldn’t have been as scared as I was. This has
happened to me in the past in Bombay. I have had men following me, running
really close to me and screaming in my ear and once, a drunk on the road even
grabbed my hand. I was scared all those times, but somewhere deep inside me I
knew that things wouldn’t get out of hand. I could count on the people of
Bombay to stop their cars, or drop their bags and rush to my aid. I don’t know
if this would actually happen but that’s the kind of faith I have in Bombay.
Today, however, I felt all alone. Now that I look back, I’m sure the people of
Chennai would have stepped in to help but when it was all playing out, all I
could see was the smiling faces of the men and women that afternoon while the
dog circled me and snarled.
Category chennai, chetpet, fear, kodambakkam, psalm 91, railways, safety, stalker, station, woman
1 comment »
As you said, you should be in touch with some friends in Chennai while this was on. Note for future.
Chennai after Mumbai is no place for girls.. purely in terms of the ease of existence
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