Another incident that happened a few years back shook me to the core. It is also the one that I kept replaying in my head and cursed myself for not doing anything about. (This has been the hardest one to write too)

It was a January morning. I was getting late for drama practice. At Rajiv Chowk metro station, I squeezed myself into the choc-a-block general compartment. I was at the door and suddenly I had the feeling that someone was rubbing himself against me. For a minute I ignored the sensation, thinking it was an accident because of the rush. But when it continued, I turned around to see there was a man right behind me – who must have been older than my dad.

And he was having the time of his life. He looked me in the eye and smiled. I don’t think I ever felt as disgusted as I did in that moment.

I tried changing my posture so that he would get the message that I wasn’t liking it, but it didn’t stop him. After five minutes when some people de-boarded, I moved and stood at some distance. When I got off, I looked over my shoulder – the man had the audacity to follow me to the top of the stairs and wave at me.

Most of you right now would be like, “Why didn’t you shout?” or “You should have slapped him right across the face”. Believe me, only I know how many times I’ve pictured slapping that bas*ard.