Using the escalators...!!!!!!

I'm now in UK on a short term project assignment.Happened to go out to see London with some of my friends here...we had taken a day's train ticket with which we could use the train and tube services for the entire day...so we were travelling from one place to the other using the tube services which connected all the main places here..there were huge escalators to go from one platform to the other at every station..with no option of stairs. Every time I stepped into the escalator I was thinking about how my mammus would manage to use them if she was here...I was thinking about the incident that happened at the Marine drive escalator years back.


The escalator is not very popular at our place and the one at marine drive , Cochin was the first that I had used..there were stairs as well for those who were not comfortable using them. We were four kids..elsu, nithamol,gigiri and myself and chinnamma aunty and mammus...we were out that summer vacation seeing places in and around Cochin..Though my mom insisted that we would use the stairs to climb up , I was adamant that I would come by the escalator...at last reluctant to send me alone,all of them decided to use the escalator.I stepped in first,followed by elsu.Aunty with gigiri on the next step,nithamol and last mammus...as the escalator moved forth, gigiri who was hardly three years then , wanted to stand on the step and in the process of it he skidded down .Mammu held his hands and she also fell down followed by aunty.All started screaming ...and someone from the operators came running and switched off the escalator.

I didn't realise the fear that the incident had created in my mother's mind until after years we happened to see an escalator at Spencer plaza , Chennai on a visit.She wouldn't let any of us climb the escalator until I convinced her that it just happened once and that doesn't mean that it would happen always and I waited for some aged person to use the escalator to show to her how simple it was.She couldn't be convinced and she wouldn't use it at any cost.Finally Pappa had to interfere to convince her .He climbed up and down without holding the rails many a times laughing and shouting and finally she agreed to step in with him.They held hands and climbed up , but it was only once and since there was an option of stairs at every other place she would always opt for stairs.

.... Every time I stepped in and out of the escalator I was thinking of my mom of how she would manage if she was here. I was thinking of ways to convince her, experimenting with different ways of stepping in and out of the escalator, whether it was good to hold the rails while stepping in or not, if keeping both the feet on the same step would help and the like....

There are some things...some subtle feelings that remain with us where ever we go...