Action Hero Annie Zaidi

I was walking to the station one night, back from work, when I heard a voice. It is saying something like: Mera mann to dekh, kitna badaa hai.

I was taken aback. Someone was saying he has a big heart. But I thought perhaps he is talking on the phone. But the person who had said it was walking behind me and then he quickly moved forward so that he was now walking beside me.

I glanced sideways, puzzled. He was not looking at me, but he was saying those words to me. I noticed first that as he walked, his arms didn't swing. Then I noticed what he was doing. He was holding his thing in his hand, exposed, and what he was actually saying to me was: Mera lund dekh, kitna badaa hai.

The train station was across the road, less than twenty steps away. I stopped walking and thought I should break into a run. Or turn and walk back towards the petrol pump and see if the man will follow.

But the man had paused too. He was looking at me now. And I did not want to run. Not from this man who thought he could do this just because I was walking alone and assumed I would be scared.

Something like this had happened once before, when I was in college. There was a big group of us girls out on the road last time and it was in the middle of the afternoon. Last time, all the girls had fled from that man. We crossed the road to avoid him. We squealed in fear and disgust.

This time, I did not want to scream. I wanted to say something. But only one word came out of my mouth: Police. So I just stood there shouting that one word over and over: Police! Police! Police!

The man ran away the moment I said the first 'Police!', and he quickly put away his thing back inside his pants as he ran.

age at the time of experience: 32
current age: 32
time: 9 pm
location: Churchgate station, Mumbai
Action Hero Annie felt: Anger and amusement