It was in early winter of 1995 , in late November if I remember right. I was returning from a cousin’s wedding in Mumbai, many years before personal travel by air became a possibility. I had taken a Mumbai-Delhi train and then the Lucknow Mail.  It had been a short trip and I was traveling with a small bag containing a few clothes including a couple of silk sarees and a little jewellery. An elderly couple got in and occupies the lower berths (I think it was 2-tier coach) and  I remember noting that they had a lot of luggage with them! Somewhere late into the night, I was woken up by a lot of activity below (I always opted for the upper berth in those days) – and listening to the talk, gathered that the gentleman was not well. On enquiring what the problem was, the wife told me…