I have fond memories of train journeys from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. In May 2004, my mom and I were travelling from Ahmedabad to Bangalore. Our fellow passengers were a couple and their kid(7-8 years old). He was very naughty. I interacted with him and got to know he was a Shaktimaan fan (just like me). So he pestered me to sing the title track now and then.
I remember singing 'Shaktimaan...Shaktimaan', while the train crossed Vadodara, Surat and Valsad. He tried singing but couldn't get the lyrics. After that it was time to have dinner and go to bed.
The 'jamming/jugalbandi' session started again the next morning, once the train crossed Satara. He woke me up 'Bhaiya utho, Shaktimaan ka gaana please!' ('Brother, wake up, please sing the title track of Shaktimaan'). I did not want to sing but he threw tantrums.
He had a toy mobile phone playing an off-key version of 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' from Dil Se! His parents said that he was bored. So the session continued till the train reached Sangli (their destination). Once they alighted at Sangli, my mom breathed a sigh of relief!
That brat's name was 'Kovid' and I called him 'Kovid Shaktimaan'. Little did I know that 16 years later, both ' Kovid' (or rather COVID!) and Shaktimaan would be back!
P.S. Shaktimaan was back on Doordarshan, once the nation-wide lockdown was imposed because of the COVID pandemic.
