Long queues, excessive heat, and no relief make the platform resemble hellish descriptions from the scriptures.

Some passengers toil in anguish, while others search for clever ways to survive the ordeal.

Among them is Traveller Tarek, a man who has discovered a hack in the system, a loophole that turns the grueling commute into something resembling time travel.

Deliberately choosing the “wrong” route to Motijheel, Tarek bides his time as passengers leave their seats along the way.

The moment a seat becomes vacant, he swoops in, claiming it like a voyager stepping through a temporal portal.

For Tarek, the strategy is paradoxical: he sacrifices time in transit yet gains the rare and coveted luxury of sitting during rush hour. Each journey becomes a miniature adventure, a test of patience and cunning.

Wide eyes, with a drooling mouth awaiting to capture the seats, the face of a Bengali time traveller has become unmistakable to contemporary passengers by now.

However, the authorities, being bombarded with complaints from passengers who cannot afford the time to become time travellers like Tarek, have decided to put a stop to time travelling.

From now on, they decided, passengers at Motijheel will need to get off the train and board from the opposite side.

Traveller Tarek, however, did not realise this massive news. To him, time travelling had become a daily habit, and just like any other day, he had got on the Metro from Karwan Bazar with his destination firmly set on Mirpur, but, as usual, he would go to Motijheel first.

With the usual eyes full of glare and hope, he waited patiently, eyeing a window seat right by the door.

But, as all time travellers learn, no loophole lasts forever. Just as Tarek sat down at Motijheel, he saw everyone leave, and after a couple of seconds, it hit him: his days of travelling through time had come to an end.

People like Tarek are often the creative pioneers who exploit the existing cracks in the system. However, they are also the prime sufferers of heartbreak.

To him, the dismantling of his time travel is nothing but a cruel conspiracy by jealous and overbearing Bengalis, discontent with some people’s success.

Tarek’s days of bending commuting realities are over.

Frustration shall again settle in like the stifling heat of the station. The queues will remain as long, the platform will still be sweltering, but the legend of Traveller Tarek, who turned a metro ride into an odyssey across time, will haunt the metro platforms forever.