If a foreign
tourist in India enquires you about the diversity and demographics of the
country, he should be recommended to board the non-AC compartment of an IRCTC
train to begin his quest. The platform is packed with a hoard of people
sleeping with their heads comfortably on the luggage and the hyperactive kids
standing at the edge waiting for the vehicle, meanwhile their parents pulling
them back to safety. An announcement which seldom reports no delays can be
heard at periodic intervals. Finally, the train reaches the platform and you
see people swarming to the doors of the compartments analogous to that of
buying a brand new JIO sim card. In-between this hustle and bustle, you
successfully align yourselves to fit into the meager space of your seat. No
relief ,until the train is stationary as the medium pizza sized fans cannot beat
the heat waves of the scorching sun.
The wheels
rotate and the journey begins with the counch-blowing sound (the ones which were
used in battlefields). Initially you derive happiness from sightseeing if you
were lucky enough to get a window seat which soon blossoms into boredom. Now you
think what if a girl descends from heaven and sits opposite to me, but that
happens only in a gvm or Mani Ratnam movie. Coming back to reality you realize
that only Walkman/ipod could be your soulmate at this moment. After few minutes,
the train halts at a remote place to get signal which irritates us for no reason,
which coincides with you starving for some snack and any vendor seems to be
non-existent in the nearby locality. By now, your neighbor would initiate a
conversation and later offer you biscuits or any random item to eat. Now, you
are in a state of bewilderment after hearing tales of this type of stereotyped -mesmerism.
Then after so countless emotional hurdles you finally arrive at your destination and one
says to himself “I shall never travel by train”. But in the near future you reserve
your tickets for your next venture and the cycle loops on.
