The Great India Journey

If you want to experience the real soul of India just sitting then it is only possible on 3*6 seat of Indian railway compartment. We got one of the biggest railway networks and it is like main veins of Indian integrity, like India the wheels of train run on combined culture of all Indians. You can have a chance to meet people from Kashmir to Kayna-kumari on the same train, giving you the complete taste of Indian diversity and our ability to have a peaceful co-existence.

Recently I got a once a lifetime experience of my India. Though I had traveled several time from Delhi the political capital of India to Mumbai the business capital. But the recent and unfortunate rows for the Mumbai make me to feel what I never felt before. I was in Mumbai with my valentine and had to return after having a really awesome V-day, which is though lost some of its fragrance due to the terrorist attacks in Pune. But that’s a different matter . I had my train Paschim Express from Andheri and I had to come from Thane to catch it that’s about 30 km and fullon traffic. Well I was able be at station just before 5 mins of scheduled departure, mine seat is in S-3 coach number 8, as I enter the compartment I came to know that my seat is above the Ticket examinees (TTE) seat that means I am sitting on the most happening seat of the train, Delhi –Mumbai is one of the busiest routes on Indian railway, trains run full with waiting list upto 400-450 that means almost double the capacity of a train. In my coup in front of me was sitting a Sardar family, parents with their daughter in late teens, and few other guys who don’t have any confirmed seats but Indian railway never disappoints anyone. Well my seats was already occupied my an elderly Gujrati gentlemen traveling with his wife and going to Surat, he was a ex-railway employee , I didn’t bothered as I was sitting down besides the window and is no mood to sleep.

The train is packed over to its capacity, then suddenly I saw a man in casuals asking for tickets from everyone who are standing at gate or don’t have seats, he is a member of special squad who counter checks the TTE, I thought today will be the worst day for many who are traveling on waiting list tickets. The man comes close to a lady who is standing on gate with her son and asked her for ticket she is a Marathi lady and a railway employee again, she saw her ID but the man asked her for ticket and took away her ID, she was very upset as she has to go just few stations ahead, some of us consoles her and ask her to have a seat. After that few more persons come one by one to check the ticket the ask for ticket show some very strict discipline but in the end left all with leniency, the other example of this was a poor couple who boarded the train from Valsad had unreserved ticket and boarded our compartment by mistake, the special squad person come to him ask him to pay the penalty or get down from the train, the poor fellow get really nervous and said he had no money to pay the checker saw his poor face and his starved family and just ask her to go to the right compartment. The checking goes on for hours but they hardly fined anyone. Though they are not doing the things within the rules but they also know that many of people traveling belongs to lower class and have no choice or resources other than railway to reach their destination. I think they are ethically right.


Indian trains are also famous for the vendors or salesman and woman who sells their goods and other things in train be it 1 rs paper soap or be it 100 kg paera (sweet) of Mathura.The streams of saleswoman and salesman starts at Valsad , a industrial hub and place famous for its Guava and Chikoo (Don’t know wht we say it in English even in Google it is called chikoo fruit). As I am hungry so I buyed both and enjoy the real taste of these fruits straight from some backyard farm. Then comes Grapes , and I was so surprised on hearing the rate , she is giving handful of grapes about 250 gm in just 10 rs, just half at the rate at which we get them in city, and I wonder why people complain the you get pricy stuff in train. But it also shows that though we are shining but still we lack in co-ordination in different markets between states and thus inflation is on higher side.
Though the sailing spree goes on till Surat but I am busy in reading the Obama book “Audacity of Hope”. At Surat I saw few late teenagers showing perfect blend of westernization flirting openly, hugging, cuddling raising many eyebrows, but somehow we have accepted all this. They came to my coop only, some of them left but three of them who are traveling is one lean Sardar boy, one chubby but sweet girl, and a smart sleekly dude. They occupied two of the upper seat with Sardar boy on one and other two on other one. They spent all the root sleeping , later I came to know that boys are pursuing there engg. Degree in mechanical.

One of the Guys who don’t have a confirmed reservation asked me that can he take a nap on my seat, I said yes without thinking twice. The T.T.E comes now and then on the seat with number of passengers who is asking him for a seat. Now its really common in Indian railways, TT got lots of seat in spare which are under VVIP or other quotas or on which passenger don’t trun up, so you just have to bribe TT a little to get one. Its simple.

Latter in the evening one of the very talkative guy in our coop enter into a hot but healthy conversation with T.T over the pay scales both legal and illegal. But the end result is same as always need wins over rules. Its good to hear though we are deeply indulge in the corruption but still we are not completely blind our conscious know that we are wrong.

As they skies go darker and I felt dizzy , I asked the gentleman to empty my seat and get into the seat. Have my dinner , don’t know who the crater is but food was horrible, no standard no taste but it cost hefty. Soon I was in deep sleep, around 4 am I feel some cold as we are nearing Mathura, I tried to get down to pull out my blanket, but the Great Indian train has no place to keep a foot down, everybody has its own share , people sleeping all over the place, in alley, near gates every where,
Somehow I got down, and took out my blanket then I thought its better that I should go to toilet to lighten my stomach as I know after 6 o’clock It will be impossible to do. The wash room in the Indian railway sleeper coaches is horrible low on maintainece absolutely zero hygiene. So I finished my job before it get messy and went to sleep to wake up only at New Delhi.
Though this is really a common journey, but I never tried to look it the way I did it this time, don’t know what struck me but I felt some pain seeing those kids begging or old and handicap trying to earn their living also I felt proud of the integrity of my nation ,But still something is missing , and every individual effort can make a lots of change.