Train Journeys !!

I have a queer notion of train journeys..There is something special about train journeys in India..i am sure each of us at 1 point of time must have got off a train with a smile..remembering the incidents & instances that made the journey memorable.

I have always tried to observe people around me specially in trains during my journeys..they have always been event full so far.

I have only tried to gather my numerous experiences..and they are as follows

" Yeh saman kiska hai/Yeh apka seat hai "?? - the most commonly used conversation openers.

The challenge is to rest your a**** on the lower seat when you have an upper berth without having to confront scowling faces.Even before you occupy space on the seats, to shovel your luggage beneath the seats draws lot of flak..1 would not find ample space to park 1's luggage ( that is 8 out of 10 times).i have seen as few as 2 people carrying a truckload of luggage and then shamelessly feeling good about it.

It is all the more interesting when you have families travelling with young, pretty. petite & svelte girls along with you. Just observe how the father,brother & mother keep an eye on you as if you are a fugitive who would run away if they blinked or took their eyes off you.

Journeys in A.C compartments are less ill fated but have their own share of woes especially when a man or woman (understandably middle aged or older)suffer from indigestion.The nightmarish part is to use the toilets in the mornings. The benefits are you do not have many vendors screaming on top of their voices and shaking you off your slumber trying to sell chess boards to tea.

The inferior cousin (Sleeper class)is all about chaos, commotion and unrest. What i have invariably noticed is that the passage is covered with remnants of pea nuts & crushed paper balls.

Here is where you find the most intricate mannerisms of people..I have seen people digging their noses endlessly as if they had struck upon gold & them making small mucus balls and then releasing them in the air with utmost self confidence.

what tires the ears is the sound of scratching!! when 1 out of curiosity opens the eye finds people trying to scratch at places which are meant to be private with great ease and then give out a sigh of relief!! Just imagine when they shake hands with you or pass a cup of tea/coffee from the vendor to you.

The next feat is to resist the snoring around you.Sometimes it is so loud that 1 is unable to hear the sound of the moving train!! i must say like in every other field women are catching up really fast in this 1 as well.

Today Ipod's & MP3 players or cell phones with music players are very essential and should never be forgotten to be carried.

The landscapes , the excitement to realize that your destination has arrived, the bargaining hassles with the porters are the other factors that just make a journey more complete!!