Thoughts are not always random
but at times nostalgic too. The trigger this time was the recent train journey
to Pune after a long time. In today’s busy schedule, train journeys have become
a rarity for many reasons. Life has become faster; air travel has become more affordable
and the average speed of trains have not caught up. But still a short train
journey is always enjoyable. When travelling alone, you get more ‘cave time’ to
spend with yourself, read, write, sleep, listen to music, introspect or just
see the outside world through the window.
The recent train journey was not
exactly to Pune but was a ride on the time machine to the past. It unwound all
the nostalgic memories associated with train. The 48 plus hours long journey to
Bombay from the southern most tip of India with family was one such when my father
used to avail the quadrennial LTC to spend the summer vacations with
grandmother. Filling the water cans from the station drinking water taps is something
the current generation can never imagine. The taste of vadas and idlis from
station stalls still lingers in memory and who can forget the much-awaited plate
meals at Kadappa, Raichur and Solapur stations!
The hawkers, tea vendors, gypsies
and the singers who boarded the train were the real entertainers who added a
little spice to the otherwise boring journey. It is hard to explain or
difficult to believe for the millennials, the camaraderie we shared with the
fellow passengers. At a time when telephones were a luxury, rarely one would
have written a letter to the train compartment mates whose addresses we
invariably noted down on back of the tickets.
Once in a Job and the periodic travels
to home town led to a different train experience. “Dryness Fraction” of the
coach was something every bachelor was worried about before boarding the train.
Oh no! it is not about the availability
of water but a term coined for the presence of peer age unknown female
passengers in the compartment. I am sure every one of my age those days would
have scanned the reservation charts pasted outside the bogies to check the same.
How do I explain the air and
temperament of the people who behaved as if “I am not one among you but just
travelling on a train because I didn’t get a flight ticket“ were real fun to
watch. The uncles and aunties who changed to suits and sarees before they
alight at the station, often received by their relatives never missed an opportunity
to argue with the coolies.
Probably we are in an age where
the destination has become more important than the journey itself. The
destinations keep arriving and change every moment. Train was only an anecdote
for the journey of life! People came in and people went away but the train kept
on running with the same zeal. Those who enjoyed the journey really enjoyed
life and those who waited for the destinations still keep on waiting!
