Train diaries!

“Chalte chalte yu hi koi mil gaya tha…” the song from the movie “Pakheeza” where Meena Kumari sings to the hoots of the coal driven rail engines, reminds me of my daily travel by train and the people I come across. It is not that I interact with all of them but at times some people are too interesting to be ignored. It either happens that I start a talk or that they start talking about something and it leads to something interesting.
Train travel which was at a time, a medium, only to travel long distances has now become a regular affair. A month ago, I was unaware of the train timings except for the Bhubaneshwar- Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji Terminal, Konark Express, 11020 (don’t stare in awe! I remember this only because I have to hear the sweet lady announce this repeatedly every day, at least for 30 min. till a train picks me up :P). Now I can speak about the timings with the same ease as I can speak about the subject I teach.
Going to station every day is never a bore.
Watching the sun rise in winter mornings, early morning walks, whiff of freshness which was missing in Bhubaneshwar, the butchers mercilessly but with precision slitting the throats of helpless goats and chicks ( being a vegetarian, these murders grind the bowels more than what Baba Ramdev can do as a yogic gimmick), the sound of conch and drum and the smell of the aromatic agarbatti’s from a temple on the way, the vegetables market which opens up early morning to “boli” by different vendors who purchase their lots to be sold for the day, the tea stalls, Tiffin vendors, coconut vendors and the mobile paan BD shops are some of the visuals I come across every day.
Life is the same for them and so is it for me every day, I cross them twice every day and yet we are strangers to each other. The strangers with whom I travel every day in train also are familiar by now and yet, interaction is either zero or kept to minimum as if it’s a protocol to be followed. It is only when Prakash (attendant) or Anupam (student) accompany me that I talk when I go to Bhubaneshwar.
However at times I come across some people with whom I talk and wish to keep in touch with. I will give an account of the people I came across in the posts to follow...

Till then,Happy reading!