Traveling long distance by train was one of the most enjoyable modes of transportation in India. But that was before I got aquainted with the local versions of the royalty, which I did during my not so brief stay at XLRI Jamshedpur.
Once you get over the initial hurdles of getting a reserved seat or squeeze yourself in through the crowded doors as the train slowly rolls in to the platform or the frantic attempts to manage the porter and the family, the journey becomes much easy and enjoyable. Overnight train rides are better in this context snce the crowd is comparatively much lesser in "density" and you need not fight to manage a seat to doze off, but the challenge is that you also need to keep an eye on your luggage and belongings to protect them from the “highly friendly” co-passengers around you.
Most of this uneventful journey, I keep my attention encaptured in an action movie, played on my laptop and if I am lucky, a large pack of snacks like Kurkure or Lays. This is despite the dissapproving glaces from the senior citizens around me who claim that the only thing today's youth is capable of doing is spending valuable time on the "devlish" laptop, without trying anything constructive. Of course, today, the Indian economy is booming thanks to the generation that believes we are systematically ruining the nation. Little do they realize that our "always busy with nothing to do" schedule is such that for even to do anything constructive, we are forced to use the lean mean machine, to unleash our prejudiced meladramatic virtual selves in the worlds of Orkut and Facebook. Such is the dichotomy in the minds of Indian citizens. Again, given my non-existent disposition in this country, I can barely make a difference to the ideas that flow amongst the super-learned senior citizens in this country, so I continue to be engrossed in my planet wonder.
If you were unlucky enough of not having a proper reservation, as I often do, then your plight can only be imagined by those who took that journey. However, once you are settled in your seats or berths, temptations start knocking on your senses as the aroma of hot food attracts your attention along with the loud marketing attempts by the food vendors on the station.
Later, as the train crosses Kharagpur, we have to be consoled only with the food offered by the railway caterers which looked and smelled tempting but are barely tasty. Still, we wait eagerly for the moment when the uniformed caterers brought in those food trays with holes and slots filled with omlette, french fries, and fish fries. Often we are forced to carry better food with us like home-made delicacies, but only if we are blessed, which again, I am not. So I continue my uneventful journey staring at my laptop, passing occassional glances if I find anything tasty, for the tastebuds or for my sore eyes.
Another feature of this specific route was that most regulars hardly ever buy any tickets for their travel. After traveling few times, they all knew each and every Ticket Collector (TTs) and they had symbiotic relationship with them which reduced travel budgets significantly. In fact it was a disgrace for a young guy to travel with a train ticket as one of my co-passengers once explained to me. When he displayed his ticket to the TT on board, the disappointed official once had scolded him citing that a young guy like him should have been more adventurous.
I really appreciate our railway minister Mr. Lallu Prasad Yadav. It must have been a real challenge for him to make the railways profitable by collecting the proper fare from each and every passenger. However, he must have killed the adventurous spirit of the youth in this process, thus affecting the very spirit of mother India.
Thus ends my eventful journey from Jamshedpur to Kolkata. The deviation from the rather standardized process, is as rare as Mallika Sherawat donning a traditional saree without a reveal-all objective. Then all said and done, this I guess is expected of a public transport given the stage of development of our economy and the booming population.
