Vizag is not a popular place with transportation service providers. There are rarely any flights to Vizag. There is only one direct train between Vizag & Mumbai. The flight between Vizag to Mumbai costs as much as 9K while flights with sub 1K fares operate between Delhi & Mumbai. Net result- I come back by train & do not have reserved ticket even though the booking was made more than one month earlier. So RAC is the way to go. This means I have to share a single berth with another person. The train was filled with people like me going back to work after their enjoying their time at home.
The train was naturally overcrowded. There was one marriage party that had decided to load their entire luggage in our bogie in spite of having reservations in the whole train. There were at least two people taking their whole computers (including monitor) with them. People were fighting over place for luggage. So the confusion was immense. Added to this was my situation of not having a reserved ticket.
It’s surprising how people behave in crisis. I was surprised too at how people around me & I myself behaved in this situation. There was somehow a general feeling of camaraderie & helpfulness all around the place. The luggage of the marriage party soon trickled away in the various locations of the train. Some of the RAC got allocated to confirmed berths. Even the luggage fights were resolved & the fighting parties became cordial to each other. Everything got resolved in its own time.
The people I met were mostly bachelors returning to Mumbai from a visit back home in Vizag. The first person I met was working in an IT company in Pune doing mainframe projects in financial domain. The details of my talk with him will be too long to post here but involved topics like work, life in general, real estate, girls, bikes, roads – some boring stuff, some interesting. Another guy (my seatmate) was also in an IT company but was working on embedded systems. For those who are not into IT, these are the people who make software that control stuff like lifts, modern automobiles, audio-video systems & all such things not related to ‘normal’ computers. This particular person was working on next generation heavy diesel engines. My general interest in automobiles made this discussion very interesting. I can go on & on about this discussion but again it will become very long & boring. There was an elderly couple, two other persons who also looked like they were going back to work. By this time I was feeling too sleepy …so it was sleep time.
In the morning I had some time on my own by the window. Whenever I go on a train journey – I never miss this part. I always make it a point to spend some time alone by the window or if that is not possible by the open door. This is a habit from my childhood days. This way I get to know that a major portion India is still occupied by farms & forests. It’s a refreshing change from stifling atmosphere of the city. I let the wind blow on me. And every now & then, I go wash my hands & face, & without drying them go back & let it dry naturally by the wind. It’s so refreshing. You have to try it sometime.
By this time the TC came & allocated a complete berth to me in a different location. I didn’t want to leave this place & the people I’d met. The new place looked more comfortable but was less hospitable. I signals I got from people there were – “You are an intruder in our place” “You mind your own business” “Don’t try to make me talk to you”. This was more like the regular experience I have on the train in a more normal setting. I suspect this is because of my looks. I am a fairly tall guy & look North Indian even though I’ve lived most of my lives in South India. But times are changing now. With the merging of various cultures, I am not so unique anymore. People have much lesser inhibitions talking to me now. The the niche quality that I had earlier is soon getting lost. I don’t know if this is a good thing or not.
This post has become way too big & has totally digressed from the original track. It is time to end now.
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