Trains....
I am just on my way back to Bangalore and i happen to get a message from a "friend" who is apparently travelling back to chennai from Hyderabad in an AC Coach. He was asking me why didnt I book myself in one too.. but... here the reason goes.....
I always feel glad to be in a sleeper coach instead of AC because I just feel great sitting there and looking out. The breeze ruffling the hair and you really don’t have to worry who is watching the unkempt hair and I just feel happy to be sitting there. Sometimes I realize that holidays nowadays are rushed affairs where we end up catching flights to 'get there soon and not waste time'. We forget that the journey is part of the holiday. Crowded airports, two hours of being stuffed into a metal tube and hurtling through the skies is not as much fun as sitting in a train and looking out at the changing landscape. The chai wala, the random conversations with fellow passengers, sharing of stories and snacks and the rocking of the train are very relaxing...
Pondering on the thought, I am sure I wouldn't want my kids to lose out on the middle class pleasures and habits that I grew up with. Some years ago I met a kid who didn't know what a railway station looked like and I have laughed at the three year old with the foolishness of a young single with no family, no money or kids! Today as I fly to some holidays because it's quicker, I am grateful that we often take trains. I would make sure that my kids are not growing up to be one of those spoilt kids who has never traveled by train. Of course I would want my kids to live better than I did, but our relative affluence is not something that should go to their heads. It shouldn't come so easy to them. A train should not be a novelty or something 'quaint'. It should be a viable travel option.-I think trains teach you a lesson in patience and help you unwind. I also like to think they keep us grounded - close to the dirt and chaos which is a reality to the majority of the country. Did you know that the Indian Railways is one of the biggest employers in the country? I didn't until recently.- It is always great fun to just explore and look out of the window and spend some unstructured, stress free time with the strangers you are traveling with, munching thoughts of people and trips earlier... well I would never regret the time I spend in the train.
I always feel glad to be in a sleeper coach instead of AC because I just feel great sitting there and looking out. The breeze ruffling the hair and you really don’t have to worry who is watching the unkempt hair and I just feel happy to be sitting there. Sometimes I realize that holidays nowadays are rushed affairs where we end up catching flights to 'get there soon and not waste time'. We forget that the journey is part of the holiday. Crowded airports, two hours of being stuffed into a metal tube and hurtling through the skies is not as much fun as sitting in a train and looking out at the changing landscape. The chai wala, the random conversations with fellow passengers, sharing of stories and snacks and the rocking of the train are very relaxing...
Pondering on the thought, I am sure I wouldn't want my kids to lose out on the middle class pleasures and habits that I grew up with. Some years ago I met a kid who didn't know what a railway station looked like and I have laughed at the three year old with the foolishness of a young single with no family, no money or kids! Today as I fly to some holidays because it's quicker, I am grateful that we often take trains. I would make sure that my kids are not growing up to be one of those spoilt kids who has never traveled by train. Of course I would want my kids to live better than I did, but our relative affluence is not something that should go to their heads. It shouldn't come so easy to them. A train should not be a novelty or something 'quaint'. It should be a viable travel option.-I think trains teach you a lesson in patience and help you unwind. I also like to think they keep us grounded - close to the dirt and chaos which is a reality to the majority of the country. Did you know that the Indian Railways is one of the biggest employers in the country? I didn't until recently.- It is always great fun to just explore and look out of the window and spend some unstructured, stress free time with the strangers you are traveling with, munching thoughts of people and trips earlier... well I would never regret the time I spend in the train.
Labels: Self Ponder
posted by Just For Me at
3:36 AM
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