Railways : Changing Passengers

On an average, the trains of Indian Railways carry around 20 million people each day. I just happen to be a frequent traveller these days.

When I was a kid, train journeys used to be rare. It was an occasion in itself - mom would pack the meals in banana leaves, prepare snacks for eating on the way and we would pile up books. We had no idea of knowing how late the train would be. The number of trains too were less.

Once you got on the train, there would be other families too. Adults would start talking. Kids would roam around and play. It was fun, pure fun. Food would be shared and by the time you reached your destination, people might have (a) realised they were distantly related or (b) gained new friends for life.

There would always be a lady questioning you about the details of your family and your life openly or a drunkard discussing the disintegration of Soviet Union. Good old days!

Times have changed. These days, people barely talk to each other on train. Train journeys are no longer experiences, they are a part of your daily life that you have to deal with. It is a time when you are with yourself and would not want to lose it to others trying to spy on your life.

Banana leaves have become a precious commodity. Silver foils are the norm even if someone brings packed lunches. Usually, it is the guy who asks for lunch in the train who gives you your meal. Or you would have eaten from home.

There are many moretrains too. And most of them are on time. Then there are the ubiquitous cellphones through which you keep in touch with your faraway family or friends than talking to the person sitting right next to you.

I am guilty of all these too. It is just that, sitting here waiting for the train makes me feel terribly lonely. And I long for the good old days when train journeys used to be noisy and filled witj human warmth.

Off Again

Today I am leaving Thrissur. It has been wonderful - two weeks away from home -perfect for relaxation. Now it is back to my four-hour journey schedule.

From my experience, for people of Thrissur, the town is not just a place; it is an identity none dare play with. As a footloose person, I found the whole thing to be quite amusing. You can take a person out of Thrissur, but you can't take Thrissur out of him.

It is wonderful to find people so much in love with their home. I do not know what to tell people when they ask where I am from.

But I like it this way.:-)

Shimla

The erstwhile summer capital of British India, Shimla is a place that seems to be stuck in that era. It is a major tourist destination of the state and a wonderful place to spend a week or two.
But I happened to live there through two winters. Coming from the hot southern part of the country, it was initially difficult to adjust to the bone-chilling coldness of the place. It became worse as it snowed. Snow becomes slippery as it sets and you have to be really careful if you do not want to break your leg or sprain your ankle or have a fracture in your wrist.
Summers are really pleasant, however. They take away all the bad experiences you have had and overcompensate for any trouble you have had. If you have a garden, spring would be beyond belief.
The people are honest, unlike most of the rest of the country. This is a place where you can calmly forget to lock your doors and still feel relaxed.

Bony and blithe and good and gay

I belong to the generation in which this particular nursery rhyme was taught to us without any second thought.
As I grew up, however, the meaning of the last word changed. I do not think it would be in English textbooks anymore. Which is sad as it is a beautiful, though a thoroughlt superstitious rhyme.
I think that humankind has been growing up as I did, accepting ourselves with all our faults. The realizations maybe painful at times. But accepting others as they are and giving up preconceptions about people I meet has been a major change I have seen in myself in the past few years.
I have become less bigoted and less prone to thinking that my way is right. Everything is now a shade of grey and I'm not bothered by the complexities in the world anymore. At peace with myself.
I cannot reasinably expect everyone else to be like me. Nor is the case that whatever was taught to me was the only truth. The life and this world has far more possibilities and problems than I can strive to comprehend and the least I can do is to be non-judgemental and understanding.

Eat to marry?

My parents have been trying to find a suitable groom for me for sometime now. Unfortunately, they do not have he time to regularly follow it up.

So they or I randomly express interest to guys on matrimonial sites. I am almost always quite sure nothing will work out. :P

My mother's biggest worry these days is that I will gain weight and so I won't get married. One day when she was asking me to stop eating all the stuff I like, I quoted an old quote 'Everything desirable in life is either expensive, or fattening or married to someone else'.
My mother laughed.

In the train

Stuck at Shoranur Junction. In DDN KCVL Superfast Express which refuses to budge even a mm though we are all bored to death. Why doesn't this train move?

And there are two guys sitting opposite me who can't shut up if their lives were at stake. The only issue they discuss are FB friend requests. The senselessness of this generation!

Just wishing the train starts moving soon. I'm tired of listening to a conversation composed entirely of words of one or two syllables.
Oh Lord! Save me.