Motley crowd on the train this morning all headed to the cooler climes of Uttarakhand…large groups of 40+ cacophonous Punjabis characterised by pot bellies and budding breasts firm tight tees with mikes in the bellows of their voice boxes, who have pushed all their faux Birkin and Coach wielding “Mrs” to the other end of the coach saying “Lamba Safar hai aine der chup kive bathoge”. The busty coloured haired women appear in singles every few.minutes to the men’s rows armed with bags of chips n dhokla and namkeen…all while the train steward is dodging them to get the food service going this morning.
“Chai jaldi dede bhaiya…halak ho Rahi hai” shouts a dyed hair Uncle Ji from the back rows…then he turns to his colleague and inquires, “Kal meeting mein tracksuit pehen sakte hain na…offsite hai”. A mom shouts to her kid “aethe bai, kela kha, paani pe”… I feel for the kid so much pressure to perform within 15 mins of the train leaving the platform. The majority of this big crowd regardless of the purpose of their trip is definitely checking into Nainital.
Elsewhere Marathi speaking young trekkers slim and trim quietly put up their heavy backpacks and settle into an entire row discussing the woollies they have carried…their destination is the upper reaches possibly Gangotri or someplace.
While I type away furiously on my Samsung Note 5, I get offered a huge piece of freshly baked walnut banana cake thanks to the kind generosity of one of those big foody aunties who smiles sweetly cajoling me to grab a piece from a huge plastic box loaded with kilos of the treat…home made I ask…by my daughter-in-law she proudly exclaims … so I’m off tucking into scrumptious cake and black coffee at 6:30 am as the train rolls into Ghaziabad where the stench of shit neutralises every nostril in the 120 second stop and from my window is a sea of humans more than 1 per square foot of platform space I bet you.
I have never been more present or more in the moment ..that line is for all my spiritual friends…try my short quick 5 hr 40 min journey to Nirvanaå.
And to all of you… you have a very good day…just like I am …on a great Indian Railway journey!
Radhika Singh
