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India on the Rails
by: Roozbeh Gazdar
If life is a journey than, in India at least, it chugs along on two
parallel steel lines… the railways. No reference here to the local
trains of Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, where citizens spend
a substantial portion of their waking hours commuting increasing distances
within ever expanding city-limits.
This one is grand - a vast rail network criss-crossing the length and
breadth of the country, spanning over plains and rivers, through forest
and deserts, reaching out to the obscurest of villages and connecting
them to the rest of this immense, wonderful conglomeration of people,
towns, animals, history and culture, that is India.
While air travel saves you time and driving by road lends flexibility
to your schedule, there is really no better way to know India than by
train. The general compartment especially is a startling microcosm of
the multi-caste, multi-lingual eclecticism of the country that immediately
disarms you with its robust back-thumping welcome. No formalities here
as you are expected to roll up your sleeves and join in the abundant
overflow of food, drink, conversation. Personal details are unabashedly
pried into, common ground or acquaintances traced over a maze of memory,
addresses exchanged and promises to visit, made…
A long Indian railway journey is an unparalleled display of the lay
of the land. As the train traverses across different states it unfolds
a fascinating tapestry of gradually changing landscapes, people, houses,
shops and signboards. From my favourite perch, on the steps at the door,
I have never failed to harvest intimate glimpses into rural life: a
peasant tending his field or enjoying a meal under a shady tree, a young
cowherd driving a boisterous herd to pasture, women transporting water
over a parched terrain, a herd of deer peeping nervously through dappled
afternoon shadows…
And then there are the numerous wayside stations, bustling centers
of busy activity. Often no more than small shacks, these centers of
village activity can be refreshingly beautiful, shaded by trees and
with small well-tended gardens around them. But even more poignant are
the isolated rail cabins or outposts that occur, seemingly in the midst
of wind swept desolation, as a lone railway official holds out a green
flag to give each train an all-clear sign as it hurtles by.
It’s then that it strikes you how this gigantic organization,
the Indian Railways, the world’s biggest public sector employer,
is so critically dependent for its smooth everyday functioning on all
the various little cogs that keep its wheels turning, right down to
the guy who covers an allocated distance on foot daily, manually checking
the screws in the fish plates to see that everything is right.
A humbling thought really…
About The Author - Roozbeh Gazdar - Copywriter by profession,
works for traveljini.com.
seo@traveljini.com
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