|
|
|
|
The
Travelogue
|
|
|
Actually, I wish to write
a song but I’m doing what I’m best at .Amidst, this beautiful scenery in
the morn, squatting in a moving train, my hand trembles while I try to
write But I have to. I feel an urge to pen down my feelings. If I raise my
head, I find a crowd. In the train that comprise of many unknown faces
that I have never seen; hundreds of strangers are bustling through the
corridors & few are busy day dreaming to avoid the feeling of boredom.
If I turn my head to
the right, I find hundreds of trees speeding along with the train, the
farms, the lakes, the cattle, the men curiously staring, and the stations
that come & go by during our journey. All I have to do is just sit
& watch lifelessly & motionlessly staring blankly at nature’s play.
|
The clouds are covering
the sky & probably it is going to rain. But the train unaffected by this
fact, is speeding along finding its way through tunnels, mountains, rocky
terrains to take me to my destination. It’s so similar to the journey of
one’s life.
Life takes us through our ups & downs,
thick & thin in order to complete our journey to salvation. It is just
like this lifeless train; a mere medium for a journey to eternity .Though
this train is lifeless, I trust it like you trust someone blindly, someone
you have immense faith in. Just when I think of it, I look outside the
window again. The nature is still playing along with the wind that is
racing at its highest speed. Each particle is displaying its hidden
talents to the ‘taken-for-granted’ audience present in the train.
Although the weather is prefect, the
scenery beautiful I still has that persistent feeling of boredom. Even for
that the railway has a solution. It has a pantry car with workers trying
their precious best to cook in the shaky train. There are several
dishes, appetizers, snacks, beverages, & even when you least expect it,
they offer you desserts too! And after you have had all of it, there
are poor sweepers (most of them physically challenged) & vendors who are
also poor but rich at heart.
|
|
It’s not necessary for you
to do charity here but you can see their satisfied smile when you offer a
single rupee in kindness. This is the joy of Indian railway. It
speeds & slows, it treats & pours in a lot of adventure & you get to meet
all kinds of people at one place.
And the best seat to
occupy if you are a teenager like me, in sleeper, ac one, ac two & ac
three tiers, is the side lower berth. You get a feeling of your own
territory in that small seat. There are two windows, two seats that can be
converted into a single berth & you also get a solitary mood of a poet
that comes free of cost. |
Being an Indian & a
frequent traveler, I’m sure you already know this entire but I am not here
to teach you, my only objective is to guide you my friend through my
journey.
Even though you might feel
exhausted sleeping & sitting all the way throughout your endless journey,
you’ll find it more interesting & enjoying than any flights you board. You
must be thinking that I’m getting paid for this but the truth is that I’m
a mere passenger who is trying to enjoy a one night trip to a pilgrim
place. What is most amazing about this journey is that I’m not bored now
even without my cell phone & Ipod which are both low in battery. The only
reason behind this is that I get to hear this musical tone every now &
then, “paper soap, video game, board games, playing cards, yes playing
cards, madam, sir & kids, my playing cards for all ages”, sung by a
blind vendor who tactfully & melodiously sings as he moves from one
compartment to another.
Then there are workers from the pantry car singing or maybe declaring,
“chai garam (hot tea), madhur vada (a fried delight), dal vada (another
fried delicacy), cold drinks, paani, neer (mineral water), masala popcorn
(salted & spicy popcorn)”. Then there are those workers who’ll explain you
patiently, the whole menu available for breakfast, lunch & dinner which
obviously you get to choose from. Even at the stations, you’ll find free
drinking water (I don’t take the guarantee of its purity) & the
commodities that you wish to buy as a souvenir of your journey. There are
also ice-cream delights that you get to eat at small cost(if you love ice
creams as much as I do).You can hear ’ vanilla, pista , butterscotch,
strawberry’ & if you are lucky you’ll get the most common yet delightful
treat in India ‘the chocobar’!
When you start indulging yourself in it, it appears like a thick chocolate
bar but when you finish that coating, you get a tasty vanilla bar to gulp
in.It is similar to those people who pretend to be tough ones but are
actually quite soft –hearted. And if you are of my age & are traveling
with your family & you happen to get this seat just for yourself while
others sit on the two lower berths & you also start writing aimlessly
about your journey, you’ll find some caring passengers who’ll remark as
they pass by,’ maybe she is preparing for some exam! ’& you get to guffaw
after those kind passengers have passed by & share this joke with your
family.
Also, the Indian train is the best place for newly wed couples. They
get to spend some quality time together. Maybe the designer of this train
would have designed the two side berths for couples only. But people from
different age groups travel together in the train. The railway reminds us
of our endless journey of life where you’ll find memories speeding along
with you & you’ll receive small treats for your happiness.
The railway bonds us together making it the perfect place to be in while
traveling with your family because you learn to be patient, you learn
different things from different people, you share views, you discuss
weather ,gout, family & occupation & who knows the train from’ dil se’ to
‘jab we met’ might help you find your soul mate !who knows! It is this
suspense & surprise package that the railway offers for free! it is up to
you to decline it or accept it. While you decide, I’ll travel all those
miles again & I’ll be right back to hear from you soon!
Wish you a happy & safe journey!
Contributing Author: ADITI BAKSHI
bogus_bonafide@yahoo.co.in
I'm a
freelance writer currently studying in my 12th std. I've attended the
creative writing workshop conducted by writer & critic VIJAY NAIR and
hence, have got my formal training about article, short story, novel,
screenplay writing & poetry writing from the former. I pursue great
interest in any form of writing & I'm currently working on my first novel.
|
|
|
|
