Exploring India: Culturally and Professionally : Wanderlust: Cinematic Train Adventures & Photos

(Continued)...

Seeing VT station was also quite the experience- though it was very overwhelming at first. A massive crowd, which reminded me of a frantic and crazed group, blocked the entrance to the building. It took us a while to navigate through the mob, the three of us sticking together for safety. I realized that this was only the beginning of the craziness, and as we entered the station, I saw a gigantic maze before me. Groups sprinting across the central area, people pushing to get through- everywhere had somewhere to go, and the rush was insane! After a lot of confusion, and quite a bit of (unsuccessful) inquiries in Marathi (I guess that's what happens when only one person of the group speaks "Marathi") we realized that we had two choices: we could leave by the 5:45 train, which was leaving in less than ten minutes, or we could wait for the Mahalaxmi train, departing at 9. Quickly, we decided that if the journey was to take four hours, it would probably be best to leave earlier, so we re-joined the line. The clock ticked, and each minute made us even more impatient, and quite frankly, stressed. I was almost at the last straw, when my number came. By this time, I was overwhelmed, tired, and frustrated at the apparent lack of infrastructure at one of the most famous and historical Indian railway stations. My emotions must have trailed through to the officer, and he seemed to mellow a bit, finally issuing me three regular section tickets (for me, Siddharth and Nick). Before I could think, I slapped 150 rupees down on the counter, grabbed the tickets, and the three of us literally sprinted to the opposite end of the station. The train was preparing its departure- the wheels beginning to turn, squeaking, as we approached, nearly panting from the short jog. The adrenaline rush was enough to excite me, and I jumped onto the train, not knowing if this was the regular section or another part of the train. Later, we discovered that we had entered the wrong side of the train (not surprising?) , and so, we spent the next half hour walking throughout the train, touring the entire vehicle, in search of our seats. We crossed the gap between the train cars multiple times. After a while, it seemed like we were just running with no destination- I never realized the regular section was so far! Such a "train scene" is common in hindi films, especially those from the 90’s (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, DDLJ, etc.), and I felt that the experience was right out of a film!

After a while of walking, without luck, we ran into a dead end, perhaps where some large bags of flour were stored, and decided to halt in between two buggies. For a while, we stayed in the small cramped area. An open doorway provided a window into the outside world, and for a good thirty minutes, we all were lost in thought, rocking to the beat of the train’s wheels on the tracks below. The scenery illuminated the world passing by. I treasured this experience so much. The sheer bliss of being there, watching the world go by, seeing the scenery speed by, was awesome. At the next stop, we decided to take our chances (risk getting caught by the train inspector) and find seats in the sleeper section. So, we left our comfortable "home" with a view and resumed the run through the train -- this time, in the opposite direction. Eventually, after a lot of searching, we ended up finding seats in the train, and (shh!!) bribed the train officer to upgrade our tickets to the sleeper class. This is possibly my favorite section of the train, however. The sleeper section is composed of a number of “bunk-bed” style seats. Of course, the child in me had to climb to the top bunk! Once we occupied our seats- Siddharth and me on the top bunk, and Nick claiming the "bed" below us- we calmed down and relaxed, making small talk with our neighbors. I tried my hand at Marathi, beaming when I could compose a few comprehensible sentences. The chai-wallah became my savior. Slowly, after tea, other merchandise-sellers emerged. Before long, in fact, the narrow hallway between the bunk beds, transformed into a mini-market. In that next half hour, in fact, I was amazed to find men selling hot dinners, ranging from rice and chappati to warm vegetables and snacks. Drinks were also available. Clothing sellers also brought out stock, and jewellery and toys were being sold, too.

"Garam Garam Bhaji Poli, Biriyani, patkan patkan ghya!" became a familiar and repetitive cry.

(Get hot vegetables, roti and rice!)

The three hour journey truly sped by (literally and figuratively). Along the course of the route, we met a young engineer originally from Pune, who, we later discovered, regularly travelled to Mumbai to monitor his business based in Mumbai, which provides a consulting service to schools, companies and institutions of higher education for various technologies, including mobile app alerts for schools, and computer programs. Small talk turned into quite a thought-provoking discussion on the pros/cons of remaining in India long-term. In today’s economy, educated individuals- most significantly those with an engineering and MBA background- are flocking abroad in large numbers- going abroad may be the quickest route to success and money. The boy we met was saying that despite the fact that many of his own family members and close friends had travelled abroad (to the states and Europe) for jobs, he had chosen to stay back, most prominently because of family reasons. Ultimately, leaving India may be quite attractive from a financial perspective, but it also means giving up a lot in terms of family, friends and culture.

One of the many reasons I love train rides, is because they provide a unique platform for meeting people, sparking conversations and, sometimes creative thought. Everyone in a train has places to go, people to visit, ideas to share- stories to tell. Meeting people and hearing their stories is an unparalleled experience. I probably will never meet the people I met in that Mumbai to Pune train again, but we still shared meaningful conversations, if only for those few hours. It may have been just to pass the time, the three hours when we were all travelers, all on a journey, no matter how short, but we connected and learned something new about the world and about eachother. The Mumbai-to-Pune trip was memorable. Yes, you could say that I'm a train lover, now!

The day trip to Mumbai was certainly action-packed, but it was really unforgettable- every moment.

Now, to get a better taste of all that I experienced, check out some photos. Enjoy, and thanks for reading (if you made it this far!) :)

Mumbai Photo Gallery---