Rail Kanya....

Rail Kanya.... 

It was five in the morning when I left home to catch my train to Bhusawal. A cold breeze accompanied the darkness as the sun was yet to rise in the little winter of Mumbai. I would be travelling by train after almost thirteen years . Covid has been a dampener with almost no travel in the last eight months. My mind was filled with fears of travel but my heart was pounding wildly over the thought of traveling by train after so long and I could barely contain my excitement. There was no traffic in the wee hours of the morning so we reached the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus very quickly. 

There is something different about railway stations, the entrance with porters to help carry luggage,  the hustle and bustle, the announcements, the platforms, the vendors, the trains and of course a peculiar smell around everything. The only thing which seemed to have changed were the electric golf carts which made acccess to the platforms breezy for just forty rupees. 

I chose to walk and the walk to the platform from which my train would depart was quite long. As I trotted along with my suitcase in a carefree manner my eyes absorbed the old world charm of the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus in all its stateliness. Yet I could not prevent my mind from wandering to the shoot out in 2008, the trauma it must have caused so many.

Soon my mind was diverted by the calls of the familiar, "Chai garam Chai" from the tea vendor. I started walking towards my compartment hurriedly. I could not resist  taking a few selfies just before entering it  with child-like glee.  

Once into the compartment,  I settled into the familiar Air-conditioned two tier coach. My mind was flooded with memories of countless travels in trains since childhood. 

Being born to an engineer in the railways, I always feel proud of being a rail kanya. Till I was a teenager, the railways and the  railway colony was the only world I knew. 

There are several perks of being in the railways. These included staying in well-maintained bungalows with manicured lawns and gardens, having excellent facilities with sports , orderlies to take care of your home. However what I liked most were the free passes we would get for travel which made travel so easy and such great fun. 

There was a romance in traveling by first class specially in a coupe. The typical smell in the compartment, the tea in white porcelain kettle and cups , the cutlet bread breakfast. 

When we traveled long distance the food carried in tiffin carriers along with a mattress in a holdall and a stainless steel kujaa for water made me feel important. Every journey was a new lesson in management. 

Train journeys are so cosmopolitan in nature as we create a small world during this journey with conversations with co-passengers, sharing of food. We are above caste, creed or colour for a short while.

  A friend of mind once mentioned that travelling in train is akin to maintaining "Drishtaa Bhaav" aligned yet aloof. While conversations got us close we yet maintained a distance ensuring of remaining untangled as if carrying joy and sadness together going about our own ways once our journey is over. 

We are also in proximity to nature and connected to earth as we watch different landscapes passing by. 

Among all my journeys I fondly remember those to Delhi when we could buy Kulhad ki chai and sip tea along with the earthy aroma. Our family trips to Chennai used to be eventful with changing trains at Wardha East Station where we often had to struggle for getting seats as we stayed in Bhusawal and getting inter state reservations was not possible those days.  

Railways have been the arteries,  veins and capillaries of travel as they connect different cities with their huge network. There is something unique about railways and an earthiness about a  train which binds you and holds you on. Perhaps ĺit is  the crisscross lines teaching us that all intersections ultimately become parallell leading us to our destination. 

There is so much behind this service , a number of departments,  a huge system working for its efficient functioning.

I was travelling by train almost after thirteen years and the nostalgia of every single thing made me emotional. There are so many little stories and memories of every travel. More about that some other day.....