Anamika's Miscellany |
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Indian Railways: A User’s Manual By Anamika Mukherjee |
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Train travel in India, as so many worthy people have observed before me, is a unique experience. There is so much more to it than simply getting on the train and waiting for your station. Here are some of the pitfalls, some of the rules of train etiquette, some tips, and a brief primer for train travel in India. Unlike earlier days, when long distance trains were habitually a few hours late in leaving, trains now usually leave on time, but, especially on very long journeys, might reach a few hours late (though this too is now far less likely than yesteryears). It is not unheard of for a train to reach as much as a day late, or even get cancelled altogether – though this is rare and is usually due to communal tension or political unrest along the route. One of the main features of train travel is the constant struggle for space. First, even if you arrive well in time at the station and find the train at the platform without a hitch, on boarding you are quite likely to find that your seat – specially if it is a window seat – is already occupied. It is then a question of whether to ask for it, or to meekly accept the available space. This decision is largely governed by one’s mood at the time, and the impact one’s co-passengers make in the first two seconds of meeting them. It may well be worth adopting the meekly-accepting-available-space attitude, in the interests of peace and harmony during the ensuing travel time, which is likely to involve a fairly “close” relationship with these people. You also need to closely examine the space available for your luggage. This consists of: space under the seats; space between the seats (where you would normally keep your feet, which can, after all, comfortably be kept on the seats); and space on the seats, specially the top bunk of a three-tier sleeper. As a last resort, luggage goes in the corridor, making everyone jostle, trip and curse while getting by. The Indian Railways does have rules for maximum luggage allowed in compartments, but few people are aware of these rules, and even fewer follow them. In all fairness, though, the amounts of permissible baggage are so comfortable (35 kg for second class and double that for A/c First class) that few travellers ever need to know them. If every passenger were to carry the maximum permissible amount of luggage, there would be no space in the compartment to sit or move or anything. (Would passengers then travel in the Luggage Van? Quite likely!) The main problem of crowding comes when unreserved RAC (Reservation against cancellation) passengers begin haggling with the TI (Ticket Inspector) for seats. Desperate to travel, they are willing to settle for any space between any number of other passengers, which is not particularly comfortable for them or the unlucky other passengers either. Once the train gets underway, a club or party atmosphere usually develops, especially on the 24-36 hour journeys. Footwear is immediately dispensed with, food is rapidly unwrapped (often within the first half hour of departure) and conversation picks up. People rarely travel long distances alone, and they rarely travel -- in the non-a/c sections – without accompanying hampers or plastic bags full of goodies. They often carry water as well, sometimes in picnic-style plastic drums. The food which emerges first is usually snacks and finger-food: cakes, chips, fruit, bread, biscuits. Later entire meals are unpacked and consumed. If children are around, there is soon an array of crumbs littering the formerly spotlessly clean compartment. Here, the railway authorities are equally to blame. Some trains don’t have dustbins at all, other have “ashtrays” or dustbins too tiny to be of any practical value, one in a remote corner serving an entire coach. So, perforce, garbage goes out the window. People are often very friendly on the long-distance trains and will eventually (but highly skillfully) extract from you all relevant information about your destination, your reason for travelling, your job, your place of origin, and how many children you have! They are equally forthcoming about their own lives, if you care to ask -- and sometimes even if you don’t. The friendlier parties will invite you to share their food. Polite refusals may work, but then again, they may not. If they insist, it becomes rude of refuse, and gracefully giving in and accepting a token amount is the easier way out. And you sometimes get surprisingly delicious home made food from these solicitous housewives who grab this opportunity to cluck over you and pamper you like a little child. Hawkers and vendors continually traipse through in the non-a/c cars, and so do beggars. All manner of snacks are sold, along with packaged fruit juices, soft drinks, books in vernacular languages for children and adults and endless rounds of chai, chaya, and cofi, gopi (tea and coffee in the official language of the Indian railways vendors and hawkers’ association). This procession of people makes a train journey a curious mix of pleasure and pain. There is pain in the constant flow of beggars, beggars posing as singers, and hijras trying to terrorise you into giving. The pain is also in using the conveniences, which are far from convenient. They are the tiny, hole-in-the-floor variety (though there are some Western style WCs too) often wet and smelly. The breeze rushing up through the hole does nothing to improve the experience. Towards the end of a long journey the toilets may run out of water (but mysteriously, the floor may retain significant portions of dampness!). Around 2.30 a m is the best time to go to the loo: everybody knows this, but luckily few practice it, so it remains the hour which offers the most salubrious atmosphere. One wonders if some more efficient waste disposal method couldn’t be implemented. The pleasure of a train journey, apart from the party ambience, is in watching the vast countryside roll by; plains with crops growing or being harvested, distant hills covered with greenery, the desert region with its moonscape vegetation, or the thick lush, verdant greenery of the Malabar coast. This is a pleasure which luxury-class passengers are denied due to the tinted windows of airconditioned compartments. This pretty picture can be ruined, if it rains and the water comes in and makes the seats wet and the floor muddy and squelchy (and you shudder to imagine the state of your luggage). Howling babies or troublesome, spoilt children can add an entertaining or irritating element to your journey. More often than not the children are playful and well behaved and the general goodwill and camaraderie of travelling together brings passengers together and leads to increased tolerance levels. It must be said that the travails of train travel are certainly greatly reduced by travelling in airconditioned or first class seats. But simultaneously, so is the diversity of experience. Vendors are not allowed in, meals are provided by the railways caterers and the travel is generally much more comfortable and relaxing. At the end of a long train journey, you may be quite happy to reach your destination, to get back on firm ground among known people and with clean toilets. But some of the most interesting encounters and the most varied entertainment are to be found for no more than the price of a second class ticket. |
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