An Ode To The Indian Railways For Teaching Us That The Journey Is As Lovely As The Destination
Ever found yourself falling in love with the journey?
Spread over 121,407 kilometres, the Indian Railways is the fourth-largest railways network in the world, ferrying both people and goods across our nation on a daily basis. Most of us actually prefer travelling by train because of how comfortable the experience is and how reliable the Indian Railways is. But let¡¯s be honest, there¡¯s way more associated with it than just a train journey.
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For 165 years, the Indian Railways haven¡¯t just served us but have become an integral part of our life experiences. I mean, who doesn¡¯t remember their first train journey? Mine took place when I was about five and visiting my maternal grandmother¡¯s house for the summer holidays. My parents had got me super excited about it and I just wanted to experience how it felt to sit in a train. I remember being amazed by how it started slowly but quickly picked pace. I looked outside and wondered why the trees were moving with us. I was absolutely in awe of this mode of transportation.
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If this wasn¡¯t enough, we ended up meeting another family with a child about my age. Our mothers shared food, we shared nursery rhymes and our fathers shared their love for cricket. For a whole five hours, we all interacted with each other like we had always known each other all our lives even though the truth was that both our families came from very different parts of India. If the trees moving along with us wasn¡¯t enough, this particular time I shared with the family was what made me realize how important the Indian Railways have been in bringing together people from all across the country, not just in terms of distance alone but also in terms of that community feeling we all share.
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However, what I didn¡¯t know back then was that I would take a whole lot of journeys. From college trips to the monthly visits back home, I prefer travelling by the train. Really, have you even travelled if you haven¡¯t put on your favourite song and looked out the window from a train while sipping on tea from the railway station? What never fails to amaze me is how so many people, from diverse places, come together when they¡¯re in the middle of a train journey. Joining college kids while they play antakshri, giving up the top berth for a child who wants to see what the world looks like from above, sharing your food with people around you and having a conversation over chai with the older people sitting next to you is what happens during the train journey. And really, this is where the fun lies.