I've just gotten up after the sleeping through the night on the train from Kolkata (Calcutta) to Mumbai (Bombay). This journey takes me from the east to the west coast of India. I'm moving south as well, though not as dramatically.
From early yesterday afternoon until late tonight, I'm in a 2.5 m by 4m compartment with 7 other Indian passengers. We all sit together during the day and in the evening thin, sleeping platforms are brought down. I was supposed to be on the bottom berth, but happily switched with an quiet, older lady who fed me fried roti last night. On this leg of the my train trip, we'll cover 1968km together.
I've bought a ticket in 3AC (air-conditioned) the class above the cheapest, sleeper class. Although it's 3 times the cost of sleeper, it still costs under $40. I know that if Jackson was here we'd be back in the slightly more hectic, dirtier, sleeper class.
At every station, vendor's come through yelling 'Chai, chai, chai, chai' 'Pani, pani, pani, pani' 'Samosas...samosas' and many other words I don't recognize. Chai costs under 15 cents and water is around 35 cents. It's likely I'm the only foreigner on the train. I was scanning the hectic, pressed line when the train rolled in. I played the good ol'game of gringo spotting but it didn't yield any results.
A small cockroach is crawling on the wall beside me and most surfaces are pretty grimy. In the washroom, you can clearly look down to see the tracks rushing below.
I like travelling on the train. It has a consistency and enters a peaceful rhythm as it creeps from station to station. I'll get off to rest and stretch in many stations; then chase down the doorway with many others as it starts to pull away. I escaped the compartment at points so sit by the open train door. Farms, villagers and oxen whir past me and I'm happy with where I am in the world. I going completely across the country of India and I could barely imagine a way I could be more free.
Most of the my time in India so far is spent watching, talking and trying to simply live day to day. It seems that more time should be just like this: feeling my freedom and satisfaction that I am doing exactly what I set out to do. In reality, these moments are intermittent and fleeting. Happiness is an impermanent state like this and needs to be recognized and appreciated in the same way.
Meanwhile, the train rolls towards Mumbai, one of the most metropolitan and dynamic cities in India. It would be good to some travellers on the next train down to Goa. The best part about arriving will be trading train station food and crackers for prawns and fish curry.
Voy a la playa.
No comments:
Post a Comment