Something I'd written immediately after I woke up early one morning in a train. I was travelling from Pune to Hyderabad on Train# 12701: Hussain Sagar Express.
15th May 2012.
In a train after long!! Pune-Hyderabad! Woke up to sunlit fields, villages and platforms zipping by... munching on idli-vada, sipping chai while listening to Pareshaan (Ishaqzaade) & Paani Da (Vicky Donor) on loop! Much-needed little break before I plunge head-on into work once I reach.
Such sheer difference between the forced silence of air travel (often shattered by a wailing kid) and the whole-hearted conversations with strangers on trains, amidst screaming chaiwallahs, loud friend-groups, haldiram-munching businessmen and kids running from one end of the coach to another, smartly dodging the luggage jutting out from under the seats!
That arm rest between seats on a flight has witnessed more silent adjustments of elbow space, than actual conversations between two stranger co-flyers sitting next to each other.
The closed restrooms on an airline where we have the privacy to repair and redecorate the masks we wear VS the open basin on a train where we jostle for space between three other passengers trying to spit out their toothpaste.
I love both worlds!!
The simulated convenience of an airport and the in-your-face nakedness of the Indian train travel.
At Pune, I was looking out on the platform book store for Archie Comics and Tinkle, my standard purchases before every single train ride.
Didn't buy them this time.
The Macbook Pro and the iPad have replaced that need.
Guess what!!! I just broke out into a song.. danced in that narrow passage between the berths, like I did with my friends and cousins when we travelled together. Hung from that step ladder, arms stretched out in jubilant celebration, while doing all the Shammi Kapoor twists and turns.
Did it in my head this time.
Didn't stand up.
Nobody saw me do it... except me.
That entertainer in me was probably born on a train, on one of those wedding journeys. No speakers. No microphone. No sound check. Just raw emotion.
I want to rewind.
No time now. Station's here. Gotta get back to life. Or something like that.
15th May 2012.
In a train after long!! Pune-Hyderabad! Woke up to sunlit fields, villages and platforms zipping by... munching on idli-vada, sipping chai while listening to Pareshaan (Ishaqzaade) & Paani Da (Vicky Donor) on loop! Much-needed little break before I plunge head-on into work once I reach.
Such sheer difference between the forced silence of air travel (often shattered by a wailing kid) and the whole-hearted conversations with strangers on trains, amidst screaming chaiwallahs, loud friend-groups, haldiram-munching businessmen and kids running from one end of the coach to another, smartly dodging the luggage jutting out from under the seats!
That arm rest between seats on a flight has witnessed more silent adjustments of elbow space, than actual conversations between two stranger co-flyers sitting next to each other.
The closed restrooms on an airline where we have the privacy to repair and redecorate the masks we wear VS the open basin on a train where we jostle for space between three other passengers trying to spit out their toothpaste.
I love both worlds!!
The simulated convenience of an airport and the in-your-face nakedness of the Indian train travel.
At Pune, I was looking out on the platform book store for Archie Comics and Tinkle, my standard purchases before every single train ride.
Didn't buy them this time.
The Macbook Pro and the iPad have replaced that need.
Guess what!!! I just broke out into a song.. danced in that narrow passage between the berths, like I did with my friends and cousins when we travelled together. Hung from that step ladder, arms stretched out in jubilant celebration, while doing all the Shammi Kapoor twists and turns.
Did it in my head this time.
Didn't stand up.
Nobody saw me do it... except me.
That entertainer in me was probably born on a train, on one of those wedding journeys. No speakers. No microphone. No sound check. Just raw emotion.
I want to rewind.
No time now. Station's here. Gotta get back to life. Or something like that.
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