Two train journeys and two worlds - India today

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We have now left India and the last two train journeys we had probably epitomised this amasing country and it's future.



The first was an 18 hour slog from Jaisalmer to Old Delhi station. Poor Daniel was doing it with his broken collar bone which got very painful at one point. We had booked into 2nd Class Sleeper. It is where you get to see all India, its dirt cheap, literally, and arrives at the same time as the AC classes.



We had four berths in the same area. Our seats had been allocated to us by text message. A brother and sister had the other two berths in our group of six. Across the narrow gangway was a drunk soldier!



The seats are configured so that the back of the bench seat becomes the middle berth bed. After an hour or so we exchanged a few words with the brother and sister, Ritesh and Kerti. They were heading to Delhi so that Ritesh could take exams to enter the post office. Both were studying degrees in Jaisalmer although their parents home town was Bharatpur near Agra. Their father had a job in the Post Office in Jaisalmer.



Ritesh whispered how he hated travelling by train whilst we both tried to cope with the interruptions of the drunk soldier. You sensed the embarrassment he felt.



The soldier kept trying to talk to me and offering me a palm full of tabacco and menthol. I was polite in my refusal at first and then ignored him. In between he cleared his throat and spat out the window as the six of us winced. Interestingly after an hour or so the transport officials on the train came to speak to the soldier and he was quiet after that much to everyone's relief.



Ritesh was studying political science and came over as such a pleasant lad. We shared video games. He bought us chai at a station and I was eventually able to return the favour as we approached Delhi.



We put the bunks up at 9pm and Dan slept as best he could on his back at the bottom. I was in my favoured position on the top away from the chaos below. At the high level my feet can stick out the end of the bunk without bothering anyone.



We trundled into Delhi with innumerable stops. Much of the time as we made our way through the city the tracks were lined with slum dwellings and the everyday lives of their inhabitants was there for all to see. People hopped off and on the train to get a quick route home or to sell their wares.



This is India from its charming to its obnoxious from its middle class to its poor.



What a contrast the train ride from New Delhi station to the Airport was. The airport express line starts at New Delhi Station Metro. You enter with the masses outside the main railway station. You follow signs to your right and pass through a time warp akin to the Narnia wardrobe or Platform 9 and 3/4 (depending on your age). The ticket area is spacious and you are only accompanied by Westernised Indians many on business with their pull-along cases. The trains run to schedule and offer plenty of seating as well as space for bags. It is spotlessly clean.



The train is very much where the top end of India is heading. It is as smart and efficient as any capital service in the world. It can only be afforded and is of use to a few. From seven weeks of travel in the country it is clear that the biggest challenge the leaders have in India is finding solutions that improve the quality of life of the rural masses and second class sleeper travellers as well the elite who use this excellent service.

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Photos

Travelling to Delhi
A grainy photo that hopefully portrays the atmosphere of 2nd Class Sleeper travel