north by train

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March 28-30

Three days of train travel to get to the northern town of Siliguri, which is a stopping off point before traveling into the mountains of West Bengal and Sikkim. Three days on a full train, and Katie was not feeling well the entire time. She endured so much on that train trip and never complained once. Very tough. As soon as we boarded the train, a young man almost immediately rushed into our berth and started talking with us. This was Raktim Jyoti Hazarika, a 23-year old from the northeast state of Assam and my near-constant companion for the next three days. Already an executive with Ashok Leyland (a British automotive firm), Raktim is smart, driven, and eager to learn as much as he can about the western business world that he plans to conquer one day. We talked about everything from politics to crops to music and cricket, and he both helped pass the time much quicker but also explained much about life in India. He also beat me in only his second-ever game of backgammon. Best of all, he knew which station stops had the best chai and which stop had homemade dried mango bars (since fresh mangoes weren’t in season yet). Thanks, Raktim!

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