Colour of India

If you want to taste a true flavour of Indian culture a distance travel by train is my suggestion. From beggars to acrobats, singers to eunuchs – they are undeniably a part of the “railway” system. They may throng the boogies in shoal like the arrival of the unpredictable Indian Monsoon; or they may also appear singly in their capacity as “independent artistes” to entertain and soothe the weary souls of the travelers. Occasionally you may also hear a cry of a seasonal salesman followed by a chaiwallah with his “gharam chai” and “nescoffee”.

On the other side, the person sitting on your left side could be a military personnel on furlough eagerly awaiting to reach home to see his wife after a lull of 13 months. The aunty sitting on your right could be on her way home after visiting her son who has recently been recruited by a reputed software company. The guy opposite to you may claim to be a manager of an unfamiliar hotel chain returning from his head office after a viva for promotion. You may hear clanking sounds similar to that of utensils in your kitchen from the next cabin. It’s none other than a Marwari family traveling with their kitchen – a ration enough to support a family during the whole journey. They desist from taking foods from railway caterers for reason unknown to you and me.