Rajdhani Express 1

And all of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain…..
The unforgettable words of R L Stevenson fill my head , as my hair is styled by the wind and my eyes survey the fast moving sights of far away hills, plains brown green and yellow. The fragrance of the earth is abruptly interrupted by the smell of the engines smoke. Rhythmic beats of the metal wheels and rails and long solos by the rail horn. Rexin seats, the comfort of being uncomfortable. This is truly a sensuous experience.
14 hours have passed since the experience started. 16 more to go. The journey from the south of India to the capital is an enriching experience. The sights are sounds of the journey provide the background score for the nostalgic stories of co passengers. “I ran and caught a train once”, “..one of the cleanest stations..”, “…it was the time of emergency..”. Mundane stories fuelled by enthusiasm act a catalysts to conversations. No topic is left untouched. Opinions, analysis, criticisms, facts and even gossip.
Three people from three completely different areas of work, interests amd origin share the journey. One a businessman, frequent on trains, thanks to all the trade fairs. Two , an army man, travelling to report to duty after a break. Three, its I. travelling with a purpose, a purpose of change.
There might be some thoughts which people get when they travel by rail. How did they lay the tracks? How did they plan it? To name a few. One question I got in my mind, for which the answer is not measurable. How much can we learn from co passengers? By learn, I want to stress that this is education not by syllabus but by lived experience. This education has no theorems nor ant formulae, no thesis or anti thesis, no assignments nor exams, but this interaction, teaches. With the small amount of time I have spent with my co passengers I have learnt History, geography, politics, anthropology and even cooking. If I ever become a citizen capable of influencing policy making, or if I ever get the power itself , I would certainly make 30 hour train journeys in Second class a mandatory assignment for college students. They need not write any reports of the journey nor give colourful power point presentations, they just have to make the journey.
The train moves from one state to the other. As I write this previous statement, two things come into my mind. Imagine a train which could move from one state of matter to another? I bet Ms Rowling did not get this idea! The other thought is that our mind is like a train on a long journey. Our mind, working constantly trying to reach reason, trying to reach destinations, chugs along. Our minds move from one state to the other too, more frequently than our travelling counterpart.