A train journey has a rhythm and quality of its own. After a hiatus of three years due to the Covid insurgence, we decided to take the morning Shatabadi train to Dehradun, to look up our elders.
Right from the entrance to the Railway Station, we noticed a change. There were no traffic snarls; taxis and private vehicles moved easily in their prescribed lanes. There was an easy flow of movement to the platform where many surprises awaited us. To our utter joy and disbelief, there was an aura of cleanliness on the platforms of all the Stations we crossed.
There were evenly spaced bins for wet and dry Waste; there was absolutely no litter and any errant bit was swept up with a flourish by brooms wielded by energetic Safaikaramcharis.
What was even more surprising was that the people on the platforms were complying with their civic duty of keeping the surroundings clean and un-littered. The empty paper glass of steaming hot chai found itself nestled in a bin instead of being carelessly flung around. The comforting and rhythmic chugging of the train lulled me into slumber from which I was woken up by an exuberant greeting from a smiling cherubic face; that of the Waiter who recognised me from my frequent travels in pre-Covid times. He even remembered my choice of breakfast to the point of how I liked to have the eggs done .That proved to be quite a surprise for the spouse who is more given to flying the skies even though chances of unwanted liquidity happen more often there!
As we streamed past the receding landscape, what were conspicuous by their absence were mounds of garbage loaded with plastic. Instead there were swathes of green vegetable patches
alongside the railway tracks, along with clumps of trees. What is more, the railway tracks themselves were gleaming.
Another piquant point of interest, which could be an irritant for some, was the unaided dipping into the lives of fellow passengers as they spoke loudly into their phones. The drone of a one sided conversation which required no participation from me, lulled me to sleep in the warmth of the sunshine coming through the window.
Travelling by Train provides cinematic and evolving landscapes, and allows for escape for cramped muscles and bursting bladders.
Dr Savita Nagpal (B 86 South City1)
