A bulb in the light does not make a difference, but a splinter in the dark is enough to mark your presence. This is what I felt in my journey to Bangalore. I was in the Bangalore Rajdhani, one of the fastest in India. Thanks to the department, the entire journey was sponsored and I was to enjoy the beautiful city of Bangalore for full four days. It was not entirely a dream come true, but it was enough to make me happy. Although the train made all efforts to suppress my pleasure, and it succeeded in some ways, I still felt on seventh heaven seeing the beautiful scenery outside the glass window. It was green and I felt happy, it was cloudy and I felt happy, it was cold and I felt happy. The time I am writing this, I am in Maharashtra.
We are divided, into different coaches and berths, but we still meet occasionally. I had not been in a train for more than 12 hours on a stretch and in half an hour, I am going to break that record. I had always known Railways as the heart of India, its economy and its unity. I saw the movie burning train when I was small and it is still among my favorites. I always wanted to experience that face of India, the face of unity among strangers and helpfulness. I am yet to figure that out, and this is something that has really kept me from being sad for the fact that we all are apart. All efforts on the part of Shashank for a seat change have been in vain. I appreciate what he is doing and I also wonder what will he do with a 2 kilogram luggage.
So far, I have just been busy in reading 1984 and eating and just that. Nothing else. There is nothing much else to do. All my stuff is locked away with Himanshu and Anant and so, I am without my resources. Anyways, this solitary journey has its moments. I have got many strange and familiar people in my neighborhood. But lets not talk about them. This is a lesson, not a lecture.
I am continuously crossing farm fields, which are ready to be sewn. This remind me of the biology lesson of class 9th, when we learnt agriculture in details. The small huts in the horizon, solitary, waiting for visitors or escaping from one, who knows, remind me of the childhood stories and dream fantasies of the great Britain and the poem of solitary reaper. When I was in train 4 years back on the trip to Mount Abu, it was a lot different. First of all, that one was a sleeper class, so it was a lot more hot and humid, but I had friends with me all the time and I had my cousin with whom I could talk to whenever I felt alone. Also, there were girls who were intelligent and talked to me politely. Now, I am all alone, but still enjoying it. It is a kind of freedom from all tensions at least for the time I am in train. Its like I have vaporized from the face of earth, just like the people in 1984, who are made invisible. It’s just that I still exist. People expect me to go and come back and my identity is still there.
Listening to iron maiden and adnan sami made a good combination, which gave less trouble to my already screwed up stomach. We are just about to reach Nagpur, which make me come to the more important thing. Geographically speaking, I think Nagpur to Bangalore must be pretty closer than Delhi is to Nagpur. Still, there is so much difference in the time it takes to travel in between.
Another important observation, or just a imagination, I also feel like harry potter travelling to Hogwarts, although I must say that that kind of an analogy stands fit when I would be returning, not when I am going away from IIT.
So, this is what I have till now. More next time.
20th july 2010, 10:05 am
We are divided, into different coaches and berths, but we still meet occasionally. I had not been in a train for more than 12 hours on a stretch and in half an hour, I am going to break that record. I had always known Railways as the heart of India, its economy and its unity. I saw the movie burning train when I was small and it is still among my favorites. I always wanted to experience that face of India, the face of unity among strangers and helpfulness. I am yet to figure that out, and this is something that has really kept me from being sad for the fact that we all are apart. All efforts on the part of Shashank for a seat change have been in vain. I appreciate what he is doing and I also wonder what will he do with a 2 kilogram luggage.
So far, I have just been busy in reading 1984 and eating and just that. Nothing else. There is nothing much else to do. All my stuff is locked away with Himanshu and Anant and so, I am without my resources. Anyways, this solitary journey has its moments. I have got many strange and familiar people in my neighborhood. But lets not talk about them. This is a lesson, not a lecture.
I am continuously crossing farm fields, which are ready to be sewn. This remind me of the biology lesson of class 9th, when we learnt agriculture in details. The small huts in the horizon, solitary, waiting for visitors or escaping from one, who knows, remind me of the childhood stories and dream fantasies of the great Britain and the poem of solitary reaper. When I was in train 4 years back on the trip to Mount Abu, it was a lot different. First of all, that one was a sleeper class, so it was a lot more hot and humid, but I had friends with me all the time and I had my cousin with whom I could talk to whenever I felt alone. Also, there were girls who were intelligent and talked to me politely. Now, I am all alone, but still enjoying it. It is a kind of freedom from all tensions at least for the time I am in train. Its like I have vaporized from the face of earth, just like the people in 1984, who are made invisible. It’s just that I still exist. People expect me to go and come back and my identity is still there.
Listening to iron maiden and adnan sami made a good combination, which gave less trouble to my already screwed up stomach. We are just about to reach Nagpur, which make me come to the more important thing. Geographically speaking, I think Nagpur to Bangalore must be pretty closer than Delhi is to Nagpur. Still, there is so much difference in the time it takes to travel in between.
Another important observation, or just a imagination, I also feel like harry potter travelling to Hogwarts, although I must say that that kind of an analogy stands fit when I would be returning, not when I am going away from IIT.
So, this is what I have till now. More next time.
20th july 2010, 10:05 am
Hiee...Well I just happened to visit ur blog,as I was reading Saumya post on her blog. Saw ur blog on her blog roll..You write beautifully.!the line which captured my attention was "It’s just that I still exist. People expect me to go and come back and my identity is still there". There is so much of depth and meaning in these lines of yours. Could you help me understand what you meant in them?:)
ReplyDeletehmm.. sorry for writing so late.. haven't subscribed to comments..
ReplyDeleteIts nice to know that you liked it, it was just a regular entry.
And the line you are talking about.. i wrote it out of inspiration from the novel, in which i was heavily doped.. probably the best book i have ever read.. if you have read it, then you would get the meaning..