Train Journey

In my recent train journey, I noticed an interesting behavior. There was a couple with a little daughter travelling in our compartment. After some hours the gentleman became restless: he started complaining that the AC was not running effectively. I felt the AC was running but the temperature setting should be high – perhaps 26. In Delhi’s cold if one gets to remain in 26 degrees, I don’t see any problem at all. But he went out, had debates with the caretakers and returned back, still frowning. I saw it as a pattern, rather than a single behavior. I feel after remaining confined in a train for hours, people tend to get bored. And they express their frustration in these ways: either they would pick up their children, or will start discussing politics and criticize one and everything, or as this gentleman did: they would find faults in the nearest and simplest things like AC and vent their anger at these. This is connected to why so many passengers discuss issues with Railways while travelling in a train – they need some common topics to discuss and Railways is a kind of leveler. You can start discussing about Railway’s service quality to an NRI, even if you are an illiterate layman.

At eleven in the night, I noticed some curious voices. In the darkness, no sound was audible other than children’s. One small girl was singing near my seat, one was talking to her mother, another boy somewhere was crying, and some other was telling a story. Children lit up the monotonous journey. There were two young girls near my berth. When some other kid started crying in the neighboring cell, the two started talking to each other. The girl on the upper-berth said, “Ye Pink Wala baby hai na?” The girl on the lower-berth replied, “Nahi, Ye Red wala Baby hai.” “Pink” protested the baby on top. “Red” contested the baby on lower berth. It continued for some time.

I have seen some people getting irritated enough to keep on criticizing the Railways, or the government, or anything and everything. In such cases, I tell myself, “How Railways would behave is not in our control. But how we would react, is definitely in our control.” The same holds true for those who get irritated at kids making noise too. I would rather choose to focus on my book and ignore a lot of things, than throwing around my bad swollen mood. To make a journey “happy” is entirely in our hand.

- Rahul