Travel
I am a reasonably good traveller and enjoy travelling. I tend to strike conversation fellow travellers or try reading. I prefer conversation to reading.
This post is about waiting at the terminus when the transport vehicle is delayed. Most of the buas stations in India are horrible and waiting for a bus which is delayed is a painful experience. The bus stations are filthy and the eateries in the bus stations and surroundings are of poor quality. Generally there is a lot of litter all around and air is thick with the smell of daily ablution of the floating public.
The other two modes of long distance travel are trains and aircrafts. I prefer waiting in a railway station than at an airport though the airports tend to be airconditioned while railway stations are not. Railway stations are cleaner than bus stations and could do better. One can all sorts of people in the railway station. From the porter eagerly waiting for a passenger ladden with goods to station master to a vendor selling peanuts to mendicants - it is an excellent place to study human nature and conduct transactional analysis among various segments of people. Some instances are etched in my memory.
I spent a few hours waiting to take a train which was delayed from Howrah station at Kolkata. There is always a deluge of passengers and passers by at this station which has twenty four platforms with local suburban trains also plying from there. The passengers come walking or are disgorged by ferry service across Howrah river and local buses. The tram service no longer cross the Howrah bridge which was another option availabale a decade ago.
A group of young urchins were playing with gay abandon. They seemed to be familiar with the station but their parents were not around. The group was six strong with the eldest around eight years old and the youngest around three years old. They were running, catching one another and rolling on the floor of the platform. They were carrying slices of bread with them. The bread slices often used to fall on the floor. These children including the youngest one used to pick up these slices from the floor which was dusty and used to bite into them leisurely and continued to play. I am sure nothing would happen happen to these kids despite the slices of bread being dirty. What do we do ? Our houses are cleaner and even if the slice of bread falls on the floor once, we confine it to the dust bin without much ado. If any of us even bite once the slice of bread the urchins consumed, we would be in hospital the next day suffering from all undescribable indigestion problems.
There are some food items which are available only railway stations. In stations in Kerala, ripe bananas sliced and fried in oil with a batter of flour powder is very popular. They are tasty though oil drip from them.
Groups of families wait in groups with some of them squatting on the ground. It is interesting to watch the interaction amongst such groups. There will be a lot of people milling around if a popular person turns up at the railway station.
Airports are cold and unfriendly. People keep watching others through corner of their eyes but avoid direct eye contact. People either keep watching the television or read a book or magazine. Otherwise they tend to sleep or stare at farway horizon. They behave as though they are mighty when an important or popular person turns up and just cast a casual glance . There is a sense of undescribable haughtiness among the air passengers. Only those who are from semi urban / rural background and travelling for the first time show excitement and curiosity. Others spend time stand with grim stiff upper lips.
It is very easy to get an autograph from VIPs at Indian airports. That is the only plus point of waiting at airports. Otherwise it is a dull drab affair which leaves one tired with ennui. The range of food available at airports is limited compared to main railway stations of the same cities and is much more expensive.
I rpefer waiting at a railway station than airport in any Indian city.
This post is about waiting at the terminus when the transport vehicle is delayed. Most of the buas stations in India are horrible and waiting for a bus which is delayed is a painful experience. The bus stations are filthy and the eateries in the bus stations and surroundings are of poor quality. Generally there is a lot of litter all around and air is thick with the smell of daily ablution of the floating public.
The other two modes of long distance travel are trains and aircrafts. I prefer waiting in a railway station than at an airport though the airports tend to be airconditioned while railway stations are not. Railway stations are cleaner than bus stations and could do better. One can all sorts of people in the railway station. From the porter eagerly waiting for a passenger ladden with goods to station master to a vendor selling peanuts to mendicants - it is an excellent place to study human nature and conduct transactional analysis among various segments of people. Some instances are etched in my memory.
I spent a few hours waiting to take a train which was delayed from Howrah station at Kolkata. There is always a deluge of passengers and passers by at this station which has twenty four platforms with local suburban trains also plying from there. The passengers come walking or are disgorged by ferry service across Howrah river and local buses. The tram service no longer cross the Howrah bridge which was another option availabale a decade ago.
A group of young urchins were playing with gay abandon. They seemed to be familiar with the station but their parents were not around. The group was six strong with the eldest around eight years old and the youngest around three years old. They were running, catching one another and rolling on the floor of the platform. They were carrying slices of bread with them. The bread slices often used to fall on the floor. These children including the youngest one used to pick up these slices from the floor which was dusty and used to bite into them leisurely and continued to play. I am sure nothing would happen happen to these kids despite the slices of bread being dirty. What do we do ? Our houses are cleaner and even if the slice of bread falls on the floor once, we confine it to the dust bin without much ado. If any of us even bite once the slice of bread the urchins consumed, we would be in hospital the next day suffering from all undescribable indigestion problems.
There are some food items which are available only railway stations. In stations in Kerala, ripe bananas sliced and fried in oil with a batter of flour powder is very popular. They are tasty though oil drip from them.
Groups of families wait in groups with some of them squatting on the ground. It is interesting to watch the interaction amongst such groups. There will be a lot of people milling around if a popular person turns up at the railway station.
Airports are cold and unfriendly. People keep watching others through corner of their eyes but avoid direct eye contact. People either keep watching the television or read a book or magazine. Otherwise they tend to sleep or stare at farway horizon. They behave as though they are mighty when an important or popular person turns up and just cast a casual glance . There is a sense of undescribable haughtiness among the air passengers. Only those who are from semi urban / rural background and travelling for the first time show excitement and curiosity. Others spend time stand with grim stiff upper lips.
It is very easy to get an autograph from VIPs at Indian airports. That is the only plus point of waiting at airports. Otherwise it is a dull drab affair which leaves one tired with ennui. The range of food available at airports is limited compared to main railway stations of the same cities and is much more expensive.
I rpefer waiting at a railway station than airport in any Indian city.
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