2nd Class Indian Rail :Part 2

My earlier post have given me a few very interesting reactions. People have asked me about the background and ethnicity of the people involved! When I told them that they belonged to a certain religious minority, the reactions were “Ahh Haa”. As if it was expected. Why this generalization? Anyways Steering clear of absolutely any controversy and debate for now here s part two of my travel.

What a change of fortune!
From Quarrelling couples to a gang of enlightened souls, hell bent on handing out spiritual neon lights to all poor darkened souls, in this case me. I suggest all our originality deprived bollywood script writers should travel in the GREAT Indian second class Train and behold we would be saved from the numerous re-re-remakes (Please add any number of ‘re’ s as it pleases you).

This post though isn’t about the burning moral dilemmas or emotional crisis that I generally find myself in and it’s definitely not a cathartic expunge of all things that I do not have no where else to vent. This is a little observation on one of the legacies left by our former railway minister Sri Lalu Prasad Yadav. Well I have utmost respect for this man who wins all hearts with his rustic charm. Who packs a great mind under that mop of unruly white hair and whose deeds in the Railway ministry has become lore even in the hallowed Harvard business school!

I just happened to have a first hand experience of one of the major Ideas he put into place during his tenure; the second-class compartment with 81 seats. For the uninitiated, the normal second-class compartment has 72 seats with 6 seats on one side, and 2 on the other side of the aisle. The idea is basically to add a third seat in between these two seats. A brilliant ingenuous plan that raises the rail revenue as well as the entertainment quotient in the compartment, if you have a stomach for multilingual abuses in the middle of the night.

The effect of extra 9 legal people can be very interesting! Also taking into account the number of daily travelers, who think sleeper class is their domain and the ticket holding passengers are nothing but parasites taking undue advantage of their magnanimity, the train compartment takes the form of a busy flee market which has a lot of jay walkers. The rail catering service also displays a perfect business sense. Only cold drinks and cold water at room temperature are sold during the sweltering afternoon. Dinner and lunch true to its rail tradition stays unbiased to the myriad flavors of India by being devoid of any. The tea and coffee shows off the amazing thrift of the maker who has mixed milk and tea or coffee with the precision of a alchemist to give the appearance of the concerned drink but absolutely no taste.

The side seats to me are the most interesting in a train journey. You get the best views both inside and outside the coach. You can stretch your legs and pretend to be a part of the many scenes from the bollywood movies. But an extra person already plonked on that seat, you are sure never to get your chance. There is fights with this seating arrangement, there s fight about where s all the luggage gonna go. There’s fight about almost everything. I would not have been surprised if somebody complained about excessive use of oxygen by the extra passenger. Until you have the experience to travel in the 81 seated coach count your blessings.