One lazy afternoon, while I was reading about the Vande Bharat trains, my mind wandered back four decades to a railway adventure of mine.
I was 21 and excited about my first job interview in Ahmedabad. The trip from Bangalore and back involved changing trains at Miraj and Bombay. On my return journey, I had a few mishaps, which culminated in the adventure of a lifetime.
I took an overnight train from Ahmedabad and reached Bombay. I had to take the Mahalakshmi Express to Bangalore at night. I spent the day with a relative, and he suggested that I check the time of the train. Calling from a public booth, I heard the departure time as 10.40. My relative lived in the suburbs and so he suggested we leave early and enquire at the Dadar station if Mahalakshmi Express halts there. When we alighted from the local train and asked a porter, he pointed to a fast-moving train, which was the Mahalakshmi Express. I had heard 20.40 as 10.40.
Anyway, I proceeded to the VT station. The stationmaster was a kind Anglo-Indian gentleman in his fifties. He took pity on a young girl and instructed me to write a letter that I missed my train as I was stuck in a traffic jam. He then changed my ticket for an early-morning train in an unreserved coach.
I squeezed into the coach packed with youngsters and nuns going to Goa. The lively youngsters were playing their guitars and singing the latest hits, much to the irritation of the nuns. It was the monsoon and two hours later, the train stopped as there was a landslip. The nuns decided it was time to pray as the end was approaching. They asked the youngsters to join them. Much to their annoyance, the youngsters started singing louder. It was a cacophony of prayer and pop.
After what seemed a never-ending wait, we were told that buses had been arranged to take us to Miraj. I was greeted by a sea of humanity at the station. Passengers proceeding to Mumbai had arrived from Bangalore and Goa. All trains to Mumbai were cancelled. I was thrilled when the stationmaster announced that the Mahalaksmi Express, which had come from Bangalore, was going back. Without a care in the world, I jumped into an almost empty compartment with two airmen who were alighting at Belgaum. I enjoyed the solitude till Hubli. After Hubli, there were many passengers.
I wonder if any young woman of today would muster the courage to travel alone in a coach. Perhaps, the world was a better place then.
shobhaanand@yahoo.com
