banglore trip 2

In the darkness of the night I wasn’t feeling sleepy so I was just looking out side the window of the seat of the side berth. (The seat was empty for the time being.) It was an eerie feeling watching the stations of the suburbs where the train passed as if they didn’t exist. Those stations mostly had just a couple of benches and not more than 5 lamp-posts. It seemed deserted as if no one ever visited these platforms (though you can not imagine the rush that one can see here at dawn). The train drove past the villages but I would have easily taken them to be forests but for a couple of electric bulbs that peeped out of the thatched roofs of a couple of houses. There are long thin lanes which have a lamp-post at either ends. I see a motor bike riding through a road between long trees and there is no light except for that of the motorbike. In that darkness driving through such a path is like being off to the Himalayas and meditating (I don’t think I would ever be sitting on that bike and riding through that darkness). It is bewildering to witness such a scene as I am used to seeing the intoxicated night life of cities and this does strike me at once. But not all the world is asleep. Suddenly after a few stations I find a fair going on and that brightens up the whole place with the marry-go-around, giant wheels, load music and extensive lightings. In India everyday and night is celebrated by some community or the other for some reason often superstitious or religious in nature.

When traveling by train I seldom carry a book as generally I get to talk to someone or the other. Also there is so much to see and observe. The day starts with the caterers shouting chai and coffee. It makes sense to get up early and get down from the upper berth. Coz as I witnessed there would so many of these short trip travelers who find it convenient to get into the long distance trains instead of getting into a passenger train and of course they expect us the reserved travelers to make their journeys pleasant and make space for them. wont mind if there is a couple of them but there are so many of them that this train also becomes as crowded as a passenger train. And the agony never ends actually. I mean if someone gets down at some station then there are others who broad the train to go to some other station.

During the day I see a different type of marketing going on out there. A sentimental blackmail by the handicapped beggars. How many deformities they have and they show it in the most pathetic ways. Most of the people opt not to look at them and just at the other side to pretend that they didn’t see anything. Even I used to do that sometimes but now I don’t. I don’t know the reason, but even if I don’t give them alms I don’t ignore their presence. I don’t have an explanation for that, but I don’t do it. One girl I particularly noticed was what disturbed me. You know there are some deformities that you can attribute to diseases and malnutrition and things like that. But some are examples of human cruelties and that is something I never understand. How a person can be that cruel to another. This girl draped in green cloth from top to bottom just extended a hand with just a couple of fingers on it. Also from what could be seen, her skin below her chin was completely burnt. Something just told me that it was a brunt taken out on a girl by some insensitive group of people. I wonder if anyone can commit a crime grievous enough to deserve such things. It is just how some lives are wasted. Ok moving ahead removing that picture out of my mind. Also later in the day can be seen a group of girls (possibly muslim, don’t know what gives me that feeling) that come out selling pens and light emitting toys. People just stop and look at those things but never buy them. Also sometimes I see few energetic pre-teens boys that come on selling those things.