Is it clean, safe and comfortable?

Remember long train journeys of yesteryears and hoards of relatives and friends showing up in train stations with spicy food, and hot coffee in a thermos flask for the traveling family and friends? There was so much care, love, bonding and relationship building without any crib and we still had 24 hrs in a day then. Don’t you long for such journeys and such lovely receptions with food and gossip? The very experience of traveling was a delight then, but today? Where did all this vanish? Is it all a passé?

I thought about all of this and more during my recent journey by Trivandrum Express. The journey not only made me nostalgic, but made me anxious and sweaty. Did the DNA mutate and along the journey of evolution and did we forget our sense of hygiene and social skills?

Remember the days of Ramayana? Rama and Guha met in transit and became friends for life. Today there is no room for knowing your next door neighbor leave alone striking friendly chords in trains. Train friendships aka Rayil sneham (friendship on the move) is obsolete. Do we play the victim card and blame our fast paced lifestyle or ape the West (individualistic) culture? After shoving our luggage in the den below and we turn cold and absorbed with our mobile phones, newspaper/magazines. Should be blame biscuit bandits for being wary and reticent? May be we feel it is intrusive to know about your fellow passengers or we feel difficult to share details about us with strangers? All said and done I truly see we are self absorbed, aloof, unfriendly and we’ve lost our skills of community living, give and take, share and live.

Is Indian culture devoid of hygiene? Be it inside the train or outside it feels the same. Water less smelly soiled toilets, unhygienic canteens, dirty passageways, dark and dingy compartments scampering mosquitoes and roaches, overflowing garbage cans, and cramped sleeping arrangements all makes it feel like a slum. Isn’t it the responsibility of Railways to help passengers stay clean and tidy? Indian Railways is pampering passengers with technology like TV sets, wi-fi and mobile charging stations in trains, but they seem to have forgotten the fundamentals – hygiene, comfort and safety.

All said and done, traveling by train is popular and only affordable mode of travel for majority of Indians, but it is a nightmare. Be it first class, ordinary sleeper class or air-conditioned coach – paying extra doesn’t mean you are safe and comfortable. There is always a child that cries all night, there are always passengers who snore to glory and we are always worried about your baggage. I am always afraid what infections I may contract from a train journey. I am always worried if I will reach my destination without being burnt alive (recall the recent Gautami Express incident?). Will we ever learn to respect our neighbors’ space? Will we ever get to travel in style, comfort, quality and feel secure?