Trains have a very special place in my heart. I have always been attracted by the loud whistle of a passing train and the sound they make on the tracks. I somehow find the steady rhythm very calming.

I grew up in a very small town near our village. One of the major means of traveling were trains. If we had to get to the capital city, we had to change trains at the district headquarters, then leave the train at some point on one side of Ganges and then cross the river using the river overbridge by any vehicle.

We used to make this trip quite often and so my love for trains started at a very young age. Purchasing tickets from the counter, waiting at the station, and when the train came boarding the train fast to get to the window seat first. Those were some of the happier times.

We enjoyed the scenery speeding past our windows and had peanuts. Sometimes tiffins were packed to enjoy home cooked meals during the journey.

Once I moved to the National Capital for studies, train journeys became quite regular. I would head home every few months by train. I would sit at the station waiting for my train and watch people come and go on various trains, imagining what their life stories might be, the purpose of the journey they undertake.

Long distance trains, short distance trains, cargo trains, local trains, toy trains; there are so many kinds of trains running through an intricate system of railway tracks. If you look at the Indian Railways map of India, you will be mesmerised by the network of trains and how seamlessly every place is connected to another.

Do you remember reading The Railway Children by Edith Nisbet? After reading the book, I always imagined what it would be like to live so close to the railway station and watch trains pass by every day. And yes, The Burning Train is among my favourite movies.

This post is a part of #BlogchatterAtoZ 2023.