Ten On Tuesday – 22
Ten Things about by Trip from Kalka to Delhi in a Shatabdi
- A week ago, I was travelling from Kalka to Delhi by Shatabdi. As you know, the seating pattern in a Shatabdi has 3 seats on one side of the aisle and 2 on the other side. I had a seat right in the centre of the compartment, so I had 3 seats just across my seat and we shared a big table between us.
- A Tamilian family occupied the 3 seats across me. The family had husband-wife, a son and a very sweet 6 year old daughter. The son sat across the aisle. One look at the wife and I knew that she was not talking to her husband!! The poor (?!!?) guy tried to initiate some conversation with her, but she simply ignored him. Ah, a fight on a vacation!!
- The thing about Shatabdi trains is that they start feeding you as soon as you are just about comfortable in your seat. So, in a short while the snacks arrived along with tea/coffee.
- The attendant’s load of snack trays finished just after serving the wife and the lil daughter. The girl was super excited to see her tray of goodies. But her excitement turned into panic when she saw that her Appa had not received his snack tray. She gave frantic looks in the direction of the attendant who had gone to get another round of trays. But the baby was unaware of it, it seems, so she started speaking in Tamil, and from the words Appa and Amma and her panic stricken look, I could make out what she was trying to tell her parents!! It was an amusing sight! And a moment later when her Appa got his tray, she was at peace!
- I could see a 10-12 year old in the next row, reading a story book. It was so heartening to see him so engrossed in his book. At first he was reading a Tinkle and then later on a Amar Chitra Katha. Passion for reading is something which I wish each child should have!
- Soon, it was dinner time and this was the dinner tray. How all this tasted, I can’t say a word about it, because, I don’t eat food served in a train!
- For the first time, I saw a 10-12 year old boy taking a bite of raw green chilli with every bite of food. Amazing, it was!
- After dinner, the husband, busied himself with his Handycam. It looked like his prized possession. But it sure had some issue as his repeated attempts to rectify resulted in some irritated mutterings.
- Children bring about such positivity and happiness around, I experienced it once again. The incessant chatter of the lil girl, Padmini (I couldn’t resist talking to her!) sometimes, with her Amma and sometimes with her Appa, at last ensured that both the parents smiled at each other. I couldn’t understand a word of what the child was taking about, but whatever it was, sure made the parents smile and they started talking after nearly 4 hours in the train!!
- The Indian Railways inhouse magazine, “Rail Bandhu” had some interesting travelogues of some celebrities and I liked their caption for the series…
May 30, 2012 5:05 am|
I travelled to Dehra Doon recently by Shatabadi.Cant list 10.
But,as for food in the train is concerned,I never never ever eat there except I pick the Ice cream cup and also the milk whitener sachet.
Coffe made at home with whitener tastes too good.
May 31, 2012 7:41 am|
Wow, you too… I just have the packaged stuff like the Mango drink or a chocolate! Nothing else!! Though the attendants wear plastic gloves while serving, but they open/close the doors with the same gloved hands… so I am very sure of the hygiene maintained, hence train food (among many other places) is a big NO for me!!
Have you tried eating the whitener… it tastes awesome too! 😀
May 30, 2012 7:31 am|
quite an eventful journey, I must say!
May 31, 2012 7:47 am|
Yeah, quite an eventful one!! 😀
May 30, 2012 8:45 am|
on a travel you get so much food for thought than the food for your belly since you do not intend to eat them LOL. Of course in a train journey we are bound to meet so many interesting characters. For any person interested in ‘people watching’ I strongly recommend a train journey
May 31, 2012 7:48 am|
Observing people is a great time pass and I love doing that! 😛
May 30, 2012 12:03 pm|
hmmm Shatabadi is good , I have travelled on it so many times now , it saves the hassells of parents wanting ot see me off at delhi they can do their rona-dhona at the railway station itself and also gives me enough time to get over it tooo 🙂
I remember the first time i came back all my maasi’s and cousins came to see me off at delhi and beleive me it got embarassing 🙂 so now its at chandigarh station all done
the food is good i must say, I make sure I eat it alllllllllllll
Bikram’s
June 1, 2012 12:41 pm|
Yeah, Shatabdi trains are the new face of Indian Railways… the Duronto Express is all the more cool in looks and decor!!
I can so very understand… the last minute Byes at the station!! 😛
Its nice that you enjoy the train food 😀
May 30, 2012 12:15 pm|
such a loving daughter!!
June 1, 2012 12:42 pm|
And very sweet too! 🙂
May 30, 2012 3:06 pm|
It’s been so long since I travelled by these trains. And I shall travel soon by one. I can eat train food too and that tray food looks so yummy!
June 1, 2012 12:44 pm|
Great… coming to Jaipur?? :))
May 30, 2012 5:49 pm|
Almost felt I was in the train right across from you…!!!! I love shatabdi only because they keep serving food at regular intervals.
June 1, 2012 12:45 pm|
Glad you enjoyed this journey!! Oh my! everybody loves the train food, except me and Mr. Chowla here!!! 😀
June 8, 2012 5:15 am|
ah, train journeys 🙂 you get to bond with all sorts…. and the food isn’t so bad on rajdhanis and shatabdis, try it sometime 😛 i like the tomato soup they serve!
June 11, 2012 6:46 pm|
Trains are wonderful places to meet and observe different people!
Nah, I am too hygiene conscious so am totally ‘closed’ on the idea of eating in a train! 😛
June 8, 2012 7:11 pm|
Have eaten some Shatabdi and Rajdhani food too. Though i dread those gloves which are useless. It is an exercise to give booster dose to your gut flora I guess 🙂
nice post.
June 11, 2012 6:47 pm|
Yeah, the gut flora gets lots of ‘food’ to act on!! 😀