Humanity at its rawest

It seems like a long time since I wrote in this blog. Seems like ages passed and many things happened. But the only things which I can reveal are my experiences on my Orissa trip. Two nights and one-and-half day were spent on train. It was the first time that I spent such long hours aboard a train and it was both fascinating and surprising, apart from being extremely hot. It was so hot that sitting on a seat for 10 straight minutes seemed to scorch my skin. I kept washing my face and neck but you may imagine how it would be at 45 degree celsius.
It was fascinating to see all those people, utter strangers and unaware of each others' existence till now, metamorphosing into a great big family all of a sudden. They walk around in banians and lungis, chudidars without dupattas, brushing in front of everyone, sleep like they are at home and not in front of hundreds of strangers, and most surprising of all was the helping and sharing nature without even knowing each other's language.
Then I thought, their innate Indianness crosses all borders, regional, national and international. Everybody talked to everybody else, in broken languages known to them, even my mom spoke in English. And I was wondering before I got onto the train how I was going to sleep as I normally don't close my eyes and relax while travelling, doesn't matter how many hours or days I travel. But there, I slept for the first time in a public transport without fear. Unknown people helped us understand the ways of Railways, where to get drinking water (some even filled up our water bottles), food, where to get down, and allowing us to sit or lie down comfortably. I believe I will never see them again in my life, and they me. Wonder what makes people be kind to strangers without expectations?
A funny thing was, there was a young married girl in my compartment. She was with two men, one mostly her husband and the other may be a brother. We commented on everything in Kannada, scolded among ourselves some boys who were flirting with us and were even talking about her, saying she looked beautiful and letting our imaginations run wild about her destination. We spent nearly 30 hours together and at the end of it, when I said something, she suddenly laughed. Then I got suspicious and asked her if she knew Kannada for which she said yes. Imagine our plight.
Train travelling is a whole different experience. You see life passing before you in one speedy blur, both outside and inside a train. You also see humanity at its rawest. It is the only binocular through which you can zoom in on to the life of the poor. Because this is how the poor commute. It is the cheapest mode of transportation across the length and breadth of the country. One should see their small delights when they buy eatables from the 'Great Indian Railways Catering Service,' be it only coffee, tea or samosa, roast groundnut. They don't mind squatting on the floor or keep heir hands beneath their heads and go to sleep.
The railway is lined on both sides by slums at any city you go. In the midst of it, I have seen happiness and content that I have not seen on airplanes or posh localities. The only sad thing is that the railway tracks have become the longest dustbin in the world. But people too have not much alternative as there is no dustbin inside a train, even for long distance. I never throw anything out of the window during travel, but this time I had to. And for the first time, I admit, I felt a sense of abandonment while throwing something outside, a freedom to do something without inhibitions (inhibitions of the mind caused by my own rules). The act of throwing itself seemed to liberate me from something which was held inside me too long ago.