Trains

We have been taking the train back and forth from Kolkata to Murshidabad. The train station is a very different experience from the airport. Even in the domestic terminals at the airport there were usually a few other foreigners, but I have not yet seen any in the train stations. They are crowded, as are most places here, and hot. I get lots and lots of stares. There are a lot of people begging and I get singled out by many of them. There are kids wearing nothing but rags sleeping on the concrete next to gates. Stray dogs amble through the crowds and find incredibly inconvenient places to lie down and spend a lot of time chasing after flies that try to land on them. There are lots of flies everywhere. And the stench in the wrong wind or on the spot can be pretty bad. It’s not uncommon for some people to go to the bathroom on the tracks. It is a huge mix of people – families, business men, farmers, people of all ages and all classes wearing everything from very little to intricate and beautiful saris.

Crowds swarm the train as you are trying to get on. Makes me really glad we have been paying for reserved seats. Still have to fight through the crowds though, to get on the train and then to get to your seat, and then to put your luggage away. Once on the train, however, the view of the countryside is absolutely beautiful. It is simply green for as far as your eye can see. Amazing trees and plant life, lakes and ponds, and fields and fields of jute, banana tress, and other crops. And then you pass by small towns or little cities and see more of daily life. There is also trash everywhere in the cities, especially around the tracks. The colorful clothes blow in the breeze that are hung out outside to dry. Depending on the time of day, people are in the fields or on their porches or in the street.

Tons of vendors pass up and down in the aisles on the train, selling everything from books to umbrellas to flashlights to rubix cubes. The most common item is cha, or tea. There is also all sorts of food items being sold, I’ve seen toast spread with butter and dipped in sugar and or cinnamon, ghugni – a type of lentil dish, crackers, chips, candy, etc. Our favorite and what we now get every time on the train is the Muri Makha – translated means rice mixed with other stuff. It’s dried, puffed rice mixed with all sorts of spices and nuts and coconut and other goodness. It is really delicious.

Last night we made it from Kolkata to Murshidabad on the train all by ourselves. Our two previous train trips we had someone we knew on the train with us. Of course, someone dropped us off at the train station (even made sure we found our seats) and another person picked us up right outside the station gate on the other end (we have a lot of people worrying about and taking very good care of us), but we still made the trip by ourselves, and even figured out the correct stop we needed to get off at. Although we almost didn’t make it as the train started moving again before everyone was off … but it stopped again shortly after when they realized a bunch of us were still in line to disembark. So we made it! Now time to finish preparing for these next two weeks, as we are going to be kept very busy.