Indian Trains Trips Deserve Their Own Posting
Does 35 hours of consecutive travel on Indian trains count as an epic journey?
We've now done a 13 hour trip from Pune to Ahmedebad, a 25 hour journey from Dehli to Kolkata, and, of course, the potential epic--leaving Kolkata at 7:30 p.m. on January 6th and arriving in Pune at 10:30 a.m. on January 8th. (Is that 35 hours? I can't really do the math--suffice it to say, it was a bitchingly long time). That is by no means the longest train trip available for your traveling pleasure here in India--you could go from North to South, which would be without a doubt the most hardcore--but we did go East to West, which isn't too shabby either in our humble opinion.
A quick rundown of how we entertained ourselves for close to two days of train living: Josh spilled dhal out of the flimsiest aluminum container ever onto his pants and one of the porters gave us A (as in ONE) not-that-absorbent napkin to clean it up. The first night, as we headed towards the central plains of India, we huddled inside our shawls (we traveled sleeper--no complimentary blankets) as the temperature dropped rapidly to the coldest we've experienced in two months. In the evenings, we listened to the symphony of snores, burps, farts, dreamy mumblings, clattering wheels, piercing whistles, the rush of passing trains. During the daytime, Josh read Life of Pi and we talked about stories with a capital "S" vs. stories with a lowercase "s." I found myself sort of adopted into a family of 16 traveling to Mumbai for a big puja (a Hindu prayer ceremony)--they ranged in age from 75 to 1 1/2--who taught me phrases in Hindi, demanded that I sing them Christmas carols, bought me chai when I went to visit them in their berths, ordered me and Josh to come to their home for dinner once we go back to Kolkata, and had their youngest member sing me "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Rahul, twelve years old, posed for fotos with his blinged-out L.A. Lakers belt buckle (once I get my fotos off my memory card, I'll get them up here for you all to see) and sat with me for a couple of hours as we listened to Iron&Wine and Ben Harper on my IPod. A constant stream of vendors flowed through the car selling cheap plastic toys, chai, coffee, samosas, chana, padlocks, notebooks. Young children in dirty circus costumes did somersaults down the aisle to the drumbeats of uncles or mothers and then passed their hats. Transvestites came and clapped over our heads, demanding rupees and making obscene gestures at those who refused. Josh finished Life of Pi. We peed in toilets with open holes onto the tracks (sorry, you just can't avoid toilet references in India). A fellow traveler wished us luck as followers of Saraswati, the goddess of learning and the arts. An off-duty railway cop shared an orange with us. The last couple of hours from Mubai to Pune were filled with dense forests and sharply rising cliffs that gave way to rich farmland, and we spent most of our time at the open doors between the cars, watching the sun rise and burn off the early morning haze.
Epic or no? You decide:-)
Peace and Love,
J&J
P.S. Two quotes from William Sloane Coffin that we found relevant in light of the poverty here (and everywhere, really): "To show compassion for an individual without showing concern for the structures of society that make him an object of compassion is to be sentimental, rather than loving." and then "To love effectively, we must act collectively."
We've now done a 13 hour trip from Pune to Ahmedebad, a 25 hour journey from Dehli to Kolkata, and, of course, the potential epic--leaving Kolkata at 7:30 p.m. on January 6th and arriving in Pune at 10:30 a.m. on January 8th. (Is that 35 hours? I can't really do the math--suffice it to say, it was a bitchingly long time). That is by no means the longest train trip available for your traveling pleasure here in India--you could go from North to South, which would be without a doubt the most hardcore--but we did go East to West, which isn't too shabby either in our humble opinion.
A quick rundown of how we entertained ourselves for close to two days of train living: Josh spilled dhal out of the flimsiest aluminum container ever onto his pants and one of the porters gave us A (as in ONE) not-that-absorbent napkin to clean it up. The first night, as we headed towards the central plains of India, we huddled inside our shawls (we traveled sleeper--no complimentary blankets) as the temperature dropped rapidly to the coldest we've experienced in two months. In the evenings, we listened to the symphony of snores, burps, farts, dreamy mumblings, clattering wheels, piercing whistles, the rush of passing trains. During the daytime, Josh read Life of Pi and we talked about stories with a capital "S" vs. stories with a lowercase "s." I found myself sort of adopted into a family of 16 traveling to Mumbai for a big puja (a Hindu prayer ceremony)--they ranged in age from 75 to 1 1/2--who taught me phrases in Hindi, demanded that I sing them Christmas carols, bought me chai when I went to visit them in their berths, ordered me and Josh to come to their home for dinner once we go back to Kolkata, and had their youngest member sing me "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Rahul, twelve years old, posed for fotos with his blinged-out L.A. Lakers belt buckle (once I get my fotos off my memory card, I'll get them up here for you all to see) and sat with me for a couple of hours as we listened to Iron&Wine and Ben Harper on my IPod. A constant stream of vendors flowed through the car selling cheap plastic toys, chai, coffee, samosas, chana, padlocks, notebooks. Young children in dirty circus costumes did somersaults down the aisle to the drumbeats of uncles or mothers and then passed their hats. Transvestites came and clapped over our heads, demanding rupees and making obscene gestures at those who refused. Josh finished Life of Pi. We peed in toilets with open holes onto the tracks (sorry, you just can't avoid toilet references in India). A fellow traveler wished us luck as followers of Saraswati, the goddess of learning and the arts. An off-duty railway cop shared an orange with us. The last couple of hours from Mubai to Pune were filled with dense forests and sharply rising cliffs that gave way to rich farmland, and we spent most of our time at the open doors between the cars, watching the sun rise and burn off the early morning haze.
Epic or no? You decide:-)
Peace and Love,
J&J
P.S. Two quotes from William Sloane Coffin that we found relevant in light of the poverty here (and everywhere, really): "To show compassion for an individual without showing concern for the structures of society that make him an object of compassion is to be sentimental, rather than loving." and then "To love effectively, we must act collectively."
posted by Jessica Pierce at 6:04 AM
5 Comments:
Wow - it does sound quite epic! Although, why is it not hard for me to believe that Josh spilled something on his pants...I believe that happened the first day I met him...and...I might be thinking of something else, but didn't that happen on your way to our wedding...?
Since you mentioned William Sloane Coffin...here is a quote by him that I love: "It's always a good time to change your mind when to do so will widen your heart."
Agree w/ Adam. Epic indeed.
I LOVE the quote about the structure of society. I feel like I read a relatedly good quote too but I can't remember where...when I find it, I'll share.
Hugs
I love reading about all the wounderful travels!!! The kids love the fact that people ride camels- we love the pictures- keep it coming!!
love- K,M,J,J
adam, josh indeed has a fine tradition of spilling things on himself when you are somehow involved. were you by any chance in india on the 26th of december?
by the way, dig the quote. W.S.C. seems like quite the badass.
jina, josh and i are both in serious need of a newsy jina email. hook us up!!
kristen, you have thoroughly mastered the art of commenting. you are my most impressive aunt:-) give the kids and your hubby big hugs from india.
love
j
You write very well.
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