Restoring some of my faith in humanity...

What a crazy week it has been. I just got back yesterday from my whirlwind pilgrimage to various Buddhist holy sites with my friends Hamsa, Danika, and Jane. I'm working on finding a good way of compressing the 5 days of really intense sightseeing we did, so that I don't overload you all (or myself for that matter). But I learned SO MUCH and am bursting to talk about it.

But first I'll share with you my crazy adventure getting back home. I took leave of my friends at Nalanda train station early Sunday morning - I was heading back to Banaras by train and they were all, first driving 3 hours to the Patna airport and then flying back to Delhi. I felt confident - Allen had booked me a 2AC ticket, so I knew that I would be traveling comfortably on the 8 hours back to Banaras.... so the fact that the Nalanda station was so small that I had to cross the tracks (there were only 2 tracks there, east- and westerly direction) -- climbing through another train mind you --- to get to my platform (a glorified rocky hillside) didn't really phase me. I mean, I had traveled in Sleeper class to get to Bihar - this should be a piece of cake for a well seasoned traveler like myself, right?

The train pulls up.... and all I'm seeing are Sleeper class cars. So I'm running down the "platform" with my little carry-on sized bag (the wheels utterly useless because of the rocky terrain) trying desperately to find my car. I pass a couple of police officers with some serious guns and ask them which way to my car - they just point to the back of the train and say that way... I was hoping that maybe by asking them, maybe by some slim chance if I was having trouble getting on the train they would help.*

Finally, I see the AC car (you can tell which ones they are because their windows don't open - duh, because they have air-conditioning).... but the car is empty and the doors are locked.

The train starts to move, infinitesimally, but ... I'm running out of time. All of the AC cars are closed. I groan in frustration and a man running ahead of me (probably headed further down the train than I was) pointed to an empty door. So I did what any self respecting person who is lost, and scared, and completely out of their depth - I jump...

... into a general unreserved car.... with about 15 other people in the doorway of the car (and a bicycle, oddly) ... in a car that was packed to the gills.

For the uninitiated, here's a picture of what a general unreserved car looks like without people and their baggage.

Source: India Mike's blog, with a decent article about riding trains

Here's approximately what it looked like when I jumped on to it...

Source: Things from Within blog

Everyone was packed. In this class there are no seat reservations, so sometimes you fit about 6 people on the row of two benches per compartment, sometimes closer to 12 ... it varies a lot depending upon the season and the train in question.

So, I jump into this open car and find myself face to face with no less than 30 people in my immediate vicinity.... an old papa (grandfather) next to me, who's foot I was squashing with my luggage, an old ama (grandmother, probably was with the grandfather) pushing me further into the train.... and a ton of other people (including the gentleman with the bike, who really had no reason to be talking - pot calling the kettle black, if you know what I mean) urging me to go further into the train and just take a freaking seat already ... why was I jamming up the doorway with my big fancy suitcase?!

And in that moment, with people pushing - gently, but none the less insistent - me further into this space filled with bodies ... where would I fit? Where should I go? What do I do now that I can't get to my designated car?

Right there ... in the doorway of this train car ... I just started crying.

I couldn't help it. The tears just came. I wasn't scared, I was just in shock. 5 minutes before I had envisioned how leisurely I would spend the next 8 hours, but after booking it down most of the train, realizing that I couldn't get to where I was suppose to go, feeling relieved that I at least made it on the train, but also realizing that I had just invaded this space and didn't know how to fit in ... well, I was just overwhelmed.

I wasn't crying hard, but it was unmistakable that I was clearly very upset ... and collectively this group of people decided that they needed to take care of me. They cleared me a space on one of the benches. They made room for my, seemingly absurdly large bag (most of them were probably just traveling for the day, not a week), and sat me down next to this mother figure and let me have a good little cry for a while. I rested my head on the shoulder of the nice woman sitting next to me and she held my head until I had calmed down.

They asked me where I was going and what car I was suppose to be in. I told them I was scheduled for 2AC and they said that that car was closed, but that they would hail the police and see if they could get me in.

10 minutes later that same police officer I saw with the gun earlier on the platform came in, asked me which car I was going to, and when I said "2AC" he said, "OK, let's go."

The train was still moving at that moment.

As he headed to the train car's door, I got up and my new adopted train family helped me with my luggage. As I got to the door, saying "Thank you and good-bye" to everyone I could... the train started to slow...

... interesting....

The train was still moving (though slowing down) when I got off and the policeman was already ahead of me one car opening up the deserted 2AC car.... I got onto the moving train (for the second time that day), and as I did the train started to gather speed again. What was that about? Did it slow just for me, or was that an actual "stop"? I'll never know.

But I boarded the deserted car and the only people in there were other police men (probably catching a ride). I started to get nervous that I would be the only person in this car all the way back to Banaras but thankfully more people started boarding the car by the time we reach Patna.

I will always be so thankful for the kindness of those strangers in the unreserved car.

Just another story to add to the growing litany of really amazing train stories I have.

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* HA!