Trains and train stations in India are yet another part of the experience here. After my day of taking it pretty easy and sleeping in the hotel room to recover from some bout of something or other, it was time to head to the train station to head back to Kolkata. Aarti (from the internet cafe) and her family arranged for a rickshaw driver to pick me up at the hotel at 1730h to make my way to the station in case traffic was too crazy.
I made it to the station by 1800h, only to find out that my 1920h train, was at least 5 hours late. Hmm, now what?
So I sat in the Foreigner's Ticket Office until 2000h, when it closed, at which point I was directed to the "Ladies Waiting Room" at platform 5. Well the nice thing was, the room was well lit, and this little old lady seemed to be making sure there were no men loitering around in the room. Then the power went out. And while the little old lady was still doing a great job of keeping it a ladies-only area, this did not exclude numerous mice (big and small) and rats (big and small) from joining us. Ok…so I can deal with this, I thought. I just put my bag on the bench with me, got in my sleeping bag and decided to try and get some rest while I waited for my train. I dozed on and off and at a couple of points got up to ask the Superintendent of Trains about the Amritsar Express and its anticipated arrival time. Well first it was 2300h…..then 0000h…..then 0100h….and finally 0220h. In the midst of this, at some point more women showed up and I lost some of my bench space so I had to put my pack on the ground, leaning up against my bench. Well I woke up at one point staring at a rat sitting on the top of my pack! Yoiks! I scared him good and he took off…but after that, I brought my pack back on the bench with me.
The train finally arrived (only 8 hours late) and I ended up exchanging my lower bunk for an upper bunk with the family that I shared the berth with…I brought my pack up there with me, put in my earplugs and slept all cozied up with my pack.
I woke up and came down from my bunk to sit with the family who were headed to a small village along the way. They explained that the Amritsar Express to Kolkata is basically the milk run…stopping in EVERY little town and village along the way…and probably wouldn't arrive to Kolkata until 0200h in the morning. Well that got me a little unhinged…they let me borrow their cell-phone so I could call the guys and let them know how late I would be. So then I got a bit teary…and the man from the family asked me "Why are you weeping?" Hmmm…how to answer that one? "I'm tired, still feeling a little vulnerable, a bit hormonal and haven't eaten much food in the last 24 hours and maybe a little dehydrated to boot?"….I settled with "I'm tired." Bless that family, they took pity on a crazy Gora girl traveling solo and they shared their Aloo Mattar (potato and peas) and chapathi with me. I crawled back into my bunk and slept some more and when I woke up it was time for my friendly family to take their leave.
My next berth-mates were 4 train conductors (Sundeep, Mohammed Azim, ? and Sarkar) on their way to headquarters. I think I basically blew their mind…a woman, traveling alone, on a train, arriving late at night, and having left my "husband" (it's easier for people here to understand that concept rather than boyfriend, plus it tends to shut down unwanted attention from men at least a little bit) at home to fend for himself. I showed them pictures of my family and the park and then had them listen to some "Canadian" music….I busted out Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans. They laughed…guess it's not quite what they're used to. They asked many questions about Canada and then got curious about divorce in Canada…try explaining why people get divorced to a Muslim man and three Hindu men. I know it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it was definitely hard to explain.
My final companion for the journey was Amman, a young Sikh man who is doing his PhD in water management. We had some great conversations about water-table levels and water management solutions, Germany, mapping, GIS, arranged marriages, music, and India. He was also very impressed with my "braverism" of traveling alone, but very concerned about me arriving in Kolkata with no one to meet me. So he arranged for the train conductor to get me a taxi and then I called Jon from his cell-phone to arrange the meeting spot, and then Amman would call me in one hour to make sure I had arrived home safely.
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. However, when those plans go awry, it is the kindnesses of men (and women) that shine through. I am thankful for all those lovely people looking out for me on my journey!
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