On my way back home

I am going to my home after almost seven months and I am travelling by India’s lifeline… I mean the Railways. The flight service to my hometown ‘Jabalpur’ does not exist now… the reasons could be many… one being not everyone usually travels by flight from my place and the service was initially only once a week and now since that too did not work out much so that too has been stopped now… so this was why I am travelling by my dear old Central Railways.
I tell you, it is really amazing travelling by train, you come across so many people and that too of so many kinds.
I reached station well on time and sat in the train waiting for it to leave…I was all settled by the time the train left Pune Station. There was already a family sitting in there and a guy who was also almost all settled as the others. A girl came rushing just minutes before the train was about to leave. She forgot to get her e-ticket print out so definitely was in great panic. The guy who was already sitting there seemed to be helpful kind and he calmed her by saying that everything will be fine. The family who was travelling also had an extra ticket so they offered her the extra ticket if she could manage. I assured her if she knows her PNR number and has her ID proof, things would be fine. So this how we all tried to pacify her. The Ticket Checker came after sometime and things were all settled. He was a good man!
I am not used to talking to people on my way. So I simply fill my luggage with loads of books and magazines and my M3 Player just to be with myself. I sit and somehow I like to observe things and people around me.
There is huge change as you move from Pune to Jabalpur whether it is the language and behavior of people or the name of the Stations that are between the two places. This is because of this huge regional difference.
I am travelling in a super fast train so it is not stopping at every station but it is scheduled to stop at some important stations and as I am nearing my hometown I am feeling nostalgic as these are the stations that we used to either travel to or cross when going to some places.
I always had the fancy of looking at the lifestyle of the villagers as we pass the villages and the huge fields where they work so very hard. This is something that I used to love since my childhood and that was the reason I always l wanted to sit on the window seat. The fields are either getting ploughed or have half grown vegetation so it is not that beautiful but is not giving that dry feeling as it might have been a month back. The houses of the villagers that are visible are mostly something that we call ‘huts’ but they are so remarkable that they can inspire any painter who does landscapes. The bridges on the rivers are yet another thing that I love since my childhood. The feeling used to be mixed with an incredible amount of awe and a dash of fear. In those days, a small bridge could also sometimes be scary to me. Today also, I crossed few bridges but I was not at all scared but the excitement was the same. Times have taken away the fear but not the thrill with which I used to wait for a bridge or a tunnel on my way.
I am nearing my destination now with just an hour or so left for me to disembark. I am filled with joy to meet my parents, my relatives and my dear old friends who are still there. Oh I am so nostalgic now…