Taking a train journey is no less than a Bollywood movie that has almost everything-entertainment, comedy, drama and sometimes action too. There are times when on the wheels we spot a variety of characters who either make the travel comfortable or more often than not, troublesome. Let us take you on a walk-through with this list of train travellers. We are sure you have encountered them, sometime, somewhere.
• Dabba-wallahs – Full of eatables in their dabbas, some people literally have food for every passing hour. They make sure the aroma of their home-cooked food along with that irritating constant munching sound, reaches our nose and ears. Apart from this, the kids make sure that no hawkers have a bad day.
• Kishore Kumars – We all love music. Don’t we? But these guys, they just ‘LOVVVVVEEEEE’ music. They are not only okay with playing non-stop music on their phones but also don’t hesitate to sing it out loud so that fellow travellers in the entire compartment can ‘enjoy’ their offbeat singing.
• CBI Folks – You board your train and here they are some sweet looking people sitting next to your seat. They start a conversation with just “Hello, so where are you going” type questions and slowly progresses to your personal life whether you are married, about your family members, what you do and so on. Indian trains will definitely have one such chatter who will talk nineteen to the dozen throughout the journey.
• Snory Glories – These kinds of people mostly barter for the upper berths with their lower berths, just to sleep all day, nights, evenings and centuries. Quarrelling families, yelling kids, or aggressive rounds of antakshari; nothing has enough mettle to disturb the sound sleep of such snory glories.
• Luggage Overdosers – These people carry way too much luggage to start up a new civilisation. Every available inch around them becomes the parking space for their luggage. Sometimes you wonder if they have actually been thrown out of their homes and are looking to begin a new life.
• Ek – Duje ke liye – Well, you just cannot miss them on any train journey. They cannot see anyone around them and remain glued to each other. Their koochi-koos and “do you need anything baby?” sessions are endless and why not. A train journey is supposed to be a romantic affair, isn’t it?
• “Ye Seat Mujhe Dede Thakur” – Such people will spend almost their entire train journey, in striking deals with fellow travellers so that they can sit together with their remaining group of people. When they fail to get seats near each other, they will ask co-passengers to “adjust little” so that they can squeeze in with their loved ones; because one entire train journey without them by their sides could most definitely prove fatal for them.
Another kind of travellers under this category are the ‘Jugaadists’ ticketless travellers. You will always find them bargaining with TTE or with their fellow travellers for a seat.
• Hot-shot Corporates – It’s like watching an entire corporate office unfold right in front of your eyes. Another major charging point hogger, these corporate hotshots will have their laptops out which would be blaring music or play a movie for the benefit of his fellow travellers. They will have loud work-related discussions on their expensive smartphones while typing away on some presentation on their laptops.
• 440-volt Debaters – Politics, country, corruption, unemployment, take anything which can make you question your knowledge. Pick any subject and they would be ready for any heated discussions on that!
• The Daredevils – These people just can’t sit in their seats and would disturb you every often for going to the train doors. They would risk everything to enjoy the fresh air and scenery by hanging at the door.
We are sure you too would have encountered such kind of people who might have irritated you. But no matter what, these are the real entertainers in long train journeys and we love them for that! Feel free to share your experiences with us by sending in your comments.
Happy travelling!
ALSO READ – Joy of train travelling in India, Train travel through Bollywood
