Delhi 3rd January
Another classic journey here.
Pandemonium in 2nd Class Unreserved
Early morning Amritsar station
Because of the New Year, we couldn’t get out of Amritsar until the 5th except via 2nd Class train for the six hour trip back to Delhi. As you see, the itinerary is in pieces already. We were due to go to Bikaner and points south but this wasn’t possible so we decided to go to Delhi and decide where to go from there - it’s sort of on the way south anyway.
We reserved seats 2nd class and the carriage was only half full until Jalandar when a horde invaded the train. They crammed up the aisle and I reckon there were 50 of them between the two doorways. Instead of staring at an empty seat, I had to look at the father of a family that wore a sort of busby that had lost a fight with a Rolux. The family lunch was sliced bread on which tomato sauce was liberally poured. However next to his son was a fellow truly spoilt by his Mum. Only vacuum packed bags of tasty curry. As we had to be at the station by 6am on a freezing morning, we had only trailmix.
The calm before the stornm in 2nd Class!
Amongst the horde were two gents sitting on their suitcase in the aisle. The one furthest away sat with one leg point up the aisle and the other between the two sets of seats so I was playing with his right knee for the trip. The closest on the suitcase suffered apparently from narcolepsy and ended up with his head in my crotch before he woke up. I actually preferred that because when he was actually upright, every 2 minutes, there was a loud ‘ngngngngngngrgrGRHGRHGRH’ from a distance of about a foot as he cleared his throat. The two also got into a fight with the ‘chai wallah’ with the tea because they were bunging up his way.
There were numbers of fights because although one side of the carriage said D7 (right) the other said D8. At several points during the trip, some woman started singing but I couldn’t possibly see her. There was suddenly a stir amongst the packed populace and amazingly, a fellow with no legs on a trolley appeared, pushing his way up the train. Later, another stirring in the Brownian motion and a guy with no hands emerged with a blue bag strung between them. Later, a priest pushed and shoved his way through the packed humanity, liberally blessing everyone - at least that is what I thought he was doing.
At each of the ten or so stops to Delhi, more and more people pushed aboard. Unlike English trains where the doors open out, these opened inwards. Those who wanted to get out couldn’t and those who wanted to get in simply pushed like hell. The poor sod behind the doors was lucky to escape alive. Although my backside was numb, I couldn’t stand up because there would have been another backside on the seat when I sat down. Every so often wallahs with food, drink and other unmentionables pushed through the throng. At no point were any tickets checked so I think most people paid nothing.
After 8 hours and two hours late, the train pulled into Delhi and the scramble started. Actually, it started before. People were jumping off the train while it was still moving. We left it until almost everyone was off and I coulod reintroduce two lost friends - my numb backside muscles with their blood supply. Amazingly, there was a small number of people trying to get their bags into the carriage. I’m sorry - by this tiime I had had enough launched myself out of the carriage with the two cases. There were Indians sprawled over the platrform but I got the cases out.
Delhi - at last
Getting up the stairs to the bridge over the platforms was another spectacle. Yet another fellow with no legs was trying to get up the stairs and holding up the throng. One thing about India I like - you can push a shove, knee and elbow your neighbours with great delight and they are used to it. I haven’t quite got to eye gouging yet.
Sonali had been recommended a hotel near the station and there was the usual fight with the taxi drivers. It was only a couple of hundred metres from the station but we had to get a taxi as the only way of getting across the road. Still, a much better place than the Amritsar place, warm and quiet. Today we booked tickets to Jaipur and onwards to Jaisalmer four days later on a sleeper train. This is the furthest point of the trip and we will then work our way back to Delhi.
We have been plagued by touts the entire day. Strangely, nearly all the shops shut and even stranger, all the markets on Sundays. We will attack them tomorrow.
It’s cold and perpetually foggy here but warmer than the north.