What Every Indian Train Journey Teaches About Life, Culture, and Self-Discovery
- Soumya Jain
- May 2
- 3 min read
Indian trains are not just a mode of transportation. They are moving laboratories of human behavior, where patience, social skills, and even personal boundaries are tested under real-world conditions. As a middle-class young Indian woman, every train journey feels less like a commute and more like an unscripted social experiment—one where I have no choice but to participate.
Phase 1: The Great Ticket Hunt
It all begins with the classic Indian middle-class struggle—getting a confirmed ticket. If you’ve ever booked a train ticket on IRCTC, congratulations! You’ve unknowingly participated in the Hunger Games. Tatkal booking is nothing short of an Olympic sprint, except instead of running, you're furiously clicking ‘Refresh’ while praying that the IRCTC gods are in your favor. And if you get waitlisted? Welcome to the emotional rollercoaster of constantly checking your PNR status, as if staring at it will magically move you up the list.
Phase 2: The Luggage Tetris
Boarding an Indian train is a sport. The luggage space? Scarce. The competition? Fierce. Families traveling with entire kitchens packed in steel dabbas will ensure that their five extra-large suitcases claim half the compartment. And if you thought your reserved seat was sacred, think again! Someone’s uncle has already spread his bedsheet and taken a nap before you even reach your berth.
Phase 3: The People You’ll Inevitably Meet
Every train journey offers a carefully curated selection of personalities:
The Interrogative Aunty – Within five minutes of sitting down, she knows your full biodata—college, career plans, relationship status, and even whether you know how to make ‘gol rotis.’ Privacy? A concept that does not exist in the Indian rail ecosystem.
The Enthusiastic Uncle – A self-appointed political analyst who will give unsolicited insights on why the country is doomed. Bonus points if he starts discussing his son’s package in an MNC to subtly flex.
The Whispering Couple – They will pretend they are just ‘good friends’ while secretly holding hands under the shared shawl. Their tension is almost as thick as the train’s restroom air.
The Sleeping Champion – This person can sleep in any posture, any situation—whether it’s a side berth half their size or with a crying baby two inches away.
The Overfriendly Kid – This child will ask you deep philosophical questions like “Didi, why do people die?” while wiping their chocolate-covered hands on your sleeve.
Phase 4: The Food Trials
If you think train food is bad, let me introduce you to another experiment: whether eating samosas from the platform vendor will be a gastronomic delight or a regrettable life decision. But Indian trains also hold the magic of shared food—strangers bonding over poori-aloo and debating which chai is superior: railway chai or kulhad chai? (Answer: Always kulhad chai).
Phase 5: The Battle for the Charging Point
Your phone is at 2%, and there’s one charging point. But a seasoned train traveler will always spot a hidden one near the washbasin or behind a berth. The real challenge? Negotiating charging time with fellow passengers—this is where bargaining skills come in handy. “Bhaiya, bas 10% charge karne do, emergency hai” is the universal plea of every train traveler.
Phase 6: The Toilet Experience (Not for the Faint-Hearted)
There are two types of people in this world—those who can use an Indian train toilet without hesitation and those who prefer to hold it in for 10+ hours. If you belong to the second category, congratulations, you have mastered bladder control. The ultimate daredevil move? Using the toilet at a station halt, hoping the train doesn’t start moving mid-squat.
Phase 7: The Farewell, but Not Without Drama
As the journey nears its end, the chaos intensifies. People start standing near the door 20 minutes before the train stops, as if missing their station would mean exile. The luggage is retrieved, final goodbyes are exchanged, and somehow, even though you started as strangers, there’s a strange warmth in these fleeting train friendships.
Final Thoughts: A Social Experiment Worth Experiencing
Despite the occasional chaos, every train journey is a reminder that India is a country of stories—where strangers become temporary families, where the art of sharing and adjusting is second nature, and where human behavior is at its most raw and unfiltered.
So the next time you board an Indian train, sit back, observe, and remember: you’re not just traveling. You’re part of an ongoing social experiment, one that’s been running since the first train chugged through this country in 1853. And honestly? It’s an experience no flight or cab ride can ever replace.