The HILLARIOUS local train journey of West Bengal

In West Bengal, local trains are one of the best modes of transport to go from one place to another. It is something people know it’s always there for them as if someone will always wait for people to come aboard and travel long or short. In the trains, we understand how time flies in a distance miles short and long with unfinished conversation.

West Bengal has lots of trains, destinations and types but I want to express my upbringing with the stories of train travel.

From very childhood till today trains have been our go-to plethora of experiences be it local trains or express trains for vacations.

But I got to know deeply about trains when I was admitted to Gokhale Memorial Girls College, one of the prestigious colleges in Kolkata. My parents wanted me to be streetsmart and hence I should be well-versed, especially with local trains which cometh the tremendous crowd, hawkers, aunty’s gossip, vendors’ stories and lots of crowds. It is said if you can dwell on all these in your life then you can dwell on everything, jokes apart local trains have a different kind of atmosphere.


Every day my train timing was 7:30 to 10:30 am depending on my class schedule. When I was in Gokhale I used to take a 45 minutes train journey and then 1 hour bus journey and for a Master thatCalcuttautta University it used to take 45 minutes by train and then an amazing bus journey of 15 to 20 minutes. The connectivity of Kolkata to the district is amazing. It’s about the local trains. Yes we have buses too but the train has other stories.



The unfinished conversation

If you stay in kolkata you know local train journeys are not journeys they are emotions here you will get every kind of stories from from around the state. It is where strangers become friends and friends become deep close friends.

I dont know why but i personally feel LADIES COMPARTMENT is the place where people feel extremly free somewhat like biting and enjoying the ice cream named Freedom. Here lets say five amazing local train journey stories with which you can literally make a boring crowd laugh a aloud,

STORY 1—

That day instead of local train ladies compartment we had to go into general compartment. WE, because that day three of us were there my parents and me and it was while retuning from DAKSHINESWAR TEMPLE OF MAA KALI. The packed up train was expectedly overcrowded because of office timings and market place retuneers. We havent got any place to sit we had to stand. With the sharp horn the train stared off biding goodbye to Howrah station.

In the next station itself which is liluah, crowd was doubled and we could barely breath. Suddenly what surprised everyone was in that overcrowded train a lady came from nowhere and sat on the lap of the person opposite to us. What a roller coster laughter episode it took all of us to. But they were really fighting as she cannot stand in that local train and it seemed hectic for her and for immediate solution she knew she had to do something like this to get a place in the train.

Story 2

Once while I was going to college like every other day I was too tensed and nervous for my exams to be held on that particular day but the situation in the train was really awkward when an aunty from no where came to me asked to take a sweet from the big jar of sweets she had in her hand. I really felt amazingly awkward in the moment. I didn’t knew her even but her jovial gesture was nice but it was really weird since we didn’t knew each other at all. I said maam I cannot take it since I am having exams i will be bloated.

Train is a weird place you know where an unknown person comes to you to celebrate her achievement. And this aunty’s achievement was her son’s job was fixed. She seemed a proud and happy mother. Now there’s a risk also as in today’s world we cannot trust everyone we meet.

Story 3

In our courtship period we visited Kolkata and parts of Kolkata. In one such visit as we were together we had to get into the general compartment as were together. But but but problem started when these general compartment office goers thought it was their own . I mean own house may be, their own place of evening nap and everything else. They started to keep places for each other who would be traveling from next or even after few stations. Imagine you have to keep standing even if the person for whom the sit is being fixed will board the train after few seconds. Then what? Heated conversation started with my

Every train has lots of unfinished conversations. The long distances or even shorter ones ignite the conversations which sometisoundound very identical and sometimes a distant rustic story. The same train passenger is known as regular and this regularity creates bonds over train gossip, crowd and hawkers. I always tell you you can be on any train in West Bengal with your empty bag. You would find every kind of thing to buy from towels, earbuds, 100 types of food to enjoy, safety pins, umbrellas, bags and truly whatnot. The most amazing part here is many of these things you will never find in a shop.

Also if you are a calm traveller then you will enjoy the window seat which shows the train galloping from one station to another and each station narrating some kind of emotional story about what the about ty is like and what the city deserves. The transition from one city to another is what is breezy, cozy and beautiful. From the crowd pushing each other to get into the train or even for getting down. The shout of vendors and how in a no space train to almost zero space train you wonder how many gallons of people get inside the train.


Also, how can we even forget the cost of local trains per person. It’s really cheap.

Not only in West Bengal, India has a lot of systematic trains going from one destination to another everyday. Have you ever been by train?


WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY WITH TRAIN SHARE WITH US.

– Written by Sayoni Mahapatra Chatterji