A train journey for a reunion ! (ik tees saal baad)



18th Dec'25

A train. A long night.

And India rolling past our windows.

We are on a 13-hour train ride from Mumbai.

17 of us travelling together.
All of us are well past 50!
Still, ridiculously excited.

A coupe meant for 6 quietly surrendered to 13 humans, bags, snack boxes and laughter.

No one complained.
Trains have a way of making space : physically and emotionally.

As the train chugged along, India unfolded outside.

- Sleeping villages.
- Dimly lit platforms.
- Tea stalls shutting down.

And occasional silhouettes of farmers, dogs, cycles and slow-moving lives that don’t care about deadlines or targets.

Inside, someone opened a box of soft idlis and medu vada!

At Baroda, right at midnight, a friend boarded with local snacks and an unreasonable amount of desserts - just because he knew what we would be craving for.

Food travelled hand to hand.
Stories travelled faster.

We talked, joked, laughed, stood in the aisle, sat on luggage, played cards, leaned against doors.

- No phones.
- No urgency.

Just time moving at train speed.

What struck me most wasn’t the crowd or the food.
It was the pace.

The train doesn’t rush.
It doesn’t optimise.
It just keeps going.

Somewhere between stations, conversations and passing villages, something inside me slowed down too.

Maybe that’s what long train journeys really give you:
not memories, not nostalgia but permission to simply be.

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