Tears and laughter on the train
Trip Start
Feb 27, 2006
1
6
13
Trip End
Mar 29, 2006
Orcha,
India
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
I had a seat in a busy sleeper compartment and the incumbants of the carriage were just getting up from their night's slumber and folding away the middle berths to allow us day passangers to sit down. As usual, I was the main attraction with fellow passengers watching my every move but very friendly. It was all quite jovial with the usual questions over and over as men, women and children made their way past my seat to ask me the three favourite questions for foreigners - what is your name? where are you from? you like India?. This is often followed by a request for a photo, a sweet, a pen or money (none of which I dispense) and currently the additional question relates to cricket and the UK team.
There was a constant flow of hawkers and railway staff to keep me entertained, as I slipped into the music of my MP3 player (a godsend on a journey like this!), selling all kinds of food and drink - pakoras, fruit, tomato soup (with croutons no less), chai, biryani etc.
little Abu
A young boy came through the carriage on his hands and knees with a rag sweeping under seats and then looking forlornly up at each passenger for money or food. I had heard of railway sweeper children, who live on the trains and platforms alone, cleaning just to stay alive. It's rare that I let these terrible things in India (such as the women and children working with sledgehammers or carrying heavy bricks on their heads on the roads) affect me as I can't solve the problems of the country but this sight really did make me cry and I just had to give him some food. My fellow passengers probably wondered what this western girl was doing with tears running down her face. Another girl got on at a station to 'entertain' us with her funny song and silly hat with swinging tassles. Again very sad that she had to earn her keep this way, but she was such a little madame with a fiery nonchalant personality, she made us all laugh. As she ran to get off the train before it left the station, she was still cheekily calling through the window for money.A lady came down the train carrying a huge basket of fruit on her head. I don't know what it was but it was obviously popular with Indians as everyone bought some pieces. She had this ritual of cutting them through the top and putting something in them, then taking the money and stuffing it down the front of her sari. An old lady opposite me passed one over to me to taste. It was disgusting and filled with salt! I had to dispose of it out of the window, but the other people came down the carriage bringing me more, which I had to firmly refuse each time, much to the amusement of my neighbours.
Eventually four hours later we arrived in Jhansi and I fought off rickshaw wallahs in favour of a shared tempo - basically a double sized rickshaw - and played sardines with 11 other people hanging out of all sides; a family, four policemen with rifles and a handcuffed prisoner who sat directly opposite me! Then changed tempos at the bus stand (don't ask me how I knew to do all of this -somehow I vaguely know what I want to do and where to go and the rest is up to gesturing, bartering and general arm waving).
Orcha palaces
After a 40 minute ride to peaceful Orcha with its beautiful old palaces and forts, I finally saw a number of tourists (plus the ones who came in their big airconditioned white coaches for the day) and asked the first one I saw if she could recommend one of the guesthouses. She turned out to be a dentist from Ireland and an old hander (8 times - got the bug) in India. She took me down to her little family run hotel Sunrise on the edge of the village, where I was welcomed by VK and his beautiful Manalian wife and their little boy Abu and their new born baby. Sunrise being a new guesthouse was all clean, comfortable beds and freshly tiled bathrooms - what luxury! When I told Denise my travel plans she said she'd quite like to join me as she had no fixed plans (although a few days later we worked out that she wouldn't be able to get back up for the cricket in time if she came as far south as I was going). A massive thunder storm played out overhead with totally unseasonal rains (which affected the whole of northern India - not good for crops), knocked out the electricity for the rest of the evening as we ate our lovely home-cooked (non greasy) meal.The next day, I felt quite ill with a fever and stomach cramps, so I spent most of the day in bed, with little Abu coming and peeping into my room to see if he could watch my TV - such a cutie.
The following day, I was still cramping but I forced myself to eat some toast and then went into the Ram Raja palace which was similar to Rajasthani forts. I couldn't face visiting the other one or the Lakshmi temple which was meant to be stunning, so I went back to bed. The evening was very noisy as there was a special evening puja on at the little temple next door for the god Durga with only women in attendance - Denise went along to join in the dancing, singing and drumming - it was deafening even in my room!
