Indian train journeys are filled with such sweet-sour incidences. There is always something interesting enough to talk about after the journey is over. If it's not the changing landscape outside, it is the atmosphere inside that keeps that experience alive.
I remember a girl springing up from her seat in the Delhi-Dehra Dun Shatabdi express and enlisting the strangers seated around her into a game of tambola. To strains of 'two sexy legs number 11 and sweet sixteen number 16 etc' the train rolled on.
In the Deccan Queen, the train with one of the most beautiful names, connecting Mumbai to Pune, it is the staff in the pantry car that contributes most generously to its travel experience. If there is anything that rivals the beauty of the climb through the luscious and steep Western ghats in Lonavla-Khandala, it is the spirited service and food provided by DQ's pantry.
Photograph: Rajesh Karkera
Also see: The train is a great leveler
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