Sampark Kranti

That means 'communication revolution', if literally translated as a phrase. For those of you not in the know of India, it is a series of trains which, like the exclusive Rajdhanis, connect the nation's capital to various state capitals. That's just like the Rajdhanis, and in most cases, the number of intermediate stoppages are lesser in number, comparatively. However, unlike the Rajdhanis, it's not fully air-conditioned and meals are not part of the ticket's package. So there, now you know.

I just returned to my home - that is Delhi - by the Maharashtra Sampark Kranti. And as luck would have it, on the way I happened to have some really obnoxious co-passengers. There was this bunch of 7 youngsters, on their way to wherever, who just couldn't refrain from talking loudly while playing cards - which would have been fine, if they had shut the hell up during the night when I was trying desperately to sleep and not kept giving me regular updates about India's downward progression against England on their way out of the ICC World Twenty20.

Then there was this woman who got in from Borivali who was obsessed with the berths - as it turned out, she had an upper but wanted something lower. When she finally did manage to get herself a middle, she wanted to set it up at 8 (EIGHT!) - we managed to delay it to 9. Next, she gets up in the morning at about 6 but says: "Abhi nahi - aath baje". Politely but firmly, I inform her that the official timings are 9pm-6am. What I really wanted to tell her was: "baarah ghante? train tere baap ki hai kya?"

But co-passengers weren't the best or the worst parts of the journey. The best was after a chain pulling incident somewhere near Sawai Madhopur (that place in Rajasthan from where you go to Ranathambore), after which this guy got off the train with his skybag, only to be caught by a policeman who held him by the collar with his right hand and kept slapping him right across the face with his left, all the while dragging the offender to the rear end of the train. It all started right outside my window so all the more fun! The worst part? There was no water in the train since 6 in the morning, and the train was scheduled to reach at half past one. Thankfully, it was on time.

PS. Indian Railways should increase the speed of these somewhat special trains to match the Rajdhanis, since arrive at their stoppages and destinations significantly before time. Especially since it is really frustrating when you're made to wait outside a station as a penalty for being before time, and embarrasing when you're made to wait while the Rajdhani which you led all the way from Bombay to Baroda is allowed to pass.