On the Track of Happiness

As we stood on Panvel railway station last month watching the Janshatabdi to stop for passengers for Goa, we had never imagined the surprise that lay in store for us!

As we boarded the Executive Class coach placed right at the end of the train, the interiors of the coach simply took our breath away! The plush and cool green soothing  environs, the huge glass windows, comfortable seats, clean rest rooms and the entire interior filled us all with amazement!  It was much beyond our expectations of a regular AC Chair car with five star facilities and its cool coach comparable to the best maintained ones of world! My son and wife too cast appreciative glances with awe and bewilderment.

As soon as we settled in the cushy seats and gazed comfortably outside through huge windows on either side, an excitement surged through in anticipation of the wonderful journey ahead! The attendant was immediately by our side with offers for snacks and coffee etc. that took care of our hunger pangs on the way!  TV sets hanging aesthetically from the ceiling for entertainment of passengers, the ceiling made of glass panels made the coach look very bright and lively. The journey through the scenery of green foliage, piled wooden clogs, paths of cindery mud criss-crossed, the beauty of nature on all sides by mountains, water, green trees and our train joyously running on the track towards its destination was worth a feeling for our trip.

To add to it, our coach was attached with a deck at the rear end with glass panels all around to give a 270 degrees view. The  “Viewing Deck”, as I chose to call it is an excellent idea and one can  just gaze seeing tracks and endless tunnels passing by every now and then. Standing there for hours, I certainly went philosophical and realised that even though railway tracks travel for miles and miles together and never get a chance to meet, they still remain connected with thoughts and togetherness in the form of concrete channels & slabs between them to reach a desired destination. Isn’t life too like a train track, full of possibilities and happiness? When you stand on such decks, feel the rhythm of the train’s speed and watch tracks and tunnels pass by, you realize that the endless railway line gives all of us an opportunity to keep moving on. Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the track of history to wait for train of the future to run over him.

Each time we crossed a tunnel, that light at end of the tunnel literally excited us like kids.  The feeling of time getting confined like back holes in these tunnels to the call of infinity, teases and hope for eventual freedom in the end kept us glued to floor on the deck knowing very well that “the light at the end of the tunnel” could even be a monster (another train) ready to crush us. And each time we came out of tunnel, the inner peace, relief, happiness and hope kept getting manifested in all us. Didn’t we experience lessons of life from this? Yes, is my answer.

I like trains and I like their rhythm. This was an exceptional experience recommended for all who have plans to go to Goa. Though a bit expensive, the experience is certainly worth the price! A big Thumbs up to Indian Railways for this amazing journey on wheels! It was indeed a discovery for us as little did we know about this train for Goa before we experienced the beauty of that journey.