I wanted to put up a short post today to highlight an event that to me was quite special and meaningful and really is what makes a trip unique and fun. I almost included this in the previous post, but thought that it deserved its own. One of the things about being on your own is that you have the flexibility just to get up and go somewhere else one day whether for fun or for the project. A downside though is that you are always traveling alone. That is what makes it special when strangers reach out and take you in as a friend.
That’s what this post is about. Now I understand that when traveling you have to be careful and wary of who you trust and with what, but at the same time you cannot be too afraid or paranoid or else you will miss on special opportunities that can really make a trip. The day after I went to Agra I had such an experience. A last minute e-mail from a member of the Central Building Research Institute called me up to Roorkee for an afternoon to visit the Institute and learn what they are doing. I have already discussed some of this in my previous post on what a sustainable building is in India, and so I will not discuss that here. Instead what made the day special was what happened on the way back to Delhi.
As usual, I had taken a book with me to occupy myself on the 4 hour train ride. I sat in my upper berth reading and from time to time watching the people across and below sleeping, chatting away in Hindi, or occasionally playing cards. I had not heard any English on my way into the train, and no one seemed keen to talk with me, so I had figured I would settle on my book at least for a while. However after about an hour, I was startled up from my reading by a voice below. “Would you like some dinner?”
Politely, I declined, figuring that it was an offer of politeness and not necessarily a true invitation. Besides, a warning in my head about drugged sweets on trains to Varanasi made me a bit wary and so I figured I would pass. But this speaker was persistence. They asked again and showed me the food, ready on a plate, and being shared by several others in their group. After thinking it over, I figured that the worst that could happen was that they would demand money at the end. So why not, I thought, and dropped down from my bunk to join them at their crowded bench.
With big smiles they squished me into their seating area, right in the middle, and watched joyfully as I ate the food they put before me. The patriarch of the group explained that they were a group of 175 in total from Ahmedabad in Gujarat returning from a religious pilgrimage to Haridwar. For the long journey they had packed food but had extra and were happy to share and so invited me in to join. They asked what I was doing in India, and I explained myself, and then we talked for the rest of the ride (about 3 hours) on various subjects—India, America, engineering, religion, politics, and a host of others that I cannot now remember. One by one, they fetched the members of their group to come by and say hello, and in some cases snap a photo.
The whole experience was great, and at the end I was a bit saddened to say goodbye to my new friends who had so quickly and genuinely welcomed me into their family group, fed me, and made the ride much more enjoyable. We exchanged e-mails and phone numbers, and I promised to send the pictures and call if or when I made it down to Ahmedabad. Bidding them a safe journey, I headed on my way and left them to continue down the tracks to Gujarat.
As I said, you have to take some precaution when traveling alone, but if you don’t take a few chances, you won’t meet friendly people as I did. It is amazing how often on this trip I have made new friends who just come into my life for a few hours and then are not to be seen or heard from again. Yet these encounters make the trip far more enjoyable, less lonely, and provide memories that are unique to my trip to India (or wherever).
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