And down goes another train....

Read in the papers today that Bihar youths burnt some coaches of a train after they were denied permission to board without a ticket.... I was surprised actually.. Not by the fact that somebody torched a train but that someone in that train had the guts to stand up to these guys.
As far as I remember trains passing through Bihar have always invoked thoughts..serious ones at that...and discussions across the dinner table. What if someone tells you to give them your seat? Or if someone says its their "right" to travel without a ticket as they are daily passengers? Or how about when someone asks somebody who is merrily sleeping (or even pretending to do so) to get up or else...
The answer to all the above question, according to my mom is "you oblige baba...Why should you create more problems talking to hooligans?" Hmm..well so far even I think that is true. Haven’t actually found any evidence to the contrary.
Once my sister had said something to some college kids in a Benaras bound train...and they retorted back to my parents...that my mom n dad should teach us how to behave. And when these things don’t work for them they use the age old...respect-your-elders-coz they-are-so-frail tactics. This elderly couple got on Purba Express and started crying that they are only going to travel for 2 hours and the people on the train are so uncourteous that they cant even offer the lady a seat. Needless to say, people did give them their seat..and as expected they travelled just 6 hours more than what they had promised... No big difference of course...
I should not feel badly towards any part of the country (hulllllohhh!!! I’m staying in Shiv Sena land). But I think they should draw the line somewhere. We pay the tickets for our nice, comfortable journey..and in emergencies I’m sure that more than half the people on any train would come to help them. Maybe someone can tell them the story of the boy who cried wolf...

PICTURE COURTESY: THE HINDU

Apple on cheeks and cherry on trees

What makes Dharamshala a place worth going to is not its scenic beauty but the people. The first thing i noticed, was the residents (often) one-dimensional existence. They literally eat, drink, talk peace and Tibet. Spend few hours there and you start believing in their cause.One should not shop there (unless you have loads of extra money to waste, deliberately paying Rs 500 for something which actually costs Rs 90)..But what could be done is a trek to the waterfalls..the falls itself is not extra-ordinarily beautiful. But the walk throught the hills to reach the falls...with little crevaces shaped like huts, the odd-palm reader sleeping on the way, and the ever present throng of youngsters..makes your day.Since, we were invited by the government-in-exile, we could go to most of the places which is still off bounds. But the musueum, Medical centre is open to all.The most amazing thing there was perhaps the Refugee Centre where Ama Adhe resides. She is perhaps older than my grandmother (and looks an awful lot like her too) and had escaped from Tibetan prison and now is the source of inspiration to many in this land away from home. Every month hundreds of people stumble up the rickety steps to the building and find a place to stay and people to care about.The Tibetan Children's Village (TCV) is a sight. If anyone likes kids...(of any shape, size, colour, temperament)..they would love this place. Tiny munchkins keep running around the huge school yard, the not so tiny girls look up admiringly at the senior boys, while the soon-to-be adults go around dancing to their hip-hop numbers. Its "phoren" land in the middle of the most peaceful place. And when the kids take your hand and take you inside their room, you suddenly wish they would not let go.Of course, the whole atmosphere is great..cool..breezy..everything nice. Going to Dharamsala..even if one never got to see even the robe of the Dalai Lama..is something worth your time..