Home » India

What to do in the middle of nowhere ?

21 September 2010 19 Comments

What do you do when your train halts in the middle of nowhere ?
I see stories and click pictures or vice versa.

On the way to Aurangabad my train had halted a few times in the middle of the fields. Perhaps somebody had pulled chain, a usual practice in India to get down if your village or town is far from regular railway station. A very bad practice, I hate it but no one can really do much about it. These people do get penalized sometimes but mostly they run into fields before guard or anybody else catches them.

On one such instance when our train got stationed for a few seconds, I could see vast expanse of the green lush velvet carpet and a few houses at a distance and behind those houses were monsoon clouds and mist kissing the mountains.
A perfect landscape picture.

The people who got down were hurriedly moving away from the train. I could also see some cattle feasting on the green grass provided by nature and wanted to click them.

train @lemonicks.com

I prayed that the train doesn’t move & waited for people to go out of my frame…

train @lemonicks.com

so that I can do my work….

train @lemonicks.com

I made some noises to make them look at me but for them the feast was more tempting than a photo session with me.

And then as I turned towards left, I suddenly saw this man. I didn’t notice what he was doing but the contrast of his shirt against the green background was good enough for me to press the shutter.
I think he was taken aback when he noticed camera in my hand and he put his hands in the front.

I had already clicked. Later I realized he was relieving himself in the open. He would not have thought that the train will halt and a crazy woman will have a camera ready just in front of him.

train @lemonicks.com

Ignore his ability to fertile the land and enjoy the landscape. :)

—
There are many ways to be in touch with me. Shoot a mail or contact me , subscribe to my videos on Youtube.
For regular personal updates, subscribe to this website by e-mail or on your reader. For those small stories and tit-bits that don’t always make it to this place check out my Twitter or Facebook accounts.

Posts related to this entry which might interest you :-

 


19 Comments »

  • Samaresh Biswal said:

    can’t do any thing people think train is thr own property . good train stopped at a scenic place . love th greenery all around

    # 21 September 2010 at 9:22 PM
  • Fida said:

    See,if the train would not have been stopped, you couldn’t have made these beautiful landscape photos ;-D

    Some of our trains in Canada that go into the wilderness can be flagged down in places were there is no trains stations for miles and miles, and they officially stop if you let the conductor know where you want to leave.
    Fida´s last [post] ..Sep 21- I wonderMy ComLuv Profile

    # 21 September 2010 at 11:36 PM
  • A said:

    Beautiful pictures and I cannot stop laughing at the last part.

    # 22 September 2010 at 5:18 AM
  • Renu said:

    Lovely pictures and smiling at the mainpastime of indian men:)
    Renu´s last [post] ..Effects of marriageMy ComLuv Profile

    # 22 September 2010 at 9:25 AM
  • Manish Kumar said:

    Great snaps..loved the greenery.
    Manish Kumar´s last [post] ..दीघा यात्रा समापन किश्त – वो अविस्मरणीय सुबह की सैर जो हमें ले गई बंगाल से उड़ीसा !My ComLuv Profile

    # 22 September 2010 at 8:51 PM
  • Nisha (author) said:

    Samaresh,
    The whole route was green because of heavy rains but the real fun or adventure started when I was on the road. :D

    Fida,
    Ha Ha…
    I made a few videos as well.

    And that’s a good idea but doesn’t it delay the other passengers ? How do they keep track of arrival time at any station?

    # 23 September 2010 at 12:10 PM
  • Nisha (author) said:

    A,
    Hee hee… I am very imaginative person. Give me anything and I’ll have a funny story around it.
    But this one didn’t need any imaginations. It was there in front of me in the open. :D

    BTW, I have read your posts, just not able to comment. Will do so soon.

    Another travel on the cards. I travel more than I write here. :D

    # 23 September 2010 at 12:13 PM
  • Nisha (author) said:

    Renu,
    The whole of India does it and sometimes I am so pissed off that I want to approach them while they are at it and elbow and say, “Hey dude ! What’s up?”. :P

    Manish,
    Thank you. :D

    # 23 September 2010 at 12:15 PM
  • A said:

    Nisha,

    Don’t worry about comments. A lot of times, there is really nothing to comment. Just stay in touch – drop in for saying Hi.

    # 25 September 2010 at 6:48 AM
  • Fida said:

    There are not too many people travelling like that. These routes often have only one train per day, and trains in Canada travel pretty slow, so it’s easy to flag them down. And if you want to leave the train you just let the conductor know and they stop the train for you.
    Fida´s last [post] ..Sep 25- Mural Photos Ashcroft BCMy ComLuv Profile

    # 25 September 2010 at 1:05 PM
  • Zhu said:

    What do you mean by pulled chain? Like the emergency stop?

    Nonetheless, the scenery is beautiful. And so green!
    Zhu´s last [post] ..5 Weather Photography Tips VMy ComLuv Profile

    # 27 September 2010 at 4:56 AM
  • Ms.N said:

    Haha, more unbelievable that you actually posted the photo of the man. I agree, train travel is so much fun and there is so muhc going on.

    I just came back from a 10 hr, one stop flight and Oh god, it was boring!!! Especially, given the pathetic movie selection… i was ready to cry!

    # 27 September 2010 at 9:06 PM
  • neeraj said:

    Re: the relieving man- it is said that India is the largest “toilet” in the world…! Sad, no?
    neeraj´s last [post] ..Picture of the Week 56My ComLuv Profile

    # 28 September 2010 at 8:31 AM
  • Charu said:

    ouch! nobody is safe when a blogger with a camera is on the prowl :)
    Charu´s last [post] ..Have trumpet- will blowMy ComLuv Profile

    # 30 September 2010 at 9:48 AM
  • Nisha (author) said:

    A,
    Hi. :D

    Fida,
    I liked the idea but it isn’t possible in India with such a network.

    # 2 October 2010 at 5:17 PM
  • Nisha (author) said:

    Zhu,
    Yes, pulling of chain means emergency stop. :)

    And I just came to know they stop trains in Canada too but officially.

    # 2 October 2010 at 5:37 PM
  • Nisha (author) said:

    Ms N,
    Ha ha… I am even capable of capturing a video of the act and telling them abt that. :P

    I agree, 10 hour is bit too much for a non stop flight but better than if your plane has developed a tech snag and a 8 & 1/2 hour flight time turns into a 24 hour ordeal. :D

    # 2 October 2010 at 5:42 PM
  • Nisha (author) said:

    Neeraj,
    Largest toilet ?… at times I am a bit apprehensive of letting others know of my citizenship. :P

    Charu,
    *chuckles* :D

    # 2 October 2010 at 5:54 PM
  • Le Monde – A Poetic Travail » Blog Archive » Feedback time said:

    [...] & tips for visiting a place? This I am going to do anyway. d) Some unusual things that I observed during my trips? e) Some more interactions and stories of local people, food & culture. f) More [...]

    # 16 November 2010 at 12:27 AM

Leave your response!

Add your comment below, or trackback from your own site. You can also subscribe to these comments via RSS.

Be nice. Keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

CommentLuv Enabled

You can use these tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

This is a Gravatar-enabled weblog. To get your own globally-recognized-avatar, please register at Gravatar.