Platforms transformed into beehives,
With people swarming for their train drives,
Push, pull, run, jump, hop, scream, argue,
To name a few,
Are to be learnt to get into the train,
If you can keep your feet firm, it’s a great thing,
If you can cling to a train hook it’s a blessing,
If you get a seat, you are revered as a king,
Well, for all this to happen, one should know a bit about wrestling,
And, inside the train, it’s entirely refreshing,
As it’s a universe of diversity,
From poor to rich to celebrity,
From joy to sorrow,
From broom to groom,
From peanuts to biscuits,
From dabbas to machli,
From bhang to bhajans,
From bears to bulls,
From voyeur to raconteur,
From sharing to caring,
From comedy to tragedy,
A marketplace for people,
For cries, laughter and dreams,
For guns, germs and destinies,
A shelter home for myriad homeless,
A conference hall for current affairs,
Where time is money,
Where time never stops,
Where distance never matters,
Where life itself becomes worthless,
Nothing deters it,
As it keeps chugging from station to destination,
Not merely commuting people,
But reflecting on their emotion,
By bridging the past and present,
And giving hope to the future.
Rijesh Ramachandran is an engineer by education, traveller and blogger by passion.