The allure of the train.

Well, it dates back to the time when my parents and me would board the charminar express to chennai during the smmer holidays. It was a real excitement for me...I would be jumping around the house, counting the days to board the train, yes train journey always fascinated me as long I got the window seat which I ususally did. My father would take me to the front of the train and show me the engine. Seeing the big, monstrous beauty was a real experience.
I remember one of the days when we visited the public gardens(hyderabad) and I could see some unused coaches lying around. I went around the coach and tried climbing it successfully(I was very small then.) and it felt great to look down on my father standing on the ground. The southern railway timetable is another thing that kept me hooked in my preteen years. Any train journey, I had to have that book, checking if the train is on time, comparing the average speeds of different trains on that route. reading and rereading the general information provided behind the timetable.
And now as a 21 year old, the passion still remains, but the experience is much more subtle...getting up at 3 am in the train and standing at the door and just admiring the rustic scenery that passes along, contemplating on a wide variety of topics and feeling the wind blow on my face..ah..I would get that experience nowherelse, except maybe while coasting along the ECR on my racing cycle...but that's another story altogether