It was an uncomfortable position, my upper torso leaning onto a pillar, coldness of the platform seeped in through the jeans & froze my buttocks. To add to it, I was holding my mobile on my right hand like the statue of liberty, while it got charged from the power plug high up on the pillar. I was fighting mosquitoes & heavy eyelids.

This  was almost a month back, when i did spend a night on the Jaipur railway platforms, while waiting for my train to Chittorgarh and again on my way back to Delhi. Naturally, i now know the best place in the platform to charge my mobile phone & laptop and elude mosquitoes while taking a short nap 😉

pic above: Jaipur railway station

This time, i managed to be-friend the IRCTC cafe in-charge and got the battery of my electronic instruments charged while waiting for my 02:30 train to Ahmedabad. I hardly slept on the train journey till Jaipur, thanks to a family travelling without prior reservations. Naturally, I was looking forward to sleep on my train-ride to Ahmedabad, rather snore through it.

The train to Ahmedabad was a Superfast starting from Agra. The public address system was very poor at Jaipur railway station that I almost missed my train – had to jump across tracks to board into the already moving train.

The train journey wasn’t comfortable at all. The temperature inside the train was too cold for me, and my jacket was too small to shield me completely. I shivered through the night, another sleepless night.

A group of eleven people including a Hindu couple travelled in my coupé. They glorified the ideology of secularism. They shared food, blankets, talked, laughed & travelled together! The fact that Gujarat is known for its Hindu-Muslim riots in the past, made their relationship more beautiful (or should i say sacred?).

pic: my breakfast for Rs.20

It was hard to say when we entered Gujarat. Both Rajasthan & Gujarat looked the same outside the window. Time moved like a snail while i captured, rather devoured the landscape outside my window. Fortunately i could capture some of them for you, my dear reader.

pic above (left): First view of Gujarat.  (right) Women of Steel!
pic below: through the emergency exit (for her or me?) window

pic above (left): a temple by the track; (right): a dry river bed & two bridges

pic below: Its all about Perception!

Pic above: Sabarmati!

And finally it happened, touchdown @ Ahmedabad – one hour late, under the bright, hot Sun!

Read on or rather, travel with me here: Chalo Patang Udaane – in search of Amdavad (I)

This post is in continuation with my previous post: Chalo Patang Udaane!-the train journey till Jaipur