The traveller in me-1

What is that which inspires or interests me is something which I always search for. I do not have a perfect answer. But still I would tell that it is mobility. I hate the stagnancy and loneliness of living inside four walls. And just like water,I am good when I flow and am unpleasant when I pool down somewhere.
I was born with a peculiar love for trains, railway lines and stations. In my childhood, whenever I got to travel overnight to north kerala or tamil nadu, I had a peculiar habit. I used to stay glued to the window to take note of every station which we pass on the route and record the time at which I reached that particular station. Newer stations and railway lines merging and coupling at junctions interested me. i used to run to the door to see rivers and lakes under railway bridges.But I never howled when we passed through tunnels. Truth is that I still do watch such stuff with the same awe I had when I was a kid. The change in the geography when we crossed the Western ghats from Palakkad to Coimbatore or kollam to Chencottah created a rare happiness in me. I used to visit one of my relative's house just because I was so excited about the whistle and sounds of the trains and the awesome sight of the blue trains pacing through the rail near their home.

I used to love trying the permutations of trains one can catch for reaching one's destination. One example was when I wanted to go home in the midst of one of my summer internships. I somehow reached Chennai central station and understood that the last train westward , Cheran is my only hope. I entered the train to see the horror of people being literally packed watertight in the compartment. I became yet another part of the big pile of people. Train passed Arakonam and Jolar pettai. My calculation was being proved wrong. There was more influx of travellers than outflow. So due to the sheer lack of oxygen inside the compartment, I got down at Salem. Then I saw Lokmanya Tilak-Coimbatore shunting into the station. I got into a sleeper compartment. Here I got sympathy of some Kannadiga couple to use their berths as they were alighting at Erode. Now I was happy that I got a two hour sleep till Kovai. At Coimbatore, I had to make a quick decision. Due to the westward trains avoiding Coimbatore junction, I never had a train to reach Kerala from Coimbatore... except a passenger. This train literally linked me with the main line of Kerala. This train is very popular in North Kerala..The Coimbatore-Mangalore passenger. At last I reached Shornur. From there I got the Proud Day Express of Kerala, Parashuram express, struggling in the congestion of which I reached home.
For a normal person, this would have been tiresome. But I was very happy for it.The child like joy of having tried out more trains for a routine homeward journey was making me brimming with joy.