Of People and Places

"For her the coming of tunnels meant she was home. They followed one after the other, three tunnels, black as existence, red streaks from the tunnel lights giving everyone and everything a tinge of unreality. The little boy in the berth looked particularly unearthly as he squirmed about,excited by this sudden darkness that descended on the compartment. A never ending darkness, while the train went about its determined way, and then sudden daylight, as if the tunnel was a dream." Every time I see a rail neer bottle, nostalgia engulfs me.  I spent 2017 in a daze, one train journey after another, going from Bangalore to Hoshangabad and back for a course in Children's book illustration. Months, as short as they are, really did run like rabbits, with one week spent in Hoshangabad and the rest of the time spent catching up with work and classes back in Bangalore. So, I could say I spent at least four - five  days a month in trains. A kind of home. Not to mention t...