There is something called unreserved coaches in Indian Railways. Travelling in these coaches will cost you the least. There’s a catch, though. The seats are to be taken on a first come, first serve basis. That means there is no guarantee that you will have a place to sit. General bogies tend to be very crowded but, if you are a woman, you might try getting into another coach called ladies bogie. These work on a first come, first serve basis as well, but since the number of female travellers is comparatively less, you have a greater chance of finding a seat. I am in this mess because I didn’t buy myself a ticket for a reserved coach. Since I had to travel I decided to try the ladies bogie, which to my misfortune, was crowded as well. I boarded the train anyway. The coach is tiny. They always are. I was neck to neck, sweat to sweat, with my fellow passengers. But things were fine. Things were tolerable. The problem started with a woman sitting on the floor (because obviously we don’t have enough seats). She had blocked my way to the exit, which was fine, because there was still time until my destination. I assumed that she would get up when the train came to a halt at the station. I forget how uncommon common sense is. Ultimately when we told her to stand and make way, she took an eternity to do it. It was as if she were in slow motion. By the time she cleared enough space for us to move ahead, the passengers on the other side had already started to rush in. The result of her stupidity? Absolute chaos. Hinterland
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