[Points: Place of journey—scenes at the platform—scenes in the compartment—sights on the way—destination.]
I had recently an occasion to go from Calcutta to Madhupur. My train was to leave Howrah at 10 a.m. As I was a second class passenger, I reached the station about an hour earlier.
It was a scene of noise and bustle. Groups of people, sitting around their belongings, talked and laughed among themselves. Hawkers were crying out with shrill voice to vend their goods. Por ters pushed their way through with heavy loads on their heads and something additional to their hands.
As soon as the train was put on the platform, there began a tremendous rush for seats in second class compartments. I managed to get a seat on a side bench of a small compartment. But it became so crowded in a few minutes that there was hardly any moving space.
At last the whistle blew and the train began to move. I struck up acquaintance with two young men sitting by me. They were students of City College, and were going to Deoghar. We soon became friends with one another. As the train moved on we enjoyed the sights on the way. Bullock carts laden with goods were moving on heavily along dusty road. Village girls were bathing or washing clothes in ponds full of moss and weeds. Bare-bodied youngsters tended cows, while grown-ups were busy in their fields.
The train reached Asansol at about I p.m. My new friends and I shared our tiffin among ourselves. Leaving Asansol, we noticed the Indian Iron and Steel Works at Burnpore, a short way off.
After Sitarampur, a distant change was noticed to the landscape. The fields were undulating and were full of shrubs and small trees here and there. The soil was reddish. At Chittaranjan we saw at a short distance the great Chittaranjan Locomotive Works that helped to make us self-sufficient in the matter of railway engines.
When the train reached Madhupur, I saw my friend Mahendra waiting on the platform with his mother. They greeted me heartily. Bidding farewell to my train-friends, I got down with my luggage and reached Mahendra's house at about five in the evening. Thus I came to my journey's end.
