Your Train is Running Late

This story is about various problems which one can encounter while travelling by trains; especially during a long distance journey. More often than not, the train never runs on time. A slight disturbance in weather causes inordinate delay in train timings. The lack of concept of ‘customer service’ among the railway staffs, vendors, railway police, etc. further compound the problem and take the joy out of traveling. There are two key protagonists in this novel. One of them is a middle class person while another is a migrant laborer. Both of them face almost similar problems but each of them has his own way to visualize and tackle a particular problem. But the migrant laborer faces more problems because of his socio-economic status. But the same socio-economic status enables him to derive more pleasure from mundane things. Both the protagonists are travelling by the same train but are travelling in different classes. Both of them get almost similar pain due to inordinately long duration of the journey. However, both of them keep on their nerves to withstand the agonies of the journey and finally end up as satisfied passengers when they reach their final destination. One of the protagonists is a middle class person working at middle level position in some private company at Delhi. Another protagonist is a migrant laborer from Bihar who lives with three other friends in a slum in Delhi. The first protagonist is traveling to Bihar for the festival of Holi; along with his family. The second protagonist is also traveling by the same train and for the same purpose but he is going to meet his family. The first protagonist is going by the air-conditioned class while another guy is going by the sleeper class. Both of them face difficulties while getting confirmed tickets for the journey. However, availability of a travel agent makes it somewhat easier for the second character. The train is running behind its schedule and hence both of them are forced to wait for their train for about ten hours on the waiting lounge of the railway station. During their journey, they face numerous other problems; in the form of shoddy quality of food, greedy railway staffs and further delay during the journey. They make many friends during the journey and share their thoughts, happiness and sorrow with their fellow passengers. They get to interact with some of the unique characters during their journey. After going through all the trials and tribulations, they successfully reach their respective destinations. The train takes more than thirty hours to complete its journey against the stipulated schedule of about twenty hours. If waiting period is included then their tale of horror lasts for more than forty hours. This story tells about the numerous difficulties faced by common people in their day-to-day life. We should not forget that we are living in a country where a simple task like crossing the road can be life threatening.