On my train ride from Thanjavur, I groaned inwardly when I saw the HUGE, noisy, talkative Goan family with screaming kids I had to endure for 13 hours. To top it off, they insisted on playing Bryan Adams, Elton John and the like on full volume. Anyone who knows me even remotely will know that right now I am not in a place in my life to appreciate such stuff, and every song brought tears to my eyes, much as I tried to control it. Oblivious to my grief, they continued to sing along and play cards.
Soon we started talking - they were first-time tourists to Bangalore, and were full of questions about the city. Their enthusiasm knew no bounds. For some strange reason, the first place they wanted to visit was Big Bazaar and they were super excited about it. They had nowhere specific to go in Bangalore and knew no one there. Their plan was to ask the cab guy for a decent hotel, if you please. Now I dont know whether they were willfully stupid or plain innocent but I felt I just couldnt let that happen. So we called up a bunch of hotels and zeroed in on Kormangala Residency, and they invited me to tour the city with them..
By the end of the journey, I felt like Ive known them forever. We spoke about every single possible thing - the recession, the IT sector, keeping pets at home, multiculturality, politics, cuisines, water sports, music, movies, books, marriage, my work, their work - their affection was really overwhelming. I really didnt need anything, but right from getting me coffee to carrying my bag to finding a spot to charge my laptop to giving me their spare blankets to leaving the lights on just for me to sharing their dinner.... Usually I avoid talking to strangers, but somehow with these people I felt I was at home. These people were really really kind.
They were a big family of around 15 and their dynamic was amazing. From what I could see, it was so easy, and everyone seemed to be perfectly at ease with all else. No snide remarks, no sarcasm, no spite, I loved it. Each one was really considerate of others. Tempers did fly at times thanks to the kids, but sorries always followed perfectly naturally. The rows abated as quickly as they arose. No grudges, no sulking. The men and women seemed somehow equal, you know? But the best part was the conversations - each seemed to be at a different level with one another but they always managed to find common ground. Now this is something not easy to spot or observe, but it was SO obvious in their case it was really hard to miss.
I know 13 hours is nothing and what seems to me to be the case need not be true, but still, it was something to see them joke and laugh throughout the journey. The amount they laughed (and made me laugh) was something you don't see too often. I was really sad to say goodbye and it would be great if on each train journey you meet such nice people.
I feel stupid when I remember how I had so quickly judged them and dismissed them as "noise" at first....Noise is not always bad I guess:)
Soon we started talking - they were first-time tourists to Bangalore, and were full of questions about the city. Their enthusiasm knew no bounds. For some strange reason, the first place they wanted to visit was Big Bazaar and they were super excited about it. They had nowhere specific to go in Bangalore and knew no one there. Their plan was to ask the cab guy for a decent hotel, if you please. Now I dont know whether they were willfully stupid or plain innocent but I felt I just couldnt let that happen. So we called up a bunch of hotels and zeroed in on Kormangala Residency, and they invited me to tour the city with them..
By the end of the journey, I felt like Ive known them forever. We spoke about every single possible thing - the recession, the IT sector, keeping pets at home, multiculturality, politics, cuisines, water sports, music, movies, books, marriage, my work, their work - their affection was really overwhelming. I really didnt need anything, but right from getting me coffee to carrying my bag to finding a spot to charge my laptop to giving me their spare blankets to leaving the lights on just for me to sharing their dinner.... Usually I avoid talking to strangers, but somehow with these people I felt I was at home. These people were really really kind.
They were a big family of around 15 and their dynamic was amazing. From what I could see, it was so easy, and everyone seemed to be perfectly at ease with all else. No snide remarks, no sarcasm, no spite, I loved it. Each one was really considerate of others. Tempers did fly at times thanks to the kids, but sorries always followed perfectly naturally. The rows abated as quickly as they arose. No grudges, no sulking. The men and women seemed somehow equal, you know? But the best part was the conversations - each seemed to be at a different level with one another but they always managed to find common ground. Now this is something not easy to spot or observe, but it was SO obvious in their case it was really hard to miss.
I know 13 hours is nothing and what seems to me to be the case need not be true, but still, it was something to see them joke and laugh throughout the journey. The amount they laughed (and made me laugh) was something you don't see too often. I was really sad to say goodbye and it would be great if on each train journey you meet such nice people.
I feel stupid when I remember how I had so quickly judged them and dismissed them as "noise" at first....Noise is not always bad I guess:)
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