Jagriti Yatra 2017: On board a train for social change, thoughts about journeys by rail

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of daily updates from on board the Jagriti Yatra — a 15-day train journey that traverses 8,000 kilometres across the country. This national train journey, one of the longest of its kind in the world, begins and ends in Mumbai. This cross-country jaunt will see youths from across India interact with a variety of business entrepreneurs and experts in Kanyakumari, Bengaluru, Nalanda, New Delhi and Ahmedabad among its many stops. Firstpost will bring you day-to-day coverage of this marathon journey. If all of humanity that had survived an apocalyptic event were to be confined to a train to stay alive, would you get on? I am not sure I would. A train carrying the last of humanity is the premise of Bong Joon-Ho’s film Snowpiercer where the tail section passengers rebel against the ruling classes on the train. As a journalist covering the longest train ride in the world — the Jagriti Yatra — I am travelling in the three-tier AC coach, while the ‘yatris (applicants)’ travel coach class, against the elements as it were, for the next 15 days. I wonder if they are planning to revolt against the authorities in the AC coaches. [caption id=“attachment_4277351” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  On board the Jagriti Yatra 2017. All photos courtesy Facebook/@jagritiyatra[/caption]

On a train, for so long, you have a lot of time to wonder. Despite the diabolic plot of the film I am thinking about and the hierarchy of comfort, there are no rigid boundaries on this train; instead there is constant movement, everyone moving up and down, to attend talks on topics like leadership or agriculture, go to the makeshift bathrooms, find friends, or food, exercise, etc. Friendships especially are being struck from cabin to crowded cabin. The last time I was in a train for so long I was still in school, and my plan usually was to stare out of the window or (if I had the upper berth) to just sleep. Over time, sleeping became the modus operandi, but this trip is so long I can’t sleep my way through it. Also there is so much excitement on the first day, as we travel down the scenic Konkan coast to Kanyakumari. Two British visual artists, meanwhile, work on beautifying the inside. Origami stars, present boxes, along with plastic flowers hang from their cabin’s ceiling by the evening. Two Bengali artists travelling with them have spread out their wares for anyone interested in buying.

Travellers have been handed hangers and rope so they can spread out their clothes after washing, and if you have to move through the train, you have to maneuver around this obstacle course. Train toilets that barely have any standing space, are doubling up as bathrooms for some. In the makeshift bathrooms, people hand over buckets and mugs over the cubicles to each other. The pantry is almost constantly sending out food for the passengers, phone chargers are shared, pictures are clicked, songs are sung and played. And if you are looking for conversation, you will never run out. There are stories from Telangana to Rajasthan of farmers, student initiatives, of startups, and of people whose lives have been transformed by the yatra. On the second day, 26 December, we will arrive in Kanyakumari. The train is running behind schedule, and the stop is an addition this year as the Yatra marks its tenth anniversary. Firstpost is riding along with the Jagriti Yatra. We’ll be publishing daily updates from the journey. Stay tuned.