To stop train, pull chain.

* "Amma, If I pull the chain, the train will stop?" asked Mallika.
* History sure repeats itself, I remember asking my mother the same question when I was little.

* The shape of the red painted metal hasn't changed much over the years and surely the experience of travelling by train hasn't changed either.
* The familiar sound of 'Chaiya- Chai', Garama-Garam Chai'.
* Coolies with their red kurtas haggling with passengers for that extra 10 rupee note.

* Aromas of onion vadas, cutlets, masala dosas, coffee & tea mingling with the cool breeze of the air-contitioned coaches.

* The peeling paints, the typography, the condensation on the windows, the setting sun.

* Screaming babies, lullabying grannies, working-hard-on-the-laptop-techies, walkman or was it ipod listening teenagers and Mallika asking me for the 101th time, "When are we going to reach?" is such an awesome experience;-)

Like they say it's the journey not the destination that matters:-)