Train to India from a Different Angle

Many people have focused on how corruption played a major role in our train ride. Unfortunately, and fortunately, I did not get to witness the scene. Just a couple of cars down, I witnessed something completely different. Because the train was packed, there weren't any available seats, so we ended up standing for a bit. What amazed me were the following actions. First, the conductor felt bad and he personally tried to create a seat for us in the aisle by putting some newspapers on top of a crate. Then, a mother got up and offered her seat so that we could at least eat. Suddenly, it was as if the second world of India was in this car as compared to the one where our tour guide was being harrassed. Many men and women either tried to make space or offered their seats to us and this amazed me since it's a rare event in the states. After some polite declines since it was, after all, their seats, a man said to me "We're men, and it doesn't look good if a woman is standing while we're sitting, so please sit." I finally sat, and rested my head for the last half of the trip. During this time, I was still very sick and had a terrible sore throat so I didn't get a chance to talk much, but I know my classmates had a wonderful experience meeting and getting to know their friendly train neighbors. It's just interesting that the concept of two Indias can fall into so many different contexts, and one such example was our train experience.