My first Indian train journey was life-changing

You don’t, at first, realise that your life can change on a train. And I’m not talking about the romanticised version of life-changing, the Before Sunrise one where you meet a gorgeous European backpacker and embark on an evening of intense conversation. I’m talking about your entire world view being rocked, just by getting from A to B.

Of course, this takes place in India because where else is a train carriage an entire universe, filled with humanity and all its quirks and foibles?

I’m 24 years old, I’m travelling alone, I’ve been in Chennai for a few days, and I’m moving clear across the country to Mumbai. That’s 24 hours of travel by rail, a second-class ticket to the world’s greatest show.

I’ve booked a top bunk, not because I’m clever, but purely through dumb luck. I realise this as I take in the layout of the six-seater space, where three passengers sit upright on each bottom bunk, before converting to night mode, when two more bunks are pulled out above them.

The uppermost bunk is accessible at all times, given it is above head height, so if that’s your allocated spot you can crawl on up there any time of day and watch the goings-on of the carriage from relative safety.

And what goings-on there are, at least to this India novice. Great floods of people move on and off the train at each station as we chug through the baking countryside. There’s a whole universe out there to watch through the window, millions of lives, infinite stories existing by the sides of tracks, but there’s a world to witness inside the carriage too, a rich cross-section of Indian society in various states of relaxation or stress.

The family sharing my space also offer to share their food. I can’t resist a sample, it smells so good. There’s a guy who moves up and down the carriage at regular intervals selling chai – it’s the equivalent of 30 cents a cup, I can’t help lightening his load every time he comes past.

In fact there’s a constant stream of people selling things, peddlers who jump on at one station and alight at the next. They sell food, samosas, biryani, pre-packed curries with rice. They have newspapers, little fans, soft drinks, coffee.