Travelogues

On the trail of the Buddha, I discover a train – the Maha Parinirvan Special and a unique journey begins. Here on the Buddhist circuit in India - a tour that will cover Bodh Gaya, the Mahabodhi Temple, Nalanda, Rajgir, Sarnath, Khushinagar, Lumbhini (Nepal) as also the footsteps of the Buddha through Stupas, monasteries, Buddhist universities and even Buddhist museums.
That such a holy trail of peace, self-discovery and religious travel in India could be so simple just beats description - but it is true and it all began here, at the Safdarjung Station in New Delhi.

As the day dozes into dusk at 7pm on 30th  April, 2007; a friend and I are at the Safdarjung railway station. The ambience is set with Buddhist melodies, chants and enthusiastic fanfare. Maha Parinirvan Special gently chugs off towards its first destination – Gaya in the state of Bihar in India.

Morning of May 1st - On trains here in India, there’s an unsaid rule - ‘the early bird gets the loo!’ Which miraculously should have turned all bright and shiny form the puddley mess it was overnight? Expectations run high – obvious sleep-walkers driven by some Pavlovian urge, mother’s waking protesting children, people darting in, multiple glances at the loo - morning energies spent timing an entry to this coveted cubicle - success savoured and pompously shared; I’ve never been able to figure this one out.

I’m a morning person, you’ll find me all bright eyed and bushy tailed, up at what many of my friends call 'wearingly early'. So did the 1st of May (labour day!) find me, welcoming the sun through the dust stained train windows. The train is naturally late (I’d be seriously stressed if it were on time) happily I settle down to writing, with villages rushing by, bright shiny fields washed with a young sun, life outside in ‘restart’ mode - the magic of a train journey that air travel can never take away.