From riding the rails to cruising the skies

I distinctly remember the train journey's from my childhood - the second class compartments, the suitcases, the chains and the locks, the coolies, the chai wallahas, the bhelpuri bhaiya, the smelly toilets, the TTs, the paper plates, the card games, the pooris, the pickles, the pakoras, the kulhar wali chai, fights over sleeping on the berths of choice, the layer of dust on faces early morning....the entire jingbang just flashed in front of my eyes for a few seconds as I waited for my flight at the Newark Liberty International Airport today. Such train expeditions were a part of my growing up....every summer my brother and I looked forward to these travels...

Why these random thoughts on an airport?

So as I waited at the airport today, I observed a woman. She was traveling with another lady (probably her friend - since they chattered all along). After hours of talking, she felt exhausted and took out a cereal bar (something similar to grainy, nutty - indian chikki) from her purse. She gobbled it all down her throat without even looking at her friend. And I thought, had she done this in India, this 'Miss woman' would have earned a title of miss rude and miss ill-mannered by now...Her behavior was the reason I was reminded of my train travels. There wasn't a single train ride when my brother and I did not make friends with a few other kids in our compartment. We played, we giggled, we fought, we cried and yet....we shared. One glance from our parents, and we knew that we were supposed to offer our favorite cream biscuits and Eclairs to the newly met friends on the train.

In India, goodies are offered to even the strangers traveling with you. And here, let alone the people traveling together, but even the family members do not offer their own food to others in the group. Surprises me...No infact scares me...Do I want to spend the rest of my life in a land unknown to me?