This is one of my favorite photos—not because it was planned, but because it wasn’t. A spontaneous moment captured during what might have been my first solo trip.
Straight out of college, with a scrunched pocket and no fixed plan, I took a train from Ahmedabad to Ajmer, Ajmer to Delhi, Delhi to Amritsar, back to Delhi, Delhi to Agra, to Lucknow, and back.
What started as a simple journey to explore new places turned into something much bigger.
I didn’t just see India. I learned India.
Why Train Journeys Are the Best Kind of Journeys
You know why train journeys are magical?
Because they give you a chance to connect with a stranger and then talk about that stranger to your family.
Because some of the best recommendations, the most unexplored places, the hidden gems—don’t come from guidebooks. They come from conversations with strangers in motion.
I still remember sitting by the window, watching the landscape change—deserts blending into fields, rivers flowing under bridges, cities rising and falling in the distance.
And then, a conversation starts. A local, a fellow traveler, a stranger who shares a piece of their world. Before you know it, you’re writing down names of places you never knew existed.
That’s India. A country that unfolds best when you let it.
India Dreams Differently
Allow me to say this—India dreams differently.
That’s what makes us one of a kind.
Take that first trip. Go learn about the culture and music of the Northeast.
Head south—eat the most delicious food, stand before the architectural marvels of our temples.
