When Mumbai resident Omkar Divekar began his 16-day journey with his two friends Rajat Bhargava and Samarth Mahajan on Mar. 9, little did he know that his trip would soon be followed closely by a lot of people on Twitter.
As Divekar began live-tweeting his encounters with fellow passengers, his conversations have attracted a lot of attention. "The idea was to understand the attitude of the commuters of general compartments and the kind of compromises that these passengers make," Divekar said. The friends are mostly travelling in the general compartment, the cheapest option available on Indian Railways.
So today I embark on a 16 day train journey throughout India with a couple of friends which looks a bit like this. pic.twitter.com/3nQRik7Jxx— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 9, 2016
And we are off! Next stop, Okha. For now, it's goodbye Mumbai! :D pic.twitter.com/QJ4mctfXki— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 9, 2016
The three friends are travelling to about 17 states in India, covering a distance of 12,000 km. They started their journey at Mumbai's Bombay Central station and will travel to the four extremes of India, including Baramula in Jammu and Kashmir, Dibrugarh in Assam, Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, before finally returning to Mumbai. The three friends, who all work at a film production house in Mumbai, say they were curious about "people travelling in general all over the country."
Divekar's tweets are a mix of funny observations, conversations with other passengers and views of the changing landscapes outside.
The general compartment, right now. Feels like anything but general to me. pic.twitter.com/icxvKprZ9j— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 9, 2016
And it's a lovely morning here in Gujarat, our train has crossed a station called Than. pic.twitter.com/QcT02SS1nM— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 10, 2016
And we have hit the salt pans of Gujarat! Reaching Dwaraka in a few minutes. pic.twitter.com/ULkNW3ojMA— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 10, 2016
With that we have reached the westernmost point of Indian Railways, Okha. pic.twitter.com/rDiziILich— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 10, 2016
Day 4. Another beautiful morning. #unreserved pic.twitter.com/t66XZ4ghz3— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 12, 2016
I woke up to this today and it felt like I was on planet Earth for the first time in my life. #unreserved pic.twitter.com/EzVw2MWgMr— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 13, 2016
Just by the way, this is what we woke up to in Banihal. Never seen a prettier sight. #unreserved pic.twitter.com/uqrsJUsZK5— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 15, 2016
Others describe the joys of local food and onboard entertainment.
Just had some lovely dhokla and puri sabji that we had picked up from Rajkot station. #RailKahani pic.twitter.com/DROSFVieHc— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 11, 2016
Their song: "Yeh toh tera hi karam hai Khwaja!" #unreserved pic.twitter.com/LYYY4TkrUb— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 11, 2016
Had the most delicious sweet ever - Patisa, from Prem Sweets in Kud on @KoshurBlue's recco. Brilliant. #unreserved pic.twitter.com/mX11dXpQV0— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 14, 2016
Others are just observations on life.
"Hasta toh bahot hoon, lekin mujhe zindagi mein kahi se bhi khushi nahi milti." #unreserved pic.twitter.com/9bp78xTtQa— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 12, 2016
Translation: "I smile a lot but I've never got happiness in my life."
"Taj Mahal aur Kashmir mere do sabse bade sapne the. Abhi Agra se aa raha hun aur Kashmir ja raha hun." #unreserved pic.twitter.com/TNWjJozIhu— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 13, 2016
Translation: "Seeing Taj Mahal and Kashmir was my biggest dream. I'm coming from Agra and now heading to Kashmir."
"Iss train ke wajah se hi aaj main apne biwi ko ilaaj ke liye le ja pa raha hoon. Sadak ka kya bharosa?" #unreserved pic.twitter.com/YQRhpYW9hJ— Omkar Divekar (@MishterApu) March 15, 2016
Translation: "It's because of this train that I can take my wife for medical treatment. Who can trust roads?"
You can follow the trio's journey with the hashtag #unreserved on Twitter. Read the entire thread here.