The Journey That Taught Me Life 16 September 2026

 

The Journey That Taught Me Life 

16 September 2026

The Journey That Taught Me Life

The day began, as usual, with my alarm ringing at 4:00 AM.

I woke up and started my daily routine. But somehow, I felt a little more excited about the day.

When I stepped outside, I noticed something beautiful.

The sun was slowly rising.

The morning light was soft and calm, and there was a slight change in the air. Looking at the morning sky, I thought to myself,

“Winter is coming.”

I reached Haibargaon Railway Station at around 5:26 AM and waited for my daily train, the Mairabari–Guwahati Passenger (55604).

After waiting for a few minutes, the train arrived at around 5:43 AM.

I boarded the train and took my usual place in the first coach. I often prefer the first coach because there are usually plenty of seats available on this early-morning train.

The train started moving towards Guwahati.

As I sat in my seat, I noticed a familiar face sitting opposite me—a man travelling with his daughter. He was a friend of my father, so we recognized each other. He started talking to me and asked me some simple about what I was studying in Guwahati. It was a small conversation, but meeting someone connected to my family during my morning journey made the trip feel a little more familiar.

It was just a normal conversation between two strangers.

But these are the kinds of small moments I have started noticing during my daily journeys.

The train continued towards its next stations, passing through the beautiful morning surroundings.

After some time, I took out my phone and checked whether there was any faster train available from Chaparmukh Junction.

I found the Kamrup Express (15960).

However, that day my passenger train was running late. I also noticed that after Chaparmukh Junction, the Kamrup Express would run directly towards Guwahati without stopping at the intermediate stations I needed.

So I decided to change trains.

The passenger train reached Chaparmukh Junction at around 6:31 AM.

I got down and waited for the Kamrup Express.

At around 7:00 AM, the train arrived.

I boarded it and found something unexpected.

Most of the seats in the compartment were vacant.

The train stopped for only about two minutes before beginning its journey towards Guwahati.

There was no TTE checking tickets at that moment, and we noticed the vacant AC compartment. I decided to sit there during the journey.

It turned out to be one of the most comfortable train journeys I had experienced.

I sat peacefully, looking outside the window, taking photographs and recording short videos of the beautiful scenery passing by.

The morning landscape, the moving train, and the quiet compartment created a very different atmosphere.

The Kamrup Express finally reached Guwahati at around 8:28 AM.

I then started walking towards my university.

I reached the university surprisingly early, at around 9:00 AM.

Since I still had some time before class, I waited around the campus. I took some photographs and recorded a few videos of my classroom.

After a few minutes, one of my classmates, Gurprit Kaur, arrived.

I had noticed something about her before.

She seemed to come to class early almost every day.

I thought to myself that one day I should ask her why she always arrives so early.

Then another new friend arrived.

That day, I met Riturajpura Bora for the first time.

We introduced ourselves and soon discovered that we belonged to the same law college. We talked about it and found that connection interesting.

There was only one obvious difference between us.

He was taller than me. He was older than me in studies.

Slowly, one by one, my other classmates started arriving.

The classroom gradually became full of familiar faces.

Then our class began with Dr. Divakar Sharma Sir.

Sir announced that we would have a test presentation based on a case.

We had only around 10–20 minutes to prepare.

My case was:

K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017).

At first, I felt nervous.

Standing in front of others and presenting a legal case is not always easy, especially when you have so little preparation time.

Our class had been divided into different groups, and I was in Group C that day.

When my turn came, I presented the case.

I was nervous at first, but eventually everything went well.

We gave our presentations, and I felt relieved and happy that I had managed to do it.

Our class ended around 12:00 PM.

After that, we had another class on Human Research with Ananya Ma'am.

During the class, after some discussion and effort, we were called to the Naam Ghar.

Later, another class continued, and finally, around 3:00 PM, the day's classes came to an end.

Now it was time to begin the long journey home.

I started walking towards the city bus.

While walking, I met another LLM classmate on the same road.

We had seen each other many times in class but had never really spoken.

That day, we finally talked.

Her name was Neha Sharma.

It was just a simple conversation, but another unfamiliar face had now become someone I knew.

We then caught the city bus and made our way towards the railway station.

At the station, we booked our tickets and hurried towards Platform No. 1 to catch the Kamrup Express (15959).

The train was a little late, but we managed to catch it.

After getting on the train, we left our things and started moving towards the general compartment.

But before long, my station arrived.

Chaparmukh Junction.

I got down and waited for my final train of the day, the Silghat Town–Guwahati DEMU (75730).

This time, the waiting seemed endless.

We spent around three hours at the station.

At first, we waited for the train to arrive.

Then, when the train finally came, another problem began.

The train remained stopped for nearly two hours, waiting for other railway traffic to pass through the crossing.

So there we were—sitting inside the train, waiting again.

Chaparmukh Junction

I got down and waited for my final train of the day, the Silghat Town–Guwahati DEMU (75730).

This time, the waiting seemed endless.

We spent around three hours at the station.

At first, we waited for the train to arrive.

When the train finally came, I went inside and found a seat. As I sat there, I noticed a man and a woman sitting in front of me. From their conversation and the way they interacted with each other, I guessed that they might be husband and wife.

I sat nearby and quietly continued listening to their conversation.

From what I could understand, they seemed to have a house or flat in Guwahati, and perhaps they had gone there for some official work related to documents or an agreement. I wasn't completely sure about the details, but their conversation caught my attention.

There was something funny and interesting about the way they talked to each other.

The woman seemed a little serious, especially when she heard that the train would be delayed by almost two hours. She became quite angry about the delay.

The man, on the other hand, seemed different.

Although he looked serious from the outside, the way he spoke and interacted with her felt quite funny to me. From their conversation, I got the impression that they might be a very cheerful and playful family.

I didn't speak to them at all.

I was simply sitting nearby, listening to their conversation and observing them.

At one point, the man started talking on the phone about Bhujia.

He seemed very interested in eating it. He repeatedly opened his phone and talked with his family members about food and Bhujia.

That made me smile.

I started imagining what their family life might be like. Perhaps they had children at home, and perhaps this man was the kind of person who was always reminding everyone to eat something.

Whenever he called someone from his family, he seemed to keep asking them about food or telling them to have something to eat.

It seemed to me that Bhujia had a special place in this man's heart!

I found the whole situation quite funny.

I didn't know these people.

I had never spoken to them.

I didn't know their names or their story.

Yet, just by sitting nearby and listening to a few minutes of their conversation, I felt as though I had caught a tiny glimpse of their family life.

That is another interesting thing about travelling by train.

Sometimes, without saying a single word to someone, you can still learn something about them.

Then suddenly, an announcement came over the platform:

The train would be delayed by another two hours.

As soon as the announcement was made, many passengers got down from the compartment.

I also decided to leave my seat.

The couple remained behind, while I moved to another seat on the opposite side where there was no one sitting.

I sat there alone and continued waiting.

The delay was frustrating, but somehow, that little conversation I had overheard had made the long wait more interesting.

It reminded me that every train compartment contains different people, different personalities, and different stories.

Sometimes I don't even need to talk to them.

I just need to sit quietly and observe.

And sometimes, an ordinary two-hour delay can give me a story to remember.

After two long hours, the train finally started moving.

The journey continued through the evening darkness.

Eventually, at around 9:00 PM, I reached Nagaon Railway Station.

My long day had finally come to an end.

I had woken up at 4:00 AM.

I had watched the sunrise.

I had travelled on two different trains.

I had spoken to strangers.

I had met a new friend.

I had noticed familiar faces becoming closer.

I had given a case presentation despite being nervous.

I had walked through Guwahati.

I had waited for hours at Chaparmukh.

And finally, I had returned home.

When I looked back at the day, I realized something.

My everyday train journey is not just about going from Nagaon to Guwahati and back.

It is becoming a journey through people, places, conversations, challenges, and memories.

Every day, I see new faces.

Every day, I hear a new story.

Every day, I learn something new.

And perhaps that is what makes an ordinary journey extraordinary.

The destination may remain the same, but every journey is different.

And on 16 September 2026, once again, the journey taught me something about life.