Taking the train to a journey back in time

�Aap itni door aayi hain is train mein safar karne?� (You have come this far just to travel by this train) exclaimed my driver, when I informed him that I had come from Mumbai to travel by the local meter gauge train from Mhow to Patalpani, Kalakund and back. �Yes� I replied. The century old train is part of our disappearing history, and I wanted to experience at least some of it before it faded into oblivion. It took him a while to digest that logic, and when he did, he came up with another question �Main bhi aapke saath aa sakta hoon? (Can I come along with you?) Amused at the turn around, I agreed, and he went on to tell me that though he had driven tourists across the country, he had never even heard of this little train which passed so close to his hometown!