Train to Bodh Gaya

I am sitting on the train in the middle of nowhere. At 4AM, one hour from Gaya, the train stopped. It turns out that it has been raining for 72 hours in Gaya. The flooding caused a landslide across the train tracks. It is now 9AM. we made it past the land slide area, but there must be such a backlog of trains that we are waiting our turn.

I spent a lot of time 0n the train talking to a young man, a ship engineer. He told my of his life in the village outside of Gaya. Not only is he the first person in his family with an advanced education, he is also the first person in his village. He qualified for a special school outside of his village, which enabled him the education towards his profession. He told me of his life in is village. His older brother still lives with his parents. His sisters live with their in-laws. His older brother paid for his education. He told me that there are still untouchables in his village. He told me of how the untouchables are treated, and how he, being exposed to the rest of the world through his life at sea, lives in two worlds. He told me of how he had only spent two hours with his future wife before they were married. That was one and a half years ago, and he has a baby due next month. when I asked him if he knows the gender, he explained to me that it is illegal in India for the doctors to disclose the gender, due to aborted females.

Finally, at 11AM, the train arrived in Gaya. The eight and a half hour train ride turned into fourteen and a half hours. It is raining still. Everything is flooded. My engineer friend, named Jitendra, offered to drive me to Bodh Gaya. He took me to a hotel that a relative of his manages. It was nice not having to bargain with motor rickshaw drivers or search for a hotel in the pouring rain.