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Showing posts from July, 2013

Book Review: Chai Chai- Travels In Places Where You Stop But Never Get Off

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The most entertaining part about a long distance journey on a train will probably be, seeing the number of stations that we pass. A regular train journey would comprise of looking at the platforms where the trains enter every now and then; may be get off to have a cup of tea and snacks or just stand at the exit of the coach and observe the crowd. Have you ever thought of exploring these towns beyond their platforms? I suppose no. What can we get by exploring this town??- The usual small town with some small shops and the usual crowd but a bit different from those in the city. This is precisely where we go wrong. If a train is stopping by at a particular station, the town definitely has more than the station platform, the chaiwallahs and the innumerable people waiting to board the same train or other. This is exactly what the author, Bishwanath Ghosh, does in his debut novel- "Chai Chai." He "travels in places where you stop but never get off." The journey begins wi