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Railonama
Interested in funny, heart-warming, and inspiring real life travel stories? You will love reading Railonama.
Railonama is a compilation of short stories and poems inspired by travel via the Indian Railways. The book features enriching and highly entertaining stories selected from a pool of submissions from people all around the world who have traveled in trains in India. This book will make for an engaging and riveting read for those who enjoy traveling and exploring.
The book contains stories from authors: Ajay Mankotia, Ambika Jindal, Anindita Deo, Anupama Sharma, Asiem Sanyal, Atul Sharma, Bala Parthasarathy, Chandrashekhr B. Kulkarni, Diane Caldwell, Dilshad Sanyal, Dr K.C. Jindal, Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan, Elayne Clift, Francois Juneau, Frank Joussen, Ganesh V, K.H.D. Karr, Ken Haigh, Kshitij Bisen, Lalita Bhatia, Malini Mathi Vathanan, Mary McCormack, Michael Clifton, Monali Ghatge, Nikhil Narayanan, Pat Hale, Pradeep Chaswal, Raminder Rayar, Renuka Vishwanathan, Rohit Khanduri, Savita Mudgal, Shailender Arya, Sharada Balasubramanian, Sheela Jaywant, Sheila Kumar, Sijeesh V Balakrishnan, Snigdha Khurana, Sukanya Mohan, Sumedha Sengupta, Susmita Bhattacharya, Tessy Koshy, Varsha Halabe,Vibha Batra, Yogesh B Sharma.
Railonama is a compilation of short stories and poems inspired by travel via the Indian Railways. The book features enriching and highly entertaining stories selected from a pool of submissions from people all around the world who have traveled in trains in India. This book will make for an engaging and riveting read for those who enjoy traveling and exploring.
The book contains stories from authors: Ajay Mankotia, Ambika Jindal, Anindita Deo, Anupama Sharma, Asiem Sanyal, Atul Sharma, Bala Parthasarathy, Chandrashekhr B. Kulkarni, Diane Caldwell, Dilshad Sanyal, Dr K.C. Jindal, Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan, Elayne Clift, Francois Juneau, Frank Joussen, Ganesh V, K.H.D. Karr, Ken Haigh, Kshitij Bisen, Lalita Bhatia, Malini Mathi Vathanan, Mary McCormack, Michael Clifton, Monali Ghatge, Nikhil Narayanan, Pat Hale, Pradeep Chaswal, Raminder Rayar, Renuka Vishwanathan, Rohit Khanduri, Savita Mudgal, Shailender Arya, Sharada Balasubramanian, Sheela Jaywant, Sheila Kumar, Sijeesh V Balakrishnan, Snigdha Khurana, Sukanya Mohan, Sumedha Sengupta, Susmita Bhattacharya, Tessy Koshy, Varsha Halabe,Vibha Batra, Yogesh B Sharma.
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 20, 2014
3 people are currently reading
1312 people want to read
About the author
Anupama Sharma
14 books11 followersAnupama Sharma who loves traveling, conceptualized and created Railonama. She cherishes all her trips and is forever in awe of the beauty and wonder that pervades India. She is passionate about public service and is currently studying public policies at New York University. She is also the founder of pickafight.org, a non-profit in India and has committed all the proceeds she gets from the sales of the book for charitable purposes in India.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 16, 2017
This was my first ever Goodreads giveaway book win, and I am thrilled with it. The stories--mainly reminiscences--are very brief, so you get many many different tastes and views. I've never been to India, but I have several friends and acquaintances from India, other friends who've lived there for significant amounts of time, and others who've traveled there, and I've been interested in India since childhood, so I was eager to ride the Indian Railways in an armchair way. But Railonama is not only for people like me--I think it will be equally enjoyable for people who *have* had lots of experience with India's trains.
I mentioned in my reading updates that some of the stories were very explicit about the moral or message they wanted you to take from the story. You might think this would be tiresome, but I didn't find it so at all: it made the stories seem all the more immediate and unselfconscious: people were telling their stories the way they thought they should be told, in their own voices, not flattened down to some bland rule for how an essay or short story should be told. And many of them were brilliant.
Let me share some of my favorites: early on, I liked the story of the little boy offering sweets to the girl in the next compartment ("The Boy with the Chocolate Eclairs"), and I loved "Journey Full of Lessons," in which the narrator sets a good example of not littering and then sees how that lesson took hold. Amusingly, much later on in the collection came a story in which a woman is cheered on to littering ("The Discus Thrower")--congratulations to editor Anupama Sharma for getting both those stories! Two other favorites were "Blue Hawaii Chappals," in which a boy loses a new slipper hurrying to get back on the train--I just adored how this story ended--and "A Very Special Passenger," in which the author remembers being four-and-a-half years old and seeing Mahatma Gandhi pass through his town by train. The train didn't even stop, just slowed down, but everyone turned out to see the great man. This short reminiscence had lots of digressions--about the author's father, about the household servants--and this made me feel as if I were actually sitting with the grandfather of a friend of mine, actually hearing the tale from his own mouth, and that made it all the more intense and moving:
Now you can see it too--even if, like me, you weren't born when the event happened.
Many stories dealt with people being brought face-to-face with poverty and their feelings of shame or humility when someone much poorer than they are acts with generosity and honor. I found these touching. (Two good examples are "A Sweet Memory" and "A Slice of Apple.") There's always a risk that one can read those sorts of things, have a moment of sentiment, and then just move on with life, but even if that's all that happens, I think that moment of remembering and that feeling of humility are worthwhile. And there's always the chance that it can change people's outlooks (as in "Journey Full of Lessons"). One story of a small generosity from a more privileged person that I liked was "Between Trains," in which a passenger lifts three siblings onto the train so they can cross through it to the next track.
I believe the editor is considering a second volume, and I'd be all in favor of it. The project reminds me of Studs Terkel's conversations with America, only for India. India's a huge country with so many different possible perspectives, so many stories to tell. The only thing I'd ask, for future volumes, would be a note to distinguish which stories are fiction and which are actual reminiscences. There's one story of a child deliberately left behind on a train that's told from a young man's perspective, but the author is a woman. Since children *are* abandoned on trains now and then, it doesn't make the story less true-to-life to indicate that it's a fiction, but it does, somehow, make a difference to me in how I react to it.
I highly recommend the book--in fact, I've already bought it as a gift.
I mentioned in my reading updates that some of the stories were very explicit about the moral or message they wanted you to take from the story. You might think this would be tiresome, but I didn't find it so at all: it made the stories seem all the more immediate and unselfconscious: people were telling their stories the way they thought they should be told, in their own voices, not flattened down to some bland rule for how an essay or short story should be told. And many of them were brilliant.
Let me share some of my favorites: early on, I liked the story of the little boy offering sweets to the girl in the next compartment ("The Boy with the Chocolate Eclairs"), and I loved "Journey Full of Lessons," in which the narrator sets a good example of not littering and then sees how that lesson took hold. Amusingly, much later on in the collection came a story in which a woman is cheered on to littering ("The Discus Thrower")--congratulations to editor Anupama Sharma for getting both those stories! Two other favorites were "Blue Hawaii Chappals," in which a boy loses a new slipper hurrying to get back on the train--I just adored how this story ended--and "A Very Special Passenger," in which the author remembers being four-and-a-half years old and seeing Mahatma Gandhi pass through his town by train. The train didn't even stop, just slowed down, but everyone turned out to see the great man. This short reminiscence had lots of digressions--about the author's father, about the household servants--and this made me feel as if I were actually sitting with the grandfather of a friend of mine, actually hearing the tale from his own mouth, and that made it all the more intense and moving:
The train, with its reddish-brown wagons, slowed down as it entered the platform area and almost crawled while passing us by. Ad for a moment frozen in time, I saw the old man with glasses who smiled and waved with his right hand while he stood in an open doorway of a compartment. He held the yellow door handle with his left hand.
Now you can see it too--even if, like me, you weren't born when the event happened.
Many stories dealt with people being brought face-to-face with poverty and their feelings of shame or humility when someone much poorer than they are acts with generosity and honor. I found these touching. (Two good examples are "A Sweet Memory" and "A Slice of Apple.") There's always a risk that one can read those sorts of things, have a moment of sentiment, and then just move on with life, but even if that's all that happens, I think that moment of remembering and that feeling of humility are worthwhile. And there's always the chance that it can change people's outlooks (as in "Journey Full of Lessons"). One story of a small generosity from a more privileged person that I liked was "Between Trains," in which a passenger lifts three siblings onto the train so they can cross through it to the next track.
I believe the editor is considering a second volume, and I'd be all in favor of it. The project reminds me of Studs Terkel's conversations with America, only for India. India's a huge country with so many different possible perspectives, so many stories to tell. The only thing I'd ask, for future volumes, would be a note to distinguish which stories are fiction and which are actual reminiscences. There's one story of a child deliberately left behind on a train that's told from a young man's perspective, but the author is a woman. Since children *are* abandoned on trains now and then, it doesn't make the story less true-to-life to indicate that it's a fiction, but it does, somehow, make a difference to me in how I react to it.
I highly recommend the book--in fact, I've already bought it as a gift.
September 13, 2014
India's most popular mean of travel is the train. So, out there, almost everyone has a story to tell about their train journeys. This delightful book is one such attempt to collect such tales of travellers into a collection of stories that make you cry, laugh, ponder and undoubtedly get entertained. A real pleasure to read this.
January 3, 2015
You have to get your hands on this gem of a book. Railonama is a collection of beautiful stories based on traveling by rail. Funny, poignant, and inspiring, these stories will stay with you long after you put down the book, just like memories of amazing journeys.
I recommend this book to anybody who likes traveling. And if you've ever traveled on the Indian Railways you will particularly enjoy it. From the cries of "chai, chai!" to the clickety-clack of the track, from fighting with your sibling for the upper berth to precariously standing at the doorway of the rail car to feel the cool rush of the evening breeze, these stories brought back long cherished memories from my childhood.
At $4, the Kindle edition is inexpensive and the inside cover states that Railonama's creator will donate all her proceeds from sales to charity. A good cause for a bargain!
I recommend this book to anybody who likes traveling. And if you've ever traveled on the Indian Railways you will particularly enjoy it. From the cries of "chai, chai!" to the clickety-clack of the track, from fighting with your sibling for the upper berth to precariously standing at the doorway of the rail car to feel the cool rush of the evening breeze, these stories brought back long cherished memories from my childhood.
At $4, the Kindle edition is inexpensive and the inside cover states that Railonama's creator will donate all her proceeds from sales to charity. A good cause for a bargain!
August 30, 2014
This review is also available on my tumblr.
I got this book from the First Reads scheme. Thank You for giving me this opportunity.
This is a typical anthology book. Filled with stories and poems that went from very good to middling. none were awful all were well written and well edited. Some of them touching, some funny, some thoughtful.
This is obviously a book which is a labor of love. Its a gorgeous book perfect reading.
My only bugbear would be I would have liked to see biographies just to hear more about the writers as some stories depended on certain things in the authors which could not be completely ascertained and could change the meaning of there story.
Still a fantastic book though.
RATING: 4/5
I got this book from the First Reads scheme. Thank You for giving me this opportunity.
This is a typical anthology book. Filled with stories and poems that went from very good to middling. none were awful all were well written and well edited. Some of them touching, some funny, some thoughtful.
This is obviously a book which is a labor of love. Its a gorgeous book perfect reading.
My only bugbear would be I would have liked to see biographies just to hear more about the writers as some stories depended on certain things in the authors which could not be completely ascertained and could change the meaning of there story.
Still a fantastic book though.
RATING: 4/5
December 11, 2014
This is unlike any other anthology that I have read. First, its not fiction. The books is a nice large collection of individual experiences of people who have the Indian Railways deeply etched into their memories.
If you are an Indian and have traveled on the Indian trains/railways, you will identify with almost all of the stories in the collection. You will 'feel' them and most probably even visualize them in your mind.
It was more of a nostalgic read than a short story collection kind of feel.
The Indian railways give you insight into the lives of the Indian diversity and the book does the same.
If you are an Indian and have traveled on the Indian trains/railways, you will identify with almost all of the stories in the collection. You will 'feel' them and most probably even visualize them in your mind.
It was more of a nostalgic read than a short story collection kind of feel.
The Indian railways give you insight into the lives of the Indian diversity and the book does the same.
September 23, 2014
A collection of travel stories, this book fills the reader with hope and positive outlook towards travel in particular and life in general. A wide variety of topics/experiences covered makes it both a memorable and a very interesting read.
This book has changed my perspective on travel and would surely do the same for you. I look forward to my next train journey and am excited towards whatever time has in store for me.
This book has changed my perspective on travel and would surely do the same for you. I look forward to my next train journey and am excited towards whatever time has in store for me.
September 15, 2014
This book brought back my past cherished memories of traveling with Indian railways. More than the train itself, this book touches a very special piece of the Indian society - the journey into the lives and vibrant experiences of the middle class of India. The book is an easy and joyful read. Highly recommended!
December 8, 2014
Railonama is a great book. It takes the reader through various emotions. Some stories are thought provoking while others are inspiring. Some are full of fun while some bring a tear or two in your eyes. It is a must read for all book lovers. I didn't want to put the book down and when I had to, couldn't wait to get back to it. Well done Anupama.
September 16, 2014
Brilliant book! Takes you into the separate world of Indian Railways and its family. You just tend to relate the stories of the writers to yourself as these have been part of you while you have grown up and traveled in the train exploring different parts of India.
September 12, 2014
I wish this book was published before I travelled to India. Highly recommend this book if you are traveling to India for the first time.
December 13, 2014
A really great collection that gives one an insight into the lives of so many different people, and brings indian trains alive- whether or not you've travelled on them. A unique set of stories!
December 16, 2014
This book is dear to me , as It was my first book review for Blogadda Book review Program for Indian bloggers.
Why I give 4 stars to this book is:
-It is a travelogue, which all age groups irrespective of high-end english knowledge will enjoy as the simple stories connect with you.
-The incidents potrayed in the book are sure to remind you one of your journeys where you faced something similar
-Also, the journeys of people outside India have been captured, and as it turns out, it was a blissful experience for them.
-Lastly, not being a pacy book, you can pick it up at any hour and start reading a random story, it is worth that.
The author Anupama Sharma has done a skillful job with the stories. I really hope there is a sequel for this coming out soon with more intriguing stories and travel experiences.
For a more elongated Book review please visit my blog: http://www.flipaleaf.com/2014_12_01_a...
Why I give 4 stars to this book is:
-It is a travelogue, which all age groups irrespective of high-end english knowledge will enjoy as the simple stories connect with you.
-The incidents potrayed in the book are sure to remind you one of your journeys where you faced something similar
-Also, the journeys of people outside India have been captured, and as it turns out, it was a blissful experience for them.
-Lastly, not being a pacy book, you can pick it up at any hour and start reading a random story, it is worth that.
The author Anupama Sharma has done a skillful job with the stories. I really hope there is a sequel for this coming out soon with more intriguing stories and travel experiences.
For a more elongated Book review please visit my blog: http://www.flipaleaf.com/2014_12_01_a...
December 19, 2014
Read the book.
• The stories are very interesting.
• The compilation is also very good.
• It is difficult to put down the book once you start reading it.
But our nature of my job as it is, it was not possible to finish the book in one seating. But because it is a collection of stories, it helped me in reading the book in many spells without feeling any loss of continuity. But whenever I was forced to put down the book due to some exigency, I was always eagerly looking forward to return to the book as early as possible. This speaks of the interest that the book was able to generate.
Highly recommended.
• The stories are very interesting.
• The compilation is also very good.
• It is difficult to put down the book once you start reading it.
But our nature of my job as it is, it was not possible to finish the book in one seating. But because it is a collection of stories, it helped me in reading the book in many spells without feeling any loss of continuity. But whenever I was forced to put down the book due to some exigency, I was always eagerly looking forward to return to the book as early as possible. This speaks of the interest that the book was able to generate.
Highly recommended.
September 8, 2014
Just finished the book! A must read for all who loves to travel! These are amazing train journey stories and how the people connect with each other and take back the good or bad memories along with them.
After reading all the stories I remember the famous dialog from movie "Anand" about the transmitter and the receiver and how Rajesh Khanna gets the vibration from the people and talks to the people even if he doesn’t know them. I think this book is all about how people receive these vibrations from their fellow travelers and connect with them.
After reading all the stories I remember the famous dialog from movie "Anand" about the transmitter and the receiver and how Rajesh Khanna gets the vibration from the people and talks to the people even if he doesn’t know them. I think this book is all about how people receive these vibrations from their fellow travelers and connect with them.
October 24, 2014
Oh, what a ride this book took me on! I felt like I was travelling by a train, jumping off it at a particular station, boarding another train, hopping off at another station and so on. A delightful collection of tales and one essay on travelling by train in India. As you read them, you will find your mind traversing the entire spectrum of emotions.
Pick it up right now. Don't miss the bus, or rather, the train. :)
Pick it up right now. Don't miss the bus, or rather, the train. :)
December 10, 2014
The short stories in Railonama give the reader compelling impressions of what train travel in India is like. If you have traveled on trains in India, they will bring back fond memories of fun trips and unique scenes. If you haven't experienced India's trains yourself, these stories will make you feel like they have been a part of your life.
August 30, 2014
A great collection of stories, most stories are so easy to relate to. Anupama has done a great job in compiling these and bringing such plethora of experiences together in this book. Must Read!
December 11, 2014
Telling Tales of the Train Traveller.
Rainonama, is an anthology of train stories, collected by Anupama Sharma, published by Good Times Books Pvt.Ltd. With the ISBN 978-93-806197-9-8 is a travelogue,
Toofan mail...ek duniya hai toofan mail, is a refrain from a vintage Hindi movie of the same name. Yes that was what a train journey always meant to me, new vistas, changing landscape, cuisine and dialect until the language is totally different from the one we started our journey with. Maybe a life is a bit like that too.
Every journey in the Indian railways has something to contribute. That is precisely it was just the curiosity of what Anupama would have tapped made me apply for the book. When the book did arrive it was like the Indian railways, the running time exceeded the declared running time. The image of the engine, it was so familiar.
Anupama has curates forty five stories. Each story one could empathize with. Like the Ganesh V’s life on the edge, sometime I think each one of us must have tried standing at the door of the moving training. For sitting down there and reading was the kick. As was looking at the engine as the train turned particularly in the Nilgiri express.
Sheela Jaywant’s share of carrying food, sharing it with fellow passengers, then picking up the recipe was all part of travelling in the train, travelling by sleeper class is always more adventurous. The relatives and friends who would visit us at the station, coming to think of it, the train would stop maybe for 2mnts- 3mnts, but people would take a bus, and meet us at the station, with water and food for at least part of the next journey. Those were the days of steel dabba’s so we would leave the used dabba with the host.
Another story that caught me was the mother travelling with children to Assam, and the train starting off, I remember this happening to us on one of our journey and my brother howling, I wanted to howl too, but being older that 7yr. Old I had to keep a stiff upper lip, I had decided if I did not sight my mother in the next two minutes I would get the “uncle”sitting next to pull the chain.
The couple leaving their child was sad. Every story had something to share, some memory triggered.
Journey’s of late are not really so exciting, gone are the days when we peeked into Picture posts Femina’s of fellow travellers. Major stations have fancy eateries’, the vendors turn up two stations prior and take your order. The Jhansi puri-wallah and Bhopal dhoodhwallah no more seem to exist.
Anupama Sharma a great job done, I wonder how you got people to contribute, and how did you choose your stories. Hope the next volume is place.
Forget train fans like me, I would really recommend this book to readers who interested in social history and cultural anthropology along with travel readers. For the collection covers a range of train traveller tales from pre-independence India to contemporary India. And along the zones of Indian railway.
Anupama Sharma loves travelling, she is computer engineer by profession and passionate about social work and is the founder of www.pickafight.com
This book is complimentary from Blogadda for reviewing.
Rainonama, is an anthology of train stories, collected by Anupama Sharma, published by Good Times Books Pvt.Ltd. With the ISBN 978-93-806197-9-8 is a travelogue,
Toofan mail...ek duniya hai toofan mail, is a refrain from a vintage Hindi movie of the same name. Yes that was what a train journey always meant to me, new vistas, changing landscape, cuisine and dialect until the language is totally different from the one we started our journey with. Maybe a life is a bit like that too.
Every journey in the Indian railways has something to contribute. That is precisely it was just the curiosity of what Anupama would have tapped made me apply for the book. When the book did arrive it was like the Indian railways, the running time exceeded the declared running time. The image of the engine, it was so familiar.
Anupama has curates forty five stories. Each story one could empathize with. Like the Ganesh V’s life on the edge, sometime I think each one of us must have tried standing at the door of the moving training. For sitting down there and reading was the kick. As was looking at the engine as the train turned particularly in the Nilgiri express.
Sheela Jaywant’s share of carrying food, sharing it with fellow passengers, then picking up the recipe was all part of travelling in the train, travelling by sleeper class is always more adventurous. The relatives and friends who would visit us at the station, coming to think of it, the train would stop maybe for 2mnts- 3mnts, but people would take a bus, and meet us at the station, with water and food for at least part of the next journey. Those were the days of steel dabba’s so we would leave the used dabba with the host.
Another story that caught me was the mother travelling with children to Assam, and the train starting off, I remember this happening to us on one of our journey and my brother howling, I wanted to howl too, but being older that 7yr. Old I had to keep a stiff upper lip, I had decided if I did not sight my mother in the next two minutes I would get the “uncle”sitting next to pull the chain.
The couple leaving their child was sad. Every story had something to share, some memory triggered.
Journey’s of late are not really so exciting, gone are the days when we peeked into Picture posts Femina’s of fellow travellers. Major stations have fancy eateries’, the vendors turn up two stations prior and take your order. The Jhansi puri-wallah and Bhopal dhoodhwallah no more seem to exist.
Anupama Sharma a great job done, I wonder how you got people to contribute, and how did you choose your stories. Hope the next volume is place.
Forget train fans like me, I would really recommend this book to readers who interested in social history and cultural anthropology along with travel readers. For the collection covers a range of train traveller tales from pre-independence India to contemporary India. And along the zones of Indian railway.
Anupama Sharma loves travelling, she is computer engineer by profession and passionate about social work and is the founder of www.pickafight.com
This book is complimentary from Blogadda for reviewing.
March 20, 2015
Driven by her passion for travel by the Indian Railways, Anupama Sharma has gathered short story writings and poems of dozens of travelers and their unforgettable encounters on the Railways. The book’s charm lies in the fact that the author and reader together find that frequency of ridership is not a prerequisite to discovery. Sharma makes for a terrific tour guide.
Travel writers invite the reader as a guest through a trove of memories. The willing reader accepts the invitation, open to new experiences and shared memories. The collection of stories in “Railonama: Unforgettable Train Stories” is testament to Sharma’s ability to invite guests that will mix and mingle comfortably in a casual yet stirring party, balancing the traveler’s desire to share their observations and experiences and the reader’s excitement to engage them. Drawing from first-hand experiences spanning decades, Sharma’s storytellers expertly illustrate how travel by Indian Railways reflects a microcosm of India’s infinite complexity and diversity.
Railonama encourages the reader to recognize the potential of creating travel memories of their own…no matter how fleeting or grandiose. The reader will feel as though they are traveling the world where in fact they have not left India’s borders. In their own way, each storyteller encounters unexpected meetings and chance occurrences which provide touching peepholes in to the lives of many: railway employees, commuters sharing secrets, and long-distance travelers committed to make the most of their trip. Railonama recognizes travelers as individuals, not nameless faces; for some storytellers, the railways were daily experiences, and for others just once in a lifetime.
The storytellers’ senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, as well as their balance, perspective and instinct, are vital in communicating their memories and experiences. You will feel the storytellers’ and passengers’ senses of anticipation and excitement, patience and urgency. Their solitary time gave me quiet space to look out their windows. The humming of the train and occasionally unsteady movement of the cars were palpable. Although I would have enjoyed reading a memory or two that would rather be lost to history but were nonetheless unforgettable, this by no means detracts from the complexity of what makes Indian Railways traveling so unique.
History is comprised of memories and experiences: gathering dust, changing over time, or imprinted so strongly that they can be precisely recounted decades later. The magic of Railonama is the fact that, through the words of the storytellers, any reader can develop unforgettable memories of the Indian Railways. The book’s main characters, Memory and Travel, are indivisible. The stories universally recognize that the value of life is rooted in relationships, whether fleeting or permanent, experienced or observed. Railonama provides unforgettable insight in to the highly socialized and generous world of Indian Railways travelers, and will give birth to one's desire to join them.
Travel writers invite the reader as a guest through a trove of memories. The willing reader accepts the invitation, open to new experiences and shared memories. The collection of stories in “Railonama: Unforgettable Train Stories” is testament to Sharma’s ability to invite guests that will mix and mingle comfortably in a casual yet stirring party, balancing the traveler’s desire to share their observations and experiences and the reader’s excitement to engage them. Drawing from first-hand experiences spanning decades, Sharma’s storytellers expertly illustrate how travel by Indian Railways reflects a microcosm of India’s infinite complexity and diversity.
Railonama encourages the reader to recognize the potential of creating travel memories of their own…no matter how fleeting or grandiose. The reader will feel as though they are traveling the world where in fact they have not left India’s borders. In their own way, each storyteller encounters unexpected meetings and chance occurrences which provide touching peepholes in to the lives of many: railway employees, commuters sharing secrets, and long-distance travelers committed to make the most of their trip. Railonama recognizes travelers as individuals, not nameless faces; for some storytellers, the railways were daily experiences, and for others just once in a lifetime.
The storytellers’ senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, as well as their balance, perspective and instinct, are vital in communicating their memories and experiences. You will feel the storytellers’ and passengers’ senses of anticipation and excitement, patience and urgency. Their solitary time gave me quiet space to look out their windows. The humming of the train and occasionally unsteady movement of the cars were palpable. Although I would have enjoyed reading a memory or two that would rather be lost to history but were nonetheless unforgettable, this by no means detracts from the complexity of what makes Indian Railways traveling so unique.
History is comprised of memories and experiences: gathering dust, changing over time, or imprinted so strongly that they can be precisely recounted decades later. The magic of Railonama is the fact that, through the words of the storytellers, any reader can develop unforgettable memories of the Indian Railways. The book’s main characters, Memory and Travel, are indivisible. The stories universally recognize that the value of life is rooted in relationships, whether fleeting or permanent, experienced or observed. Railonama provides unforgettable insight in to the highly socialized and generous world of Indian Railways travelers, and will give birth to one's desire to join them.
June 5, 2021
We have all grown up with the memories of our travels with the great Indian Railways. However for a lot of us, who can afford, they have become a secondary choice of travel with the increasing air connectivity. In the need to save time some of us have almost foregone the the rituals which used to come along with a train travel. Therefore, the title Railonama had attracted me, someone who has as a child was fascinated by trains.
The book is a collection of stories told by people like us as they recollect their moments or journeys on Indian railways which have left a mark on them. These stories sometimes make you chuckle and smile while some of them leave you pondering. However in all of them you do realise that there are bits and pieces which you have experienced yourself. So as you read through them flashes of your time spent on these trains keep coming back.
A good and easy read for the train lover in you !
The book is a collection of stories told by people like us as they recollect their moments or journeys on Indian railways which have left a mark on them. These stories sometimes make you chuckle and smile while some of them leave you pondering. However in all of them you do realise that there are bits and pieces which you have experienced yourself. So as you read through them flashes of your time spent on these trains keep coming back.
A good and easy read for the train lover in you !
December 14, 2014
2.5
The first I came to read the blurb of this book, I was reminded of a quote by Ruskin Bond is one of his TV interviews. The host asked Bond what was his inspiration, where did he get his stories from? He replied, "From railway stations." He emphasized that spending a couple of hours in a railway station could inspire any author with a story. Indian railway is so full of stories.
And this is book is just about that. Collection of short stories and poems from around the country, from whomever that traveled aboard it............................ (Read the whole review on my blog.)
The original review of this book is posted on my blog...
To read the original review of this book, click here...
The first I came to read the blurb of this book, I was reminded of a quote by Ruskin Bond is one of his TV interviews. The host asked Bond what was his inspiration, where did he get his stories from? He replied, "From railway stations." He emphasized that spending a couple of hours in a railway station could inspire any author with a story. Indian railway is so full of stories.
And this is book is just about that. Collection of short stories and poems from around the country, from whomever that traveled aboard it............................ (Read the whole review on my blog.)
The original review of this book is posted on my blog...
To read the original review of this book, click here...
January 21, 2015
Great effort to create an anthology that captures different stories of travel in India that would have been lost otherwise. The book and its stories captures all the emotions experienced by a common man in his/her life....confusion, happiness, contentedness, sorrow etc. The story 'Courage is Everything' is funny yet serious where a medical student had to save a life because he realized everyone in the train is dependent on him and have faith in his capabilities. Yet another story 'Steel City of India' tells about the confusion and sadness of a person when he looses his luggage and the pursuit of it.
Go ahead and read to feel the stories.
Go ahead and read to feel the stories.
January 22, 2015
Just in case anyone is headed to India or travels elsewhere in the world this is a little book to savor. Railonama is full of short stories that chronicle the experiences of travelers on the trains of India. The travelers are from all over the world and their stories are both heart-warming and instructive. There are amazing stories of the incongruities of life but also the surprising ways that we show up as human beings for each other. A perfect read while traveling, wherever you might be headed.
March 17, 2015
It's been a while since I got a chance to ride the adventurous Indian railways again. Reading railonama brought the excitement back through the amazing stories the author has compiled. I would love to read some more stories. Living in Canada, railonama seems to be the only railway station which entertains me with that aroma!
March 20, 2015
I feel really honored to have received this book through goodreads giveaways.I really felt happy reading through this wonderful travelouge.Thank you Anupama Sharma for sending me this book.It feels really great to enjoy this awesome book :) thanks again
January 3, 2015
A collection of 40+ interesting and heart-warming stories set in different trains in India.
July 6, 2015
Rating : 4 stars
December 7, 2018
Train journeys hold a lot of nostalgic memories for the people born in the early eighties and before...To the rest, the world had already become a fast-paced place where speed was the order of the day. Traveling by train, with families, as children, and then later, with friends on that first journey to college or the first study-tour or solo trip away from home...all that fills the mind with myriad stories, some of which are etched in our minds, some that we might have forgotten. However, the feeling remains. The heady smell of trains, the people who travel with you, the butterfly feeling in the pit of your stomach just before the start of your journey, everything just adds to the fun...
Railonama is a collection of such stories collected from various individuals sharing the experience which stayed with them across the years. Through this book, we get to relive that journey with them...
Railonama is a collection of such stories collected from various individuals sharing the experience which stayed with them across the years. Through this book, we get to relive that journey with them...
October 20, 2017
Railonama is a collection of short stories about traveling by trains in India. It is a lovely selection of experiences that anyone who has traveled by the Indian railways can relate to instantly. It brought back memories of the conversations I’ve had with co-passengers in sleeper coaches and AC compartments, of the chaiwallas early in the morning, of the singing children, the folks selling hot vadas wrapped in newspapers and my mom packing chappatis and curry for our train journeys to Kerala. The biggest compliment I can pay to this book is this: It made me want to travel by the Indian Railways again. A feel-good read!
February 14, 2021
I loved the book. It was like myself going through my past train experiences.
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