Third-class Ticket

Penguin Travel Library

by Heather Wood, Beryl Saunders (Illustrations)

A firsthand account of 40 Indian villagers who are given the chance to see all of India by a wealthy landowner.

Genres: Travel, India, Nonfiction, History

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Rachel Kopel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a incredible book, sadly out of print and hard to find. Apparently a true story, a wealthy benefactor sets up a trust to provide a Third Class Train Ticket for all of the residents of a small Indian village to travel throughout their country. No one has ever been anywhere and this is the story of the first group that sets out to fulfill the bequest. There is joy and sadness, victory and tragedy. I could barely put this book down until I finished it and now, a couple of years later, parts of the story remain vividly in my mind. Unfortunately the book was sent to a friend and is currently *lost.*

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was super engrossing !
The author managed to recreate the scenes very well.

The 44 villagers and their journey through India must have been a daunting experience! Esp as this was based in 1960’s ,when information was not so easily accessible to these set of travelers .

The story was true then , it’s true even today when the people who are not so rich wants to travel they might have to overcome personal as well as societal biases against them .

What I liked about the story:
The way the journey transformed the 44
The generosity of Uma sen and the creative idea of getting her people to see the country
The narrative throughout, it captures the quirks of simple village people as well as Bengali’s very well.
The non judge-mental narrative is also nice , we forget that the author is a non Indian .

I would definitely be recommending this book to all .

It gave me chuckles , sighs, smiles and good journey.


The description of Varanasi, Delhi , Kolkata , altitude sickness , taj , are exceptionally good .

[Sairam Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first found out about this book, I couldn't wait to read it. There's a pdf of it online which I downloaded almost immediately, but then didn't get to it, one of the reasons for which was that reading this on an iPad somehow didn't feel right.

And then I found a copy at Blossom. There was one more; I should have bought that too, even if just to give it to someone, someone who'll get it.

Because it is a very very special book. The premise itself is so extraordinary that you are hooked, and then the journey sort-of coops you in with these characters, very much like the third class coach the villagers travel on.

Third Class Ticket is at once a celebration, a lament, and a swansong for a country that is in itself surprised at being one. The book is brilliant, in that you get to hear from people you seldom hear from, and their life, their viewpoints, their aspirations all bring forth a portrait that is as rare as it is beautiful. Which is also why it is a surprise that this book isn't better known. It should be. It is a classic.

There are so many things about this book which I need more space to explore, and this review probably isn't that. But there's just so much here to unpack, and I hope I get time to do so. This book deserves that.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to get into the story, but soon found myself downright fascinated - definitely recommended!

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had long wanted to read this book and at last got the chance to. In 1969 a group of villagers set off to "see India". They weren't even sure what "India" was as they considered themselves bengales first and foremost. The rich landower of their village has wrote in her will that the village should take this trip and it would be paid for. In a third class carriage on the indian railways they travelled all over India. Unfortunately Ashin their leader dies and others have to step up to continue the journey. They learn a lot of things from others as they are taken to irrigated farms, factories and schools as well as many temples.

I didn't love the writing style of this novel and sometimes found it a little dull to read, although the story was never dull. At the end of the book they go back to their village but as different people, big decisions have been made and life goes on. Its set in a very specific time - of hippies, a lot of poverty, a recent history of the partition and villagers who normally never left their villages - which made it a very interesting book.

[Kati Clendening · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the story, though the writing style was not my favorite. What an adventure!

[Pegcart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't go to India without reading this.

[Jacquie]

An interesting read and a look back to India in the late 1960s. I found the voice of the book at first curious (the author rides along with the group from the village, but never actually inserts herself into the trip). I found myself wondering how she was viewing the interactions, logistics and the group's transformation into tourists who kept getting mistaken for a group of beggars. As I continued reading, I found myself deeply immersed in the villagers' view points and how many incites were coming from the leaders of the group when they were viewed as very poor and uneducated. It left me with many points to think about. I would recommend reading this one as it's not simply a travel book, but an incite into humanity, philosophy and religion.

[Daisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

這本書真的很棒
有點奇怪的是原文是在1990年出版，中文書卻是在2021年

一個孟加拉小村莊裡純樸老實的年長村民們因為當地有錢寡婦的遺囑安排之下進行了火車環遊印度的旅行，這些人大部分一輩子沒出過村莊，卻因為這樣的「禮物」而見過了整個印度

看過了那些指高氣昂的有錢人，也見到了在火車站跳上跳下自立生存的貧困兒童們，也體會到別人的想法和生存方式都是不同的

而他們不經意的對話偶爾卻也透露著人世間的智慧
譬如
「我們告訴那些畜生，說我們需要牠們賣力，牠們會賣力的。但我們只告訴另一半，我們不想要什麼，還有他們不可以做什麼」

害我書才看到一半直接想買下原文版的精裝來珍藏

小缺點是
- 明明一起去的村民有45人，整個路途中講到的大約不到10個
- 對於過程中參觀的東西不只村民走馬看花，作者也沒有再介紹
- 結局非常的薄弱

[Brooks Goddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am indebted to whomever recommended the book Third-Class Ticket by Heather Wood. It is fantastic; I've not read anything like it. The story of a 1969 round India trip by Bengali villagers told in their voice by a young Canadian anthropology student. Questions and statements by the wise if illterate. Out of print but available online at "bookfinder.com." I repeat, fantastic.

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a very long time ago and it still comes to mind every so often. Pure and simple, an amazing story. And not just about poor Indian villagers and Indian society generally, but about the human condition.

[Kathleen Leach · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING story.

[Lesley Gardiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read. A true story set in a small Indian village and a journey the Seniors of the village took after being left a legacy.

[Victoria Morwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book, one of my favourites

[scarlettraces]

DNF

Really didn't like the novelistic style. Removing the outsider's view doesn't mean it wasn't there.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Reads more like a novel than a travel book. As an anthropologist trained as participant/observer, Heather Wood convincingly portrays India the tourist destination as seen through the eyes of village peasants. Largely illiterate, uneducated elderly peasant farmers and their wives take to the trains and buses to visit for the first time in their lives the cultural and religious sites that make India a compelling destination for foreigners. What we discover is that they too are foreigners. They identify themselves as Bengalis first and Indians second and start their journey with only a vague notions of India as a concept. Their visit to Delhi, for example, introduces them to India the Democracy, and a system of government that is both puzzling and alien to their own practice of governance within the village - even though they have lived within it for forty years. Their journey of discovery encompasses experiences of life beyond their imagination as well as transformation and death - of companions, preconceived notions, fears, prejudices, limitations and identity.

[Lindsay Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read some memorable books this year – and this one is right up there. The true story of a group of forty four Bengali village elders who travel for seven months around India in a special third-class railway carriage. Their trip is paid for by a bequest from a wealthy landowner so that the villagers might ‘see all of India’, and organised by Baroda House, the headquarters of Indian Railways. This group is the first to go. Largely illiterate and uneducated, their journey shows them a world beyond their imagination - and changes many of their lives forever. A beautifully told travel story that reads more like a novel, with wonderful characters giving a remarkable insight into Indian customs and culture. This is a magical book - highly recommended. Third-class Ticket

[Ally Yang · Rating 5 out of 5]

[2024.01.09_4]

把覺悟看做是靠著學習、自律和奉獻得來的。〈第三章 疑懼與外國人 尋求悟道解脫〉

【娣帕卡：】孩子，永遠不要辜負妳的天賦，這些都是女神賜予的，你只要盡力而為，就是在榮耀女神了。〈第四章 北往眾神家鄉喜馬拉雅 車廂百態〉

【娣帕卡：】「每次死去的時候，其實是另一個重新的開始。」
「那不是重新的開始，而是靈魂從導師的話裡學習。」
「這我知道，不過隨著靈魂不斷學習，我們也有機會活得更慈悲。我們不是注定永遠停留在愚蠢和自私的階段裡，這就像小孩長大懂事之後，也能學會做人不要愚蠢、自私。」〈第七章 從奧蘭加巴德車站出發 墳墓是種紀念〉

要是我們都受過教育，我們就不會害怕，也不用總是把票投給有錢人。我們自然要懂得投給誠實正直的人。〈第七章 從奧蘭加巴德車站出發 墳墓是種紀念〉

【神父：】命中注定的一切跟我們現在怎麼做人，其實不太有關係，我們做人是跟眼前的善惡有關。〈第八章 憩息於烏卡塔蒙得 阿米雅行為失常〉

【黎娜：】一張嘴很能說的人，通常都不安好心眼。〈第十章 回家路上 黎娜的一天〉

【14 Aug 2022 / Readmoo / 277】

[Kristen Wilmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began reading this book in India and only finished it much later. There's no real cohesive plot - it's a chronicle of many different lives, routine and unusual events, and the coming together (and not) of different worlds. It asks some big questions about the value of community and what it means to be worldly, educated, open-minded, etc., without giving clear answers. I enjoyed being drawn into the lives of these travelers and taken along with this account...

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why the back cover blurbs on this book say things like "heartwarming." To me, this account of a journey undertaken by more than 40 Bengali villagers in 1969 reads more like a horror story starring figures from a folk tale, as the elderly succumb to the physical and mental stresses of exploring India. My complete review can be found here.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story was interesting and at times heart warming. Too many characters were in the book and far too much irrelevant focus on their daily lives - washing clothes and brushing teeth etc. Not enough about India.

I found the old fashioned form of English in this book really offputting. I gave up reading it when I read a sentence beginning with

"Hark, ........"

[Elaine Hostetler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing book about life in India from the view point of villagers. It takes place on a train voyage all over india, so not only is it an interesting insight into the minds of the village elders but also a travelogue of the country as seen through their eyes.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book! I read this while traveling through southern India by train so it seemed very timely even though it was written 30 years ago. Many things remained the same even through the passage of that much time...

[Marjie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about community, working together, finding strengths in your companions. And a wonderful tale about India.

[Riina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luin tämän Santiniketanissa ollessani ja oli kyllä mainio tarina. Ja muutama kohta todella havahdutti.

[Ravi Narayanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent idea. It explains, How travel to expand the horizon of a mind.

[Latha Lokanath Pradeep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book ....... travel through India through the eyes of villagers leaving their safe haven for the first time .......

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third re-reading of this book. Needless to say, I love it!

[Yves · Rating 5 out of 5]

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