Classifying Travelers

One of the great pastimes for me is observing people. It not only helps me spend my time interestingly, it gives me an insight of how people behave and sometimes, why they behave as they behave. I go even a step further; based on my observations, I tend to classify people. The results are revealing, interesting & astonishing.

I do this all the time I travel. I have been doing this all the time I have been travelling, starting from my college days. I picked-up this habit when I used to make innumerable bus journeys from Delhi to Chandigarh during 1988 to 1992, while I studied @ PEC.

The crowd in a normal HRTC (Haryana Road Transport Corporation) bus used to be much different from the ‘elite’ class who used to travel by an Air Conditioned bus. It was so easy to mingle with the folks travelling by a normal bus. There used to be an atmosphere of ‘gap shap’ (chit chat). Most common language for conversation was of course Hindi / Punjabi. At any given point in time, there was continuous noise of one group or the other discussing a latest event / piece of news, except for maybe during overnight journeys or hot afternoons of May & June. It was quite common to be approached by your next door stranger who would offer his ‘ghar ka khana’ (homemade food) and who would in no time become such a close acquaintance, as if you know him since ages.

Once in a while when my pocket would permit or when I wanted to impress my friends, I took an AC bus. I used to be astonished to observe the contrast in the behaviour of the ‘elite’ class, who was far more reserved than the ‘normal’ class. Here, you were more known by the quality of your hand bag and the jacket you were wearing than the quality of your mannerism. Your next door stranger would remain a stranger except for if the circumstances were exceptional. An ability to converse in English would always be an added advantage!

The story repeated itself in the train journeys during my umpteen official tours, where I classified those travelling by 3 tier AC and those image conscious, who travelled by 2 tier AC. This observation heightened itself in the journeys by the famous ‘Rajdhani Express’. The atmosphere of camaraderie in a 3 tier AC was much in contrast with an ambience varying from false pride to suspicion in a 2 tier AC. Whatever minimal mingling and sharing was possible was cut down by the thick curtains of the two tier. If a latest movie or a song was the best excuse to speak to a stranger in a 3 tier, a book was the best excuse of how not to start a conversation with the fellow passenger in a 2 tier. For some, an earphone with a ‘walkman’ was a good supplement to protect one’s identity.

The story still repeats itself when I travel by air. Those platinum / gold / silver card holders, who are able to book their preferred window and aisle seats much in advance and that too in the few front rows, behave no differently than those who I described as travelling by an AC bus or 2 tier AC. You can spot them jostling at the check-in counter, hurrying in the lounge, breaking the queue at the security check, pushing others while boarding and repeating the sequence while deplaning. Many a times they behave with the cabin crew as if they own the aircraft. Most of the time, these people have a constipated look on their face. In contrast, It is so relaxing to also observe a very different class of people who care not for an early check-in, who are happy with a middle seat, who would share a joke or two with a fellow passenger and most importantly say good bye to you with a smile :-)