A visit to the Rail Museum

Had an interesting weekend overall.

Met up with my friends from college at the Foreign Correspondents' Club at Mathura Road on Friday evening. The FCC has its home in one of those old Delhi bungalows - with green lawns in the front and big rooms with billiards and table tennis tables.

We meet every year, during my trips to Delhi. All of us work in different sectors and it is nice to catch up and get a sense of the broader communications industry horizon. It is also a fantastic opportunity for us to unwind and be ourselves.

In the past, I used to be the chief organiser as being on vacation would allow me more time. But working in Delhi I understand why the guys wouldn't meet up together between my two trips.

Have been planning to do one since I arrived in October, but it has been far more difficult. Work is hectic and sorting out house, house-help and other stuff has taken lots of time.

But I am glad we did get together. It was a nice evening and we parked ourselves in the front lawns. It was a lovely evening with crisp air and there was no point sitting indoors. Catching up on the months gone by and talking of our aspirations for the future, we realised that all of us - in our own different ways - have done reasonably well with our work-life balance. We have been able to spend time with our children, visited places, done things and aren't doing too badly career-wise either.

On Saturday, it was the little one's turn to be pampered. We took her to the National Rail Museum, which is very close to our house. A friend was also bringing her kids there so we arranged to meet up. The Railway Museum is a fascinating place - home to old engines, railway carriages, communication equipment and railway signals. And it attracts hundreds of children from all over Delhi.

Yet, there is little attention paid on how to involve the young ones in the long history of the world's biggest and busiest railway system in the world. Around them, there is a wealth of material with little or no explanation or illustration of its importance. Then there are all those engines and carriages - built way back in the 1850s - which are permanently locked.

Kids do climb up some of these and play the engine-drivers, but there is no one around to explain how the engine worked and why it finds a place of importance in the museum.

The only thing that does attract their attention is the toy train (unfortunately, I couldn't take its photo). Its five carriages and 10 minutes' ride excites children far more than any other thing there. Our kids also sat on the tiny carriages, waved at the others visiting the attraction and got excited when the train entered a tiny tunnel.

Quite peculiarly, the tunnel has Disney characters on it, but then that's another thing. I am sure Walt Disney would have had something to do with trains and the National Rail Museum. Far more peculiar was the space given to the various Railway Ministers and Chairmen of the Railway Board. I mean that is important, but surely the history of railways in India didn't start with the arrival of the ministers or chairmen.

Every time I visit the place, a part of me thinks how much more could be made out of the place. Children could spend an entire day, discovering and understanding the various treasures stored in the place. And each time, I am amazed that you could see every thing and get out within a couple of hours.

Earlier, the fountains little ponds had paddle-boats to spend some time in. But now these have gone away as well. As are the tables and chairs in the local cafeteria. It seems the place is geared towards quick turnover rather than attracting repeat and prolonged visits.

Sunday involved an interesting experience in acquiring booze, but I'll write about it tomorrow.