Bridging the gap
The 14-day train trip from Delhi to five states of the north-east can introduce this exotic but underexplored part of the country to many Indians.
Two great civilisations — China and India — got to know a lot about one another from the travelogue of one man, Hiuen Tsang (602-664). His example has always been highlighted to demonstrate how travelling can be a part of education and in modern times, economic integration. Indians, as a nation, love to travel but it is a matter of misfortune and irony that most have not even travelled anywhere close to the north-eastern region of the country that perhaps packs in more diversity in language, natural beauty, culture, tradition, history, food and apparel in a small region than anywhere else in entire India.
IRCTC’s decision to take people on a 14-night-15-day trip to five states of the north-east from Delhi is a welcome move from many perspectives. It is sheer extravaganza for the senses to be travelling to Kaziranga national park, Agartala, Shillong, Cherrapunji, Kamakhya temple, Tripura Sundari temple, the Brahmaputra and tea gardens of Assam, Itanagar and Kohima among other places. The Una Koti sculptures and palaces in Tripura apart from a walk on the famous Root Bridge in Meghalaya are also included.
The trip is supposed to offer modern amenities for comfort and convenience. The biggest collateral benefit is that the journey might act as a bridge across the mental barrier that prevents many to undertake holiday trips to the north-east which is unlike any other region of the country. Satisfied travellers can be expected to turn into goodwill ambassadors of the region where the volume of tourism might increase following the train journey. In this age of social media, pictures, videos and vlogs can reach millions of families in a few months increasing the flow of tourists.
It can directly lead to significant economic benefits for the entire region. It is no exaggeration. Guides in Jaisalmer would testify how the flow of tourists, especially from Bengal, multiplied overnight after Ray made his 1973 classic film Sonar Kella based on a fort in Jaisalmer. Down the decades the flow turned into a tide. The IRCTC experiment has a bigger potential.