Indian Railway

Down here in Village Hatwariya, things are a bit slower than in the big cities. We’re part of the Indian Railway network, even though we’re tucked away in the Madhubani district. The post office is in Harlakhi, which is where all our mail goes. This area is mostly farmland, so seeing the railway presence here is important for the local folks. We don't have a big fancy office building. It’s more of a local hub for checking on the lines and making sure the tracks through this part of Bihar are clear. Sometimes the cows get on the tracks and we have to go out and deal with that. It’s a very rural setting. The people working here are mostly locals who know every inch of the land. We don't have much in the way of high-tech gear, just the essentials for communication and track maintenance. During the rains, the roads to the village get pretty muddy, so getting back and forth can be a bit of a challenge. We mostly just keep to ourselves and do our jobs. There’s a sense of pride in being the link between this quiet village and the rest of the country’s vast rail system. We drink a lot of chai and wait for the daily trains to pass by. It’s a simple life, focused on the steel rails and the dirt paths of Hatwariya.