One of my colleagues from Dubai had the oportunity to visit India recently. This was his first visit to New Delhi. He comes from Germany, and he always wanted to explore India. This was his wish for almost 15 years, but finally he managed to visit New Delhi last month with his family. He stayed in Delhi for three days then he left for Lucknow, Varanasi, and later to Kolkata. Then I had suggested he catch a train from Kolkata to Delhi while returning and he did exactly the same.
He was extremely happy to see the diversity India offers. He had never ever thought that New Delhi was completely different from Kolkata and Lucknow was different from Varanasi. He had the perception that India was the same everywhere. It was an unexpected revelation for him. In fact, in India language and cuisines change every few kilometres. India is known for its unity in diversity. I always suggest to all my non-Indian friends in Dubai that if they want to see actual India they should take a train. India has many luxury trains for almost every destination, and it is more comfortable than taking a flight. Even I, being a resident of New Delhi, took my family to Ajmer, Jaipur, Amritsar, Shimla, Bangalore, Ranchi and many more cities by train only. It is incredible to travel through India by train.
T. A. Khan,
By email