The first time I saw a train, I was standing on a wooded slope outside a tunnel, not far from Kalka. Suddenly, with a shrill whistle and great burst of steam, a green and black engine came snorting out of the blackness... "A dragon!" I shouted. "There's a dragon coming out of its cave!"' The charm of travelling by a train as it speeds its way out of a tunnel or a jungle and passes through nondescript villages and towns is unmatched. There also exists a joyful curiosity in unfolding the mysterious lives and destinations of its passengers. Abeer Javid has been writing books about the hinterland for 2 years, but this is the first time his stories revolving around trains and railway stations of small-town India have been brought together in a single collection. Classics such as 'The Eyes Have