For many Indians, train travel, especially in air-conditioned coaches, is supposed to be the most hassle-free way to get from one city to another. But influencer Ayushi Ranjan’s recent trip from Patna has gone viral for showing how that image can quickly crumble.
In her Instagram reel, Ayushi said the chaos started the moment her train rolled into Patna station. According to her, “as soon as the train arrived in Patna, those who had tickets, forget them. Those who did not have tickets, they all entered the AC-2 and AC-3 coaches as if there was a mini stampede.”
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She had managed to snag a coveted lower berth, but that didn’t guarantee peace. “An aunty came and sat on my seat. I asked her to move, she didn’t move, and I didn’t say anything to her,” Ayushi recalled, adding that she repeatedly had to raise her voice to get basic space.
The creator also spoke candidly about what it’s like to be a woman travelling alone on Indian Railways. “As a female solo traveller, it was as difficult for me to survive inside this train as it was for me to board the train,” she said.
On top of unruly passengers, Ayushi said the AC coach itself felt grimy and claustrophobic. “And the kind of smell – Oh God! I cannot tell you. AC 2 was not making me feel that it was AC 2. I was personally feeling that I had wasted my money,” she said.
She even waded into a sensitive topic, commenting on regional stereotypes, saying, “This might hurt you, but I am still going to say it”.
“As for all the stereotypes about Biharis, we are the ones who created them, and sadly, we are also the ones who end up proving them true,” she wrote in Hindi.
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Ayushi captioned the clip simply: “Well, nobody prepared me for this.” Since then, her video has crossed a million views, with hundreds of viewers chiming in to share their own stories of chaotic train rides.
A user wrote, “I have spent 12 years of my life in Bihar. I completed my schooling (3rd to 12th standard) there. After 12th grade, I moved to Kolkata for college. And I would travel from Bihar to Kolkata by train during holidays. The first few times, dad would come to pick me up and drop me back at my hostel, but it wasn’t feasible for him every time. So I started travelling alone! The horror, I tell you! I would travel only in AC compartments still never felt safe! It’s been 20 years now, it seems nothing has changed”.
Another user who belonged to Bihar wrote, “Being a Bihari I understand completely in and out, little sad but true.” A third person commented, “I’m ignoring this reel. Bihar does not deserve my time. I have lost hope with that state sadly.”
A fourth individual commented that this is not the case with just Bihar alone, but in other states such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh as well. “I totally accept it happens in Bihar, but NOT JUST BIHAR. it happens in other places to.”
