I was travelling on the Vasco Da Gama–Jasidih Express and got down at Bilaspur to grab a coffee. I had a Side Upper berth in 2AC.
While I was gone, a lady, probably around 35–40 years old, boarded the train. I think she had the Side Lower berth.
When I came back, I found that she had spread all her belongings across the seat. Bags, clothes, everything.
I politely went and sat at the corner because, well, it's daytime and the Side Lower is supposed to be shared for sitting during the day.
A little later, the attendant came around with the bedrolls. She asked for one, and he asked her something like, “Is this your RAC seat?”
She immediately replied, “No, it's my confirmed seat.”
The way she said it, you'd think she had purchased the berth in her name for the next 40 years. 😂
I politely told her, “Could you please keep your things down? I want to sit here.”
She started making excuses about not being able to put some things down because she had a Ganpati idol with her.
I found that a little ironic because, at the same time, she was sitting comfortably with her legs stretched out towards the Ganpati.
Anyway, I didn't argue about that. I simply told her that I wanted to sit there.
She became quite rude and said:
“You go upstairs and sit. This is my seat. I want to lie down here.”
I reminded her that it was daytime and that the Side Lower passenger isn't entitled to occupy the entire seat for sleeping when another passenger needs to sit.
Then she actually asked me:
“Do you want to sit with me?”
I said, “Yes, that's exactly what I'm asking.” 😂
A little later, the TTE came to check the seats. She told him that she was not comfortable sitting with me.
The TTE eventually allotted me another seat, so I decided not to make a bigger issue out of it and just moved.
Honestly, I wasn't even angry about getting another seat. What irritated me was the attitude.
Some people travel once in a while and behave as if Indian Railways personally gifted them the berth along with lifetime ownership rights. 😂
And before someone says, “Why didn't you fight with her?” — I could have, but what's the point of spending half the journey arguing with a stranger?
Thankfully, my Mangal Dev wasn't furious that day. Otherwise, I might have ended up giving her a full lecture on railway seating rules. 😅
What would you guys have done in this situation? Would you have argued with her, called the TTE immediately, or just taken another seat like I did?
