In the late 2000s, Karan Madhok left home to travel alone around India, living off a backpack, sleeping in trains, searching for more of his country, and finding more parts of himself. In a photo-essay, he recalls why this ‘bharat darshan’ was the best experience of his life.

Short story by Jamie Alter: ‘His eyes were ever sadder than the lady on the train. Yet there was some resemblance between the two, a similar pain that both of their eyes had been accustomed to.’

Overrated, wonderful little cups of chai. Shadows of sunlit coaches in the day-time. The human restlessness at the platform. Colourful bookstalls and neon nights. The country transforming outside the barred windows. Here’s a photo gallery of life seen through the Indian Railways by Karan Madhok