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Max Mueller Bhavan | India New Delhi

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6:30 PM

Railwomen: Songs and Stories of India’s Railways

Literary Talk|Literature meets the Indian railways at the next Goethe Darbaar, as railwomen take centre stage.

  • Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi, New Delhi

  • English
  • Free Entry. Registration is mandatory.
Register here
From the rhythmic pulse of trains to the human stories carried across the country’s vast rail network, this session brings together literature and lived experience in a compelling dialogue. Acclaimed writer Rahul Bhattacharya and former railway officer Smriti Verma explore the stories, struggles, and systems that define India’s railways.

Blending deeply researched literary fiction with firsthand insights from decades of frontline leadership, the conversation reflects on one of the world’s largest and most complex public institutions—not just as infrastructure, but as a living matrix of livelihoods, aspirations, and journeys.

Moderated by Shrayana Bhattacharya, this session promises a rich and layered exploration of gender, labour, and storytelling within the railways.

Speakers

  • Rahul Bhattacharya

    Rahul Bhattacharya is the author of Railsong, a novel about a woman forging a life for herself in twentieth-century India. His earlier novel, The Sly Company of People Who Care, won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and the Hindu Literary Prize, and was shortlisted for the Man Asian and Commonwealth Book Prizes. His first book, Pundits from Pakistan, is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricket books of all time, featured in Wisden’s top ten. Born in Bombay, he lives in Delhi.

  • Smriti Verma

    Smriti Verma is a former Indian Railway Accounts Service officer (1987 batch) with over 35 years of experience across accounts and operations in Indian Railways. She served as Director Finance at Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation before retiring in 2025, and currently works at the Krishnamurti Foundation of India’s Rajghat Education Centre in Varanasi.

Moderator

Shrayana Bhattacharya

Shrayana Bhattacharya is a gender economist and author of Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh. Her work explores gender, labour, and aspiration in contemporary India, combining economic insight with cultural analysis. She has worked with leading international development institutions on issues of inequality and women’s economic empowerment.