The train travels from Dibrugarh in Assam, a state in northeastern India, to Kanyakumari, the country’s southernmost point on the mainland. It is the longest ride on the vast Indian rail network.
Hanley was in India for the tenth time on a two-month trip, and took the train trip seeking artistic rejuvenation. “I took train 15906 because it’s kind of the Mount Everest of train journeys — the longest train journey in India,” Hanley said. “It is a sort of a once-in-a-lifetime crazy adventure that I wanted to try to document in words, photos, sounds and video. The journey itself was a search for personal and artistic rejuvenation.”
Hanley isn’t the first to document the Indian railway in some form. He has good company in authors Paul Theroux and Eric Newby, who have both written about travel in India, especially by train. Hanley began the journey at Dibrugarh on January 30, and arrived at Kanyakumari on February 3. He was the only passenger on the entire train who traveled the entire journey. Everyone else got off or embarked in between.
Hanley plays the tabla, an Indian percussion instrument, and has been to India repeatedly since the 1990s. His band is named Autorickshaw, after the motorized three-wheelers that ply in India, providing cheaper alternatives to cab services. As a photographer, he has focused on health issues, especially the aftermath of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy and leprosy patients in India.
Hanley captured several photos during his journey, and compressed about eight hours of video into the two minute time lapse.
