Indian trains

Last month, I tended to buy tickets for 3AC, as temperatures were sometimes near to 40 C in Tamil Nadu, and in order to EXPERIENCE life beyond the AC and tinted windows, I just opened the cabin door and then the train door and sat on the seat or bench there, letting the wind whip around me and taking in the beauty (and sometimes the sewage smell). I could retreat into the AC when I wanted to and then come out of the AC to experience the breath of India when I wanted. Nice to be able to go back and forth. (I often had company with the train doors open between the train cars.)

1000blessings, that sounds like a very nice idea. I’m not quite able to visualize, though, what you describe.

I understood that 3AC doesn’t have cabin doors, and by “train door” I think you must mean door between the carriages. Is there a seat or bench in the vestibule between carriages? I travelled on an Indian train once, 23 years ago, between Varanasi and Delhi, in Sleeper, and am not familiar with the layout of the rest of the train - except via internet descriptions and photos.

what 1000blessings is referring to is the door on either side that keeps the AC air locked in...

so you are correct, the 3AC (just as 2 AC) do not have individual doors created for each set of 6/4 berths, but there is a door which u need to open to use the bathrooms or wash basin.
There is actually no door in the vestibule between the carriages.

The vestibule is very flexible, so cannot really keep seat or bench there.

this should help.
the door at the end of the passage is the door he was referring to.
http://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/shifting-gears/85794d1231179104-side-berths-indian-railways-made-3-seater-edit-not-anymore-dsc09683.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/50853-side-berths-indian-railways-made-3-seater-edit-not-anymore-3.html&usg=__nd3c7Uv8jQEUkQ9ScRmBR6yArE0=&h=1224&w=1632&sz=725&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=vrluBURG6BB96M:&tbnh=172&tbnw=228&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dindian%2Brailways%2B3rd%2BAC%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D653%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=771&vpy=281&dur=1295&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=115&ty=88&ei=-yOTTNLUKYWqvQOMq9n3Aw&oei=-yOTTNLUKYWqvQOMq9n3Aw&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0