Hills Near Manmad

Hills Taken from the Moving Karnataka Express near Manmad

Coming back from Kalka to Delhi by Shatabdi Express

I like traveling by Shatabdi Express trains. They have chair car seating, they have are air conditioning and they dump you back at Delhi the same night.

Kalka Shatabdi Express Train at Kalka Raliway Station

So while coming back from Barog we reached Kalka by noon and it was quite hot and humid there. We headed out of the station to eat lunch. We found a restaurant called Shelly's near the station and ordered a lot of things and took our time eating it too. It started raining heavily while we were eating. And yet it was three in the evening when we found our self back at the hot and humid station with a light drizzle still falling.

Seats inside the Kalka Shatabdi Express Train

It was raining but the sun also was out. I walked the length of the station that there might be a rainbow but no such luck this time. Brat 1 got us some tea and that helped in passing some more time.

Unfortunately, some kids came begging and I said I would buy stuff for them. They asked for potato chips and biscuits and I bought them the same. And then we had more tea. The brats finally told me that it looks like the train is open, let us go inside.

Checking out the Reservation List

There was this young girl, recently married (look at all the bangles in her hand, newly wedded brides wear them) on what could have been her honeymoon but then what looked like her husband's entire family was also traveling with them. Shimla is full of honeymooning couples and I have nothing for or against them, until they start throwing their empty chips packets out of the toy train window. But then to be fair to them, almost 95% of the train does the same.

However, the biggest surprise of the day had still not revealed itself. We boarded the train after waiting for sometime on platform 3. We were glad for the air conditioning on a hot day. I had a window seat and both the brats aisle seats. I am mean about window seats, I do not give them even to my nephews. I mean anything else and their wish is my priority but not when it comes to the window seat. They also know this and let me have it after a token protest this time. Most of the times they don't even protest.

And then an elderly couple took their seats diagonally behind us, plugged in their cell phone on charger and started playing bhajans (Hindu prayer songs) loudly. Both the brats immediately plugged on their headphones. One has a ipod shuffle and another a mobile that has a million songs. I have a mobile with three songs and I had left my headphones at home! Another person in Brat 1's row took out his headphones and the mobile with a vengeance after about going through this for half an hour.

I was tempted many times to tell them to lower the volume (or better still to shut up) but Brat 2 always told me to ignore it. Let it be. I had to be content by giving them dirty glances occasionally. After an hour or so, Brat 2 took some mercy on me and transferred my songs via blue tooth to his phone and gave it to me along with the headphones. But how long could I let him suffer?

So I gave him the phone back after a while and was forced to listen to the cacophony till we reached Delhi.

Moral of the story? Next time I will fill my phone with songs and I vow I will never leave my headphones at home! This was sheer torture at the end of a beautiful trip.

Toy Train at the Barog Tunnel, Himachal Pradesh

Toy Train at the Barog Tunnel, Himachal Pradesh

I spent a lot of time at the Barog Station and watched the toy trains come and go to my hearts content. Barog is also home to the longest tunnel on the Kalka Shimla route (part of which you see in the video) which is a little more than a kilometer long.

Around 10.00 am (on 11/09/2009) we were chatting with a railway official. He said there were no trains coming to the station till 11.00 am that day. Brat 1 and I (Brat 2 was still asleep) decided to walk inside the tunnel and cross it. It was dark after a while inside the tunnel. I switched on the light of my mobile phone and placed it close to the tracks. I could see their faint outline of the tracks and walk along. Thus we walked for what seemed like the mid way of the tunnel.

Suddenly Brat 1 called out, "Bua (aunt) there is a train coming this way, I can hear it." I moved the light from my mobile around and saw a shelter (an arch within the tunnel inside which you can stand and the train can safely pass) right next to where we were standing. We happily went into it and the Railcar passed by us. Brat 1 refused to go any further and insisted that we head back and that is what we did.

We headed for the tea stall and asked for the tea from the proprietor. Three tourists staying at the Barog Station came along and asked me, "Ma'am what happened inside the tunnel when the train came?" I told them that the shelter was right at our hand, we went in and the Railcar passed. They replied, "The station master was quite worried about an accident and was scolding everyone around that why did they let us go inside!"

Then they asked the tea shop proprietor what would happen if we had not found a shelter? The proprietor thought that chances of an accident were very high. Another person who was at the tea shop was of the view that there is sufficient space for the train to pass if we just stood flat against the wall. We of course wish to believe the second version but we are in no hurry to check out which one is correct. The group of three gentlemen told us, "You should party tonight, it was a narow escape."

We actually did not party nor did it feel like a narrow escape. I did not tell this on phone to my dad who is an ex railwayman. But when I did today he was not pleased at all.

I can only say I do not wish to repeat this experience. But then the smallest of the kids around Barog have crossed that tunnel ...

Charbagh Railway Station, Lucknow

When I went to Lucknow this time, I was traveling on a badly upset stomach. So, when I boarded the Lucknow Shatabdi Express Train, I had already taken a medicine and knew I could not afford to eat anything on the way. And that is how it was. I had a book to read but then sleep was dominating me so much that I just dozed off and hardly woke up for the entire 6 hours journey!

Charbagh Railway Station, Lucknow

I finally woke up at Kanpur and decided to write a message to one of the conference volunteers at IIM Lucknow. I was reaching around noon, and I wanted to inquire if it would be all right to head straight to the campus. They were kind enough to accommodate me a few hours ahead of time.

Another View of Charbagh Railway Station, Lucknow

When I got out at the station, I was still so full of sleep, and really scared if I would keep well or not. So, when people started asking if I needed an auto rickshaw, I was not really pleased. As a rule the guys who hound you at the Railway Station, try to overcharge you too. But after a while I realized that all these auto guys had to go through prepaid and would charge a fixed price only, probably because there is a policeman at the exit and only prepaid autos are supposed to ply. Now I like that idea. Haggling with auto guys is the last thing you want after a tiring journey.

Mind the Gap, Not London Underground but on Delhi Metro this Time

Mind the Gap, Delhi Metro

I first became aware of the phrase 'mind the gap' when I used the London Underground in 2007. Soon after, I realized that Delhi Metro also has its own version of mind the gap. But it was finally yesterday that I managed to record the Delhi Metro 'mind the gap.' So here is the mind the gap video for you. The lady says 'mind the gap' towards the end of the video and she has such a good voice. I wish my recording equipment was as good. So please mind the gap!

Indian Railways- Always Fascinating

I was taking a stroll nearby with Sesha this Sunday afternoon. I had the Nikon Coolpix in my pocket because I had seen some beautiful and colorful Dahlias outside a house (those flowers would find a place on the blog soon). But then I spotted a goods train parked at a little distance. A colorful small car was peeking out of one of the carriages. I had to go closer to take pictures and Sesha had to drag his feet! Of course I prevailed.

Then I also remembered that Kalyan is holding the 'Train Event of the Month' and I will dedicate this post to the event. He actually class it TEM Feb - The Great Indian Train Journey.

That is Indian Railways in Hindi

This was written on the wagons of the parked goods train. There were kids crossing the railway tracks and they were quite facsinated with my camera and the idea of taking pictures. I asked if they want me to take their pictures too, but they shyly said no, and I honored their request.

The Goods Train, Indian Railways

My original plan was to walk up to the engine. But then Sesha decided to sit and wait for me to come back. Also the track next to the carriages was quite narrow and the drivers at the engine were tooting the horn. I stepped aside and took this long shot and had to be content with it.

The Coils of the Wheels

Anyone having an idea what these coils are called? Shock absorbers maybe? I wish I had framed the picture better and taken more of the coils in the shot. I wonder why am I in such a tearing hurry when I frame my shots.

The Car (strain your eyes to the left hand corner of the picture) on the Carriage

This is the best I could capture of the colorful car, the stationary train and the engine of another stationary train. I wonder why it is so fascinating to watch trains even now!

What do We do with the Time we 'Save'

Picture taken from the Manglore Express, as it was entering Mangalore Station

When we were planning our journey to Bangalore by train in December 2008, a frequent consideration was to 'save' time. I think it is a common tendency of almost everyone to try and 'save' time. I wonder what do we all do with the saved time! This occurred to me for the first time when I was writing a short post on the Bangalore train journey for CLAY.

The biggest advantage of traveling by the Rajdhani Express to Bangalore, is the time saved (though I wonder what we do with the amount of time we try to keep saving, sometimes it feels it is better to spend that time on rain, rather than in my mundane activities).

So what do you do with the time you save?

Taking a Train Tomorrow Again!

Sunset near Bhusawal, Karnatka Express Train

I am taking a Shatabdi again tomorrow, but this time for work. I am wondering if should even carry my SLR or not? But better to have more cameras than less. What do you say!

One More Train Video

Bhusawal Station, Indian Railway Platform

I was in the Karnataka Express train at the Bhusawal Platform right across the scene, traveling back from Bangalore to New Delhi. I had the camera in my hand and I was standing at the door of the AC III coach but this was not the platform side. From the movement that I could see on the next platform I knew soon there would be a train coming. We after all have this peculiar habit of peering out and then everyone would start when someone has spotted the train. And for sure soon the train came in!

Different Ways They Torture You 0n the Rajdhani Express Train

Announcement and Music on the Bangalore Rajdhani Express Train

We traveled by the Rajdhani Express recently from New Delhi to Bangalore (and came back by the Karnataka Express Train, both AC III coaches. So the journey must be comparable, Right? Well, hear me out and then decide for yourself.

There is a big advantage of traveling by the Rajdhani Express to Bangalore, it is a faster train than Karnataka Express. It takes 36 hours to reach Bangalore by Rajdhani and 42 by Karnataka Express.

The tickets of the Rajdhani Express are a bit more expensive but assume that the difference really does not matter to you.

Now listen to the sound track in the video above (after two minutes you can listen to a small sample of the tunes they keep playing on the public address system of the train).

• How do you find the welcome after boarding the Rajdhani Express train? That cacophony continues for a good ten minutes when you board the train and it can send small children into a crying frenzy!
• They wake you up between 6.00 and 7.00 am in the morning to drink tea! Don't get me wrong, I live on tea but at 6.00 am I like only one thing and that is sleep!
• The sample song that you listened to (what you did not listen to the soundtrack of the video? Do that first before you read any further). They play it at all the hours of day and night. One of the things I am looking forward on a 36 hour journey is to catch up on sleep! It is impossible with the music blaring at all hours at a volume over which I have no control.
• It might have made sense to play music (for a limited period) in an era when music players were not in every device you could think of! Now if I wish to listen to a song I can with my mobile phone and so can almost everyone that is the target market of the Rajdhani Express!
• They have been playing the same songs since last 20 years or so it feels.
• We realized this time that there is a person in the pantry whose job is to play the songs. You can request him to play it down but whether he will comply and for how long is any body's guess.
• The sound system is pathetic. It just drives you nuts with the repetitive music in screeching tones at all hours. I wonder if there is someone who likes to listen to it, but then I am sure the Indian Railway is not going to conduct a customer satisfaction survey anytime soon.

Now would you blame me if I wish to avoid the Rajdhani Express train the next time around even though if it means sitting for longer in the Karnataka Express but mercifully without a public address system?

More on Traveling on the Footboard of the Karnataka Express Train

A Video from the Moving Karnataka Express Train

If you have traveled in the Indian trains you know people follow a pattern. Sesha and I were in one of the AC III coaches in the Karnataka Express train with 6 other people for close company. There are six berths (out of which we occupied two) facing each-other and two on the side (sometimes 3 on the side but that is another sotry). A kid if 6 years and his grandfather occupied the other two seats out of remaining four. Then there were two more couples to make the number complete.

When we boarded the train at Bangalore, there were so many people inside the coach but that is common. There would be two people to see off one or two who are traveling and they will remain inside the coach till the train is just about to move.

Then as the train started all the co-passengers try to gauge each-other. I thought my lot was quite reasonable. I was a little worried about the 6 year old, after all the journey was 42 hours long and even adults find it difficult to pass time. Bu he turned out to be a remarkably non fussy kid, he would only ask like a stuck record, "When will the food come?" "When will the train move?" "When will our station come?" and the like. But that was really not much.

As everyone was coming from a 'home' destination the dinner meant opening food brought from home. Only someone traveling for business would be usually an exception for it! Dinner from home over, people in my 8 seats set went to sleep quickly.

I am usually one of the last person to wake up in the mornings and that is what I did. It is a difficult task to use the by now dirty loo and brush my teeth. Breakfast follows it. If the lot is amiable chit-chat would start among book-reading passengers. In this manner somehow the lunchtime arrives. After lunch most of the people go for an afternoon nap.

That is when I decided that I would go and stand at the doors of the AC coach (my nephews tell me that it would be much more crowded in a Sleeper Coach and I may not like it) with my small point and shoot camera. Men do this all the time, women have also started doing it a little bit but it attracts attention.

However, most of the people at the open doors of the moving train were college kids and as I teach students of the same age, they very well left me alone. It must be my frown that warns people not to try and start a conversation with me (even then a school lad borrowed my mobile looking for songs and took one picture of the countryside for me with my camera). I requested a gentleman to take a picture of mine sitting at the door and later I was advised by him not to stand too close to the door when the train is coming to a halt or someone may snatch my camera in quite a patronising manner. One has to take such comments in stride.

Clicking pictures from a moving train can be a frustrating experience. That is when I decided to make a video instead and clicked pictures when the train would slow down!

PS. I am in way encouraging anyone to travel on the footboard and near an oen door. I did it just for a lark and even though quite common, you will find warnings all over the train advising against it.

Lazy Sunday Photo- At the Footboard of the Karnataka Express Train

At the Footboard of the Karnataka Express Train

All these years I wonder how come I never traveled near the door of a train. It is a very common practice in India, however no one is thrilled at my adventure at home! And before you think it is not a common practice, have a look below.

A Young Lad at the Other Door of Karnataka Express Train