MY Rail Journey Memorabilia

“the most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that.” - Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth




I have to accept, I am not an avid reader, I have to be in certain mood to read. I need to dive in to the texts, and get transported to the world built up by them, filled up with my own imagination. and for that I need one hundred percent focus. so reading in train is certainly not what I ever do. I can put my earphones on, and constantly look outside the window to find something new, when the view is monotonous I end up starting at faces inside the train, every image develops a thought, every thought becomes an experience, every experience a story.

for a very long train journey, specially if you're traveling in those AC coaches, where people suddenly becomes so quiet, well behaved with no political discussions, no one entering and exiting,  no kids crying, or even if something is happening around you, you pay least attention, a scenic view outside the window, is such a relief, specially for people, who as i said above, cant do nothing much but observe and of course in case of me, who has option to shoot "with camera" its a blessing for the Milo in me. I get extremely bored in train trips, precisely the reason I have n't travelled in train for a very long time, ( excluding the light rails of course). In last one month I did 5 train trips, ranging from 4 hours long to 36 hours, the first one was from Delhi to Jammu and back, another was to Etawah from delhi and back, and the last and the most tiring one indeed was the Delhi- Bangalore Trip, this time vis Hyderabad which I never did before, though the route is not much different I think.

With plenty of photos to share and so much to say about, the pilgrimage and of course the visit to the native land, I thought I'd compile the boring and not so boring train part in one post. so here are couple of photos with/ out stories.

{ Delhi to Jammu }



Train journey is one, but from home to platform is another. battling traffic, cool metro ride, to 3 people sitting on one rikshaw ridden by a man, again those same thoughts crowded my mind. the number one - never think of that extra buck in malls and restaurants but when it comes to giving money to sabji wala or rikshaw we bargain. as he rode, through high and lows of the road, and the shadow of me zoomed from my left to the right, following the lamp posts. the next thought comes in to my mind, how much value labor has? can you earn being physically strong? there is one saying in hindi, "Akal badi ki Bhains" who's superior, the brain or buffalo. I am trying sorting it out,  how much does he earns in a day, in a month, does he eat enough to keep him strong to pull 3 people, or he is being really greedy cheating on with own physique.



The Station has arrived, I am hiding a coin of 5 rupee in my fist, he asked for 40, dad settled it with 35 I guess, I wanted to give him that extra 5, while my dad walks away. mom wouldn't say anything i know. but its kinda insulting to my father if i did so. I get down, try to jump on to the high footpath, i almost fell in the dark, my mind was somewhere else I think. anyways, I pick up my stuff, look at the guy, and start walking behind my parents towards the platform bridge.

"I think he's satisfied.  35 is what he was expecting. may be thats what is the actually deserve. I dont know. "

We are almost an hour and half early. the station is no fancy, there is absolutely nothing except ofcourse people rushing to catch their trains. ( I can say since I have seen many in my childhood.) since its the month of Shravan, there are plenty of young boys in saffron tshirts and shorts, carrying their Kawad to haridwar. "they are suppose to walk right?" I ask myself. "ah its too much to ask these days" there are discussions going on wearing synthetic and modern yet more comfortable attire to a pilgrimage, "isn't dhoti-kurta convenient enough?... may be not. this is much easier to walk in." some explain. BTW their are factories in old delhi who make Tshirts and shorts specially for Kawad Yatra. how amazing I thought. saffron is business.

Suddenly I remember, That Balika Vadhu episode might be over by know, let me check if its been uploaded, and yes it is. first I watch it with my dad, ( he, pretty impressed with quality, and streaming!! he basically wants the iPhone for himself. precisely) then I watch it with my mom, and yeah the time is up. we are in the train and its about to leave.

{ You can get a lot of dilli darshan while on train, technically the people below the poverty line (not really sometimes), living in mud houses along side the rail tracks. I have a lot to say about them, in some other post may be }


express train or not, its so irritating when they all of a sudden stop in some wonder-where land. Ya they need to let the other trains pass, and its totally understandable, but dint the train drivers ever hear, its "Chalti ka naam gaadi"?

the interesting part about this photo...  many ones and as many parallel lines.. could you find a few!. btw think i took it with wide angle or a fish eye on iphone.



They say, you become what surrounds you.... the atmosphere, people, mood, everything influences you in one way or the other. but well thats a big picture, in this small black and white picture, whats not visible is that train is delayed, it is stopped at some weird place and simply not moving. while I can kill my time looking and others and shooting pictures and brainstorming whats going on in their mind, they have all this to do! get in to a healthy conversation, play like a child, look outside try to find something interesting, get lost in your thoughts, or take a short nap with face resting in your palms... which one works for you?



Ah the Dal pakoris and that mouth watering chutney, though cold, tasted like heaven. they are certainly not alien dishes, but sure had the taste of the region. In Punjab, I could still see the trees loaded with raw mangoes, july though is way beyond the season, or is it not. I am never been a Master chef contestant, in none of my incarnations i guess, but I have good understanding of food items, ingredients, it was a simple chutney or you might like to call it sauce, made with tomatoes, red chillies and some really tasty bit sweet raw mangoes. and as I said, no mango i taste back here tasted like that one.

Part II - Updated on Aug 14

What can i say about this ever busy and bursting Jammu Station. Its truly a definition of a transit point. About 50000 passengers every day is a crazy statistics, and about 90% of the people who arrive at the station leave to katra and other destinations almost immediately. With so many people traveling everyday to this city, there is hardly much info available on internet about Jammu, and search engines queries either result in Srinagar or they precisely take you to totally weird place.

Anyways, I had a plan to explore Jammu city and Udhampur ( That famous Jammu - Udhampur train route included), but thanks to the weather and other factors. Those plans are part of future now, if I would ever go. Now more about Jammu and rest of the Vaishno devi trip in other posts...!

{ Delhi to Bangalore }



Ask me what was the highlight of this trip and answer would be rain. the hopesoon moonsoon returned after a long break and it did like never before. I even heard news of flood in the areas near Bhopal as I was crossing it. It kept raining as the express chugged through the UP west regions to MP and Maharashtra, thats the part of the journey I pretty much slept through. My iPhone says this shot was taken at Jijora MP, I m not sure, why I feel it was Lalitpur UP but anyways, this is only where I braved the rain and tried to get out of my shutter island. rest of the time it was that mighty window who kept me company.



precisely the reason I have a plenty of shots to share! This is one of my favorite shot from Bina, MP. That  red-white carriage in the left corner of the picture looked stunning from the window, but I think train was moving at very high speed so by the time I pressed the shutter and iPhone captured the image, this is only part I could capture. I still love the liquified dripping visual of a wet platform.



the very charming rain drops, the Train and the greenery outside together in motion, feels so poetic. what made this image is so unique was this continuous spread of green, very close to the rail tracks, which I think I dint find later on.




Oh Yes as soon as I heard of the flood, I had my eyes locked on to that wide window. I remember seeing this one river in MP while traveling b/w bangalore to delhi, I dont remember the name of. but either i missed it or i guess the train change the route somewhere, and this was the only canal ( dont think its a river ) that i found on the way and I could click.



Before I go, here is one of my favorite shot, with a very unique window view and my overused yet happy feet in. it was shot somewhere in Kudumalakunte, Karnataka. I love the way this leafless tree is spread in the window creating a absolutely unique frame  dry leaves and branches on the ground and the shrubs, give this a dry-land sort of feel. which is in total contrast to what I had experienced in earlier part of my journey.

To be continued...