TRAVEL DIARY- #UNRESERVED COACH #EXPERIENCE #VIZAG-KIRANDUL PASSENGER
That train was packed ! .........packed to hell.!...it was packed to the magnitude of post Independence Lahore return train.
Owing to my underestimation of this Vizag- Kirandul passenger as a passenger train and as a ghat train and my “ who will travel in this train? “ kind of attitude , I didn’t bother to reserve a ticket ...it was squarely my mistake . well ! That doest mean that the reserved compartments were empty and filled as per the protocol , the whole train was packed , thats it .
I was left out with no other option than to travel in the unreserved coach along with some TEN THOUSAND and odd people .....With much of difficulty I squeezed myself inside the train and the train started moving .
This train travels through the jungle, ascends and descends the Easter ghats at a speed little faster than a Mule and it stops at all stations exclusively created for this train , as this is the one and only train through this route .
Inside the compartment I stood among my sweating fellow passengers and was held tight and still by the standing people, I didn’t get a hanger to hold-on even , but then it was not necessary as the crowd provided a good reinforcement for me from swaying this way or that way . I didn’t have a place to keep my travel bag as people were sitting in the luggage loft comfortably in uncomfortable positions. The passengers -, they were villagers with gunny bags full of weekly groceries, rice ,live chicken , farmers from the mountain with materials for their farming , local merchants with their monthly stocks and rural college picnickers,
With that fetid sweat smell, and the crowd chatter , standing for such long time made me so frustrated. My purpose of selecting this train to see the scenic eastern ghats ,on the way to Arrakku valley –my destination , went for a toss, and the thought of standing among the crowd for a ‘god only knows how long ?’ made me even more nervous .
After the first station , the train stopped at many locations for no reasons , it stopped for allowing the frequent criss crossing of iron ore laden goods trains, which was quiet frequent . It stayed in stations for more than required time, I could see the excited reception to this train from the station masters ; almost all the station masters or station in charge got their share of materials –may be from their respective homes ,downloaded for them from the guards compartment , I saw the TTR , having tea or sharing a cigarette with all the respective stations masters inside the station offices.
After one hour of travel , I saw a man in dothi with a towel turban occupying the window seat constantly starring at me; from the start I noted , he was noticing me with a purpose , a mean look , initially I just ignored him as a curious villager staring at an outsider, but at one point I started noticing little meaningfuly , I started getting the meaning of his stare, he had a purpose , he wanted to do business with me , he wanted to trade..... he raised his hand and spread his palm to show 5 , I understood he was asking for 50 ,,, I immediately nodded ‘yes’ , , he just got up and put his towel on the seat and invited me to sit, I pushed myself thru the crowd and sat on the seat – alas!... I got a seat , a window seat , a seat worth a million ...I was so excited about this transaction ..... the next station , the man got down and came closer to the window, I happily pushed 5o bucks to his hand , he moved away .......and mingled with the crowd.
The train moved and halted in umpteen number of locations, exchanged luggage with more station masters , passed thru 84 tunnels , equal number of bridges and some via ducts , allowed way for all the goods trains on the earth ,I thought .."....who cares...!.. let it take the full day to reach my destination I don’t care , I have the whole day at my disposal and I have the whole of Eastern Ghats on offer thru the window with its spectacular Valleys and scenic gorges ."......... the crowd shouted in ectasy when it passed thru tunnels..........Thats cool ..! I started njoying my travel .
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