Rail travel has become rather sterile and unromantic with
the advent of air-conditioned Rajdhanis and Shatabdis. Rarely do we get to see
the green countryside or the towns whizzing by. I have had my share of lovely
train journeys that have left an indelible mark.
It was a biennial feature to catch the Grand Trunk express
from New Delhi to Madras (now Chennai) on the way to Bangalore for my school
summer vacation. Preparation would start well in advance and my dad would go
early morning to the railway station to book our tickets. Those days it was not
always possible to get confirmation for onward journeys from intermediate
stations. Till we reached Madras Central we would not know whether we had
confirmed berths on the Bangalore Mail.
Lots of preparation had to be made for the journey which
stretched over three nights. Steel trunks were the norm for the day. Then the
olive green coloured canvas hold-alls had to be packed which included sheets
and pillows for use during the journey. There were no plastic bottles yet, so
brass vessels with a screw on lid and a handle, called rail chombu were used to carry drinking water.
The journey would be in peak summer so our first class
compartment would become pretty warm half way through. At Nagpur station we
would order for a large block of ice that would be kept under the seat to bring
down the temperature. As a standard practice my mother would also buy a box
full of delicious Nagpur oranges. Invariably on these journeys I would somehow
end up falling sick by the time we reached Bangalore .In successive years I had
measles, chicken pox and mumps respectively.
It was an interesting experience to go to Srinagar those
days. We would catch the train to Pathankot and then take the Dakota flight to
Srinagar. That aircraft did not have the power to fly over the mountains so it
was a scary experience flying through the valley till we landed. Our return
journey was by bus from Srinagar to Jammu. I ate curd rice at one of the
highest altitudes at a dhaba in a place called Rambhan. At Jammu we caught the
train to Delhi .The sleeper berths were different than what we have now. They
were comparatively wide ones along the two sides of the compartment.
With apologies to the supporters of the Darjeeling and
Nilgiri toy trains, the most scenic rail journey I have been on in India is
from Kalka to Simla. After hogging on
freshly made puri and sabzi at the station platform I caught the Railcar which
was slightly bigger than a bus. Half way through we stopped at one of the
quaintest railway stations at Barog. It was very British in its architecture
and we had a delicious breakfast in the dining hall served by a bearer in an all
white livery complete with turban. As the train neared Simla, it started to
snow. I managed to reach my hotel before the road got blocked.
Internationally, I would put right on top the train journey my
wife and I took from Interlaken to Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in
Europe. It is a unique cogwheel train that passes through the Eiger tunnel and
gives a beautiful view of several glaciers.
I have not been on an overnight train journey for several
years now, what with airlines offering more attractive fares for long journeys.
But, the experience is not the same.
