Madurai revisited after 15 years-Part I

Meenakshi Amman/Goddess Parvati. Note the characteristic parrot on Her shoulder.


I visited Madurai in May 2008 to attend the reception and wedding of SR's Senior Loco-Pilot's daughter. I accompanied Vimalakar and Poochi Venkat. As usual, just like other big trips, I entered into the trip at the last moment. I had just finished graduation and I was having some personal work, but I decided to join Vimal and Poochi for this trip. I boarded a local EMU to Fort from Kasturibai Nagar around 05:30hrs and at Fort I boarded another local towards Egmore. While I was entering Egmore, I could see 103SR Pondicherry Fast Passenger leaving with a WDM-3D. I was quite far away, so couldn’t note the numbers, but I know it was a WDM-3D.

I waited for Vimal to come from Pazhavanthangal(PZA). I had no cameras. Not even mobile. My mobile failed and I was going without a mobile for a major trip. Around 06:45hrs Vimal came to MS. Vimal and myself enquired in the enquiry counter and got the confirmed location of our seat. Since we booked it at the last moment our tickets were waitlisted. Vimalakar somehow managed to get it confirmed. Thanks Vimal. Vimal and myself were in the 3rd coach from the last while my friend Poochi Venkat was in the front end of the train and was traveling in 3AC. We didn't meet Poochi before departure, but we met him only after reaching Madurai.

We had breakfast at VLR, Egmore. I noticed that Egmore VLR was inaugurated on my birthday!! 27th July, 1986. Even the year was same! I was a bit surprised. My friend Dilip has noticed this many times and have told me earlier, but I saw this for the first time only now. I saw WAP-4#22548 coming with 2632 Nellai Express. I saw WDP-3A#15504 with 2638 Pandian Express. What happened to the usual KJM WDP-4 link? Why was it missing? Has it failed? The answer came after an hour. Keep reading. Vimal and myself were conversing in a rail man’s language. A man in Loco-Pilot uniform was observing us. He had a hidden smile in his face. He understood that we are rail fans.

We got WAP-4#22618 till Villupuram. The power was actually noted by Aravind from South Cabin(Aravind's Saidapet residence) and later he informed us through SMS. Aravind is quite lucky to have his house near the tracks! I got the aisle seat. I was wondering whether I would enjoy the trip because I haven't got a window seat. My train was accelerating fast and was doing good speed even before crossing Nungambakkam. Vimal said that it could be WDM-3D (before starting). I said that it gets a WAP-4 till VM. As we crossed Mambalam, we both came to the conclusion that it should be a WAP-4 because of the pickup but still Vimal had his own doubts. I was a bit optimistic that it was a WAP-4. As my train neared Saidapet, I came to one of the free window seats and waved at Aravind who was waving out to us from his balcony. He was also coming to Madurai, but he was boarding the evening Kanya Kumari Express along with Gowri Sankar and Seshu sir. We would be attending both the marriage and the reception and they would be attending only the marriage.

I forget all tensions in life when I am with the railways. All the engines have been good supportive Comrades and whenever I am down they have let their invisible hands over my shoulders to support my mild burdens of life. I feel lucky. I am one of the luckiest persons in this world. The reason is that God has given me a medicine for tensions(if there is any?). I forget everything in life when I see a fast express train thundering past me. The exact reason of why I got this strange love for machines is still a mystery. These iron horses are my brothers and sisters! And ofcourse you! You are also precious to me.


Lord Vishnu gives away the bride to Lord Shiva(groom). Lord Vishnu plays the role of a responsible brother.

Praang!!! What was that?

It was 2694 Pearl City tearing near Palavanthangal. Vimal commented that the train was doing great speed hauled by a WDM-2. He felt even our WAP-4 was running slightly slow when compared to Pearl City. Then I saw 7614 RMM-MS Sethu Express tearing across my train. Then came the news.

The news was that WDP-4 hauling Pandian had failed near VM. At VM, Pandian got its loco changed to WDP-3A class. The failed WDP-4 was later attached to 6116 PDY-MS Express and was hauled by an AJJ WAP-1. I spotted that train near Singa Perumal Koil. Infact, it was Vimal who spotted the WDP-4. Unfortunately, he couldn't note the dippy number. I sent a message to Aravind saying that "your favourit dippy has failed". Aravind in an SMS later confirmed this and even sent an SMS to Chennai gang saying "Sad News: Dippy kutty has failed".

Vimal and myself then got busy with our talks. We talked about US invasion of Iraq and how Jihadis and Taliban arose? Lots of facts! Blah Blah.. We do talk rail stuffs, but too much of train stuffs could be boring. WAG-7#27492 Erode shed loco was spotted at Melmaruvathur. It had taken the loop, giving us the preference. The run between Melmaruvathur and Tindivanam was too good. We had a halt at Tindivanam. Vimal went for a short nap. We were put in loop at Mailam for about 10 minutes. This was where my train lost precious time.

It halted for more than 10 minutes!! AJJ WAP-4#22603 SUPER MONSTER came in with 2606 TPJ-MS Pallavan Super Fast Express. It was too fast and the train was doing MPS. Horns blaring! But Vimalakar was still sleeping! We reached Villupuram some 15 mins late. We had a loco change. Since we were in the 22nd coach, we didn't make any efforts to go to the front. From here, twin WDM-2's took over the job of hauling the train as beyond Villupuram there is no electrification. I got down and bought veg-briyani packets and water bottles. Charismatic curves, village type sceneries awaited me. For the first time in my life, I was to do a section beyond VM in daylight. I have done this route earlier, but not during the day!

For some unknown reason, my train halted for more than 10 minutes at Villupuram. We started at VM at around 1050hrs. The train negotiated a long curve before Kandambakkam. The train's pickup was too good. Guess what? We got twin WDM-2#16883 with 16882 leading the way. For every notch, both locos were equally synchronized and they let out puffs of smoke at the same time. Treat! Excellent performance. The acceleration was too good. It was a treat for the eyes to watch such scenes. We were put on loop at Ulundurpet, a small wayside station after Villupuram. I could see that already WDP-3A#15533 was in loop with a passenger.

It was the Madurai-Villupuram passenger. Sluggard! He takes 12 hours to do 334km I guess. The great thing was I was to return by this train a couple of days later!! Keep reading. That was one of my best slow passenger journeys in my life.

I wondered when we would reach Madurai. Delayed by an hour? As I wondered, KJM WDP-4#200xx came with 2636 Vaigai Express and crossed us. It seems that Vaigai has already arrived at UDL and was waiting at the outer. After Vaigai crossed, my train was given clearance. Then came small stations like Parikkal, Puvanur(??) and Meppuliyur. Parikkal reminded me of the Narasimha Temple. We blasted through those stations. My train entered Virudhachalam Jn, at least 45mins late. Poochi Venkat called Vimal and said that the train was at least 40-50mins late. Poochi was wondering why I wasn't updating the gang through SMS using distribution list? Sad, no one knew that my mobile was down!

I could observe the lines towards Salem and Cuddalore Port at VRI. Electrification was in progress in the Villupuram-Tiruchi section. After Virudhachalam our next halt was Ariyalur. We did manage to compensate for lost time. Poochi called us again and told that we would be reaching on time due as there was good amount of buffer in timetables. We had a scheduled short halt at Sri Rangam too. Nagercoil-Mumbai Express crossed us near SRGM (Sri Rangam). We reached Tiruchi 30 minutes late. I bought Sambar Rice and Curd Rice. Vimal got busy with Curd Rice while I got busy with Sambar rice. After having it, I opened the Fanta bottle. Vimal personally requested not to have soft drinks after having masala stuffs. It causes acidity or stomach problems. I decided to follow with his advice. Well-he is elder to me!


The next section was a very interesting one. TPJ-MDU. It involved scenic mountains, curves and lonely stations. Given a chance I would build a small house here and settle for good and do farming. The fact about me is that I have never traveled much in Indian Railways!! My journeys are restricted to fast passengers, EMU's or short distance UR travels. Or else, I do the same route again and again like MS-VM-TPJ or MAS-KPD. All these reasons gave me extra energy, so I decided to stand near the door and enjoy the scene. I have never seen the VM-MDU section in the daytime. So this was the right time for me. I took caution while standing near the door.

I could see passenger trains and freighters put on loop as my train blasted through at good speed. The twin engines were too powerful. Near Pungudi, I could see WDM-2#17711+another WDM-2 with 6128 GUV-MS express. The brother of my current train! Brothers are very passionate and helpful and care amongst themselves. These trains proved this fact. To assist its senior, the junior has stopped and taken the loop, while the Senior (6127) acknowledged Junior’s sacrifice (6128) by a honk and went past. The Station Master was in white shirt and white pant holding a green flag. At this instance, white shirt depicted peace and the green flag depicted that peace/mutual adjustment was the right way in life. As twin WDM-2's teared across hauling my train at 100kph+, the green flag in the station master's hand appeared to have curled. Classic sight.

We had a halt at Manaparai. By this time we were only half an hour late and we have managed to compensate some time. Great work Comrade Pilots! And bonus news. Manaparai is famous for "murukku" a popular dish. Our next halt was Dindigul Jn. I spotted YDM-4#6286 at DG. Vimal even took a pic. I was in an escalated mood. Train journeys in India is definitely exciting. I thanked God for giving humans a lot of things to relish. Too bad that people are wasting time in terrorism. I feel sorry for them. After Tiruchi, many passengers got down and my coach wasn't crowded at all. I wondered why? Vimalakar and myself had one full bay for us now. Vimal settled in lower berth and went for a short nap but woke up soon. I was shunting between the doors and my window seat and I was roaming around as if it was my own backyard. Amazing! In life true love is found only through mother. If you find a near equivalent in anyone else, then you have won your life! I may not be a big shot or a popular guy, but I noticed and felt that love in Indian Railway locomotives. Not only in locomotives and also with other humans. I don't care about what's gonna happen in future, I know I have won life in one way.



Pic Courtesy Vimalakar. N.C. GOC YDM-4#6286 resting at Dindigul Jn.

Adding to my joy, the weather also changed and it became cool. It slightly drizzled too. I rushed to the bay and woke Vimalakar and asked him to take photos. Vimal started taking photos. The weather became cold. I could see my train going amidst mountains. The run from DG till MDU was great! I enjoyed it very much. I got content in life. I don't need anything else. What I have now is more than enough. The speed was good, if not the best and the scenario was awesome. Thanks to the timely rain the weather was too good. Remember, Madurai is known for its extreme heat conditions. We reached Madurai on time! Our train had a lot of buffer time. Especially between TPJ-MDU. We met Poochi and together we went to the front to observe what was happening.

The twin WDM-2's were removed. A ED WDM-2 (I forgot the number) was to continue from MDU! We could observe a young Assistant. By judging him, I could observe that he was slightly tensed or rather excited. He was raring to go. As the train left MDU, we noticed that the rear 7 coaches were removed and the train appeared pretty short.
Along with Poochi, Vimalakar and myself discussed our next move. We then proceeded towards Hotel Pearls. The room had a nice A/C. At this time, we got a message from Gowri Sankar saying that he was onboard 2633 KK Express along with Aravind and Seshu.

We refreshed ourselves and got ready. Poochi and Vimal were discussing seriously about caution orders, Loco pilot skills and other incidents in Indian Railways. Poochi showed his personal booklet-a Xerox of handbook, which shows the caution orders between the sections of MAS-SBC, MAS-BZA, and MS-TPJ. I was amazed at Poochi and Vimalakar's interest in Railways. I am not interested in such technical details at all, so I simply watched them talk.

I was in Loco Pilot uniform to attend the reception. Even one of the loco-pilots commented that,"Even I don't wear that uniform, but you have so much respect for it". The truth is a railman is never a railfan. Our dear friend welcomed us with a smile. He instantly recognized Poochi and Vimal. I was a bit surprised when he recognized me. Generally, people get confused as there are two KK's in our Gang.

Few programmes were conducted to entertain us. South Indian lifestyle wedding! Eventhough Chennai is a part of South India it is still different from other places like Tiruchi, Madurai, Tirunelveli. Chennai is becoming an IT hub and lot of people are becoming modern but down south people are conservative. That is something I appreciate! Conservativeness.

The competitions were interesting and humorous.

* Few women were called on to the stage and were given plastic balls. They were to throw them into a basket and whoever scores the maximum is declared the winner. A bit ordinary eh? Keep reading. You would find it interesting.

* A pack of straws were given. Ladies should pick them up and stack it on top of their heads. Weird game. The one with the maximum straws within a time would be the winner. The funniest part came when the winners posed with their husbands, along with straws on their heads.

* Men were called on stage. Bachelors only. Poochi and Vimalakar yelled at the top of their voices so that our dear friend would hear and call me to the stage. But it didn't happen. I wondered what sort of competition it could be. The participants were given lipsticks and paper. They are to kiss the paper. They were given a minute time. The one with maximum number of kiss impressions would be declared the winner. Thank God! I wasn't there. Poochi and Vimalakar burst into a laughter. I asked them the reason-the reply was funny. They were imagining how I would have done!


6127 MS-GUV Express negotiates a curve somewhere between TPJ-MDU.

We met other loco-pilots too and we had our dinner together at the reception. I spent time interacting with them. Senior KK was coming for the marriage from Ooty. Around 01:00hrs, Poochi and Vimal went to MDU station to receive Sr. KK. But KK's train was running late and was still at Dindigul at that time. Poochi and Vimal returned to the room. The doorbell rang. I was half-asleep. Sleepingly, I walked and opened the door. Poochi was surprised, "Hey, he has opened the door quickly".

Around 04:00hrs Poochi and Vimal went to receive Sr.KK and his family. They have already arrived. Poochi and Vimal returned again for another short nap. I opened the door. They were quite surprised. I guess they didn't expect to open the door soon. Around 04:45hrs, Poochi got up and asked me to get ready first. With Vimal and Poochi taking the loop, I got ready.


Sateilite View of Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple.

Readers should know onething. I am also called as KK or Junior KK by my school friends and rail club. Then there is also a senior person with the same name and he got the name as Sr.KK. Wonder why I had a different name of “Official” at college rather than the traditional KK. The reason could be due to the fact that I always wear formals and I detest wearing T-shirts with slogans nor jeans.

Our MAS gang members have arrived by 2633 around 0230hrs in the morning. We had booked a room for them at Madurai station itself. As I returned from bath, I noticed that Poochi was talking over the phone with Aravind. Poochi was telling, “We are all coming with KK and his family and kids”. Aravind really thought otherwise. He didn’t know Sr.KK was coming and mistook me. Later, Poochi imitated Aravind’s reaction, “Jr. KK vikku adhukulla kuzhandhaiya?”.

My Return Journey Plan:

1. Madurai to Tiruchi by bus with Vimal. Then Vimal will board an overnight A/C Bus from Tiruchi to Chennai and will travel alone to MAS. I would return alone to Chennai after staying at my uncle's place at TPJ for a night.
2. Tiruchi to Villupuram by MDU-VM Passenger.
3. Villupuram to Chennai by bus, Vaigai or 104SR.

We visited Thiruparungunram and Meenakshi Amman Temples. Then we bid goodbye to Poochi and Sr.KK. They were returning by 2662 Podhigai Express in the evening. We left Madurai in the noon. Vimal and myself boarded a bus to Tiruchi. I bet that Vimal would never forget this bus journey in his life. The bus shook wildly and was unfit for travel. I wondered that the tyres, nuts and bolts would come out before we reach TPJ. The bus halted at Virali Malai (not sure but I think that should be the place). I got down and bought some snacks. The location was good. It was something like a wayside hotel. I could see cows, donkeys and goats. Tractors on the roll! They were coupled to small wagons. I could see distant mountains. The weather was hot. I need to accept it. I was perspiring a lot. Vimal was very tired.

-To be continued...