Kavaraipettai Revisited

The station board. Observe the climate in background. Ideal for train-spotting.

September 20th, 2008.

It was a cloudy day. It had rained yesterday so there was a bit of moisture in the air. I decided to take an EMU along the GPD line. Kavaraipettai is my favourite station and I visit it often to study, to revise or to relax mostly during weekends. That's also the place where I write something useful. I like serene and peaceful environments like that.

I took the MRTS to reach Chennai Central. At Chennai Central, I boarded a Sullurpeta EMU in the noon. It wasn't crowded much. It took 30 minutes for the train to start after I boarded. I knew it would get crowded soon as the train crossed GPD. It was a boring wait. I observed that a eunuch was begging the passengers for money. I felt sorry for her. Especially after hearing the comments passed by a group of men sitting next to me. Sometimes, God punishes people harshly. Though I believe that He exists, He fails to help the good people and also those with good intentions. After all, what was the gift to Mahatma Gandhi? A bullet. Indira Gandhi made India a Nuclear Power. She was also gifted a bullet. Sometime there are people in this world who attain pleasure by taking a dig at others. How many events does an Indian Railway EMU see everyday? Be it Express or Passenger or goods. Sorrow, happiness, grattitude, fun. Trains see a lot!


Sepia mode. I wanted to try something eccentric!

As my train crossed Basin Bridge, I started observing the locos. I am not a fan of road numbers and train numbers. But sometimes I do note them. I sent an SMS to Chennai Gang about my spottings(this is done by almost all members at MAS) My spottings at Basin Bridge shed on that day were 22712, 22001, 20549, 21229, 20632, 22729, 22274, 21300, 22224, 22659 and many more. As the EMU chugged along, I started taking notes and started observing the scenery.

For sometime, I decided to forget a few things. Data Structures, Electronics, PSK, FSK, FM, AM, C, Java,.NET,CCNA,CCNP, Circuits, Axioms and Theorems. I came out of the nutshell. There were lot of things to be observed. I had the time. I didn't want to miss it. I turned around and glanced at people. There were people who were going on some business/office related works or to some marriage or even returning from shifts. School girls/boys returning home as it was half day I believe. There were few people sitting in the floor. I personally avoided First Class-as I don't think there is any joy in travelling in that.

There was a small girl sitting next to me. She was observing what I was doing with my notebooks. I had scribbled WAM-4, WAP-4 and lots of numbers! I guess she couldn't understand. As I noted down the loco numbers, she couldn't understand, she felt confused. As she looked, I started drawing a tree. She got amused and laughed. Kuzhandhai(means babe in Tamil)!

Maybe that’s the reason I am close with Railways and locomotives. The engines know my life more than anyone else in this world. They have been with me during my tougher times and happy moments and I LIVE EVERY DREAM!

My train(EMU) moved along the suburbs. I was familiar with most of the station names but not in order. The train had a brief halt before Tiruvottiyur outer. After a minute, it got clearance and entered into Tiruvottiyur. At that time SCR LGD WAP-4#22625 came with Pinakini Express. It was doing only 30kmph. I noticed that it was a CBC rake. At Ennore, a Goods train passed us towards MAS. Just before Athipattu Pudhunagar, WAG-5#23765 Asansol passed with a wagon rake towards MAS. It was doing MPS! Nice speed and nice track sounds. Kavaraipettai came after an hour of travel and I got down. I decided to wait at the station for sometime at least till Pinakini Express crossed the station. It would take more than one hour. I sat down under a tree listening to my Backstreet Boys collection. I was enjoying the scenario. I am not a great fan of Western culture, but still listening to Western music in a desolate station gives a thrill. Just imagine!


A lizard and an MAS bound EMU in background.


Minutes passed by. EMU’s came and went but not that frequent as you find in TBM or AVD section. It might be funny for a professional to spend time like these, but I prefer to be like this. In India young children are given food by showing the moon and making them eat food. In my case, I saw the moon too. But there was something else in addition. My parents showed me the locomotives too. Indian Railways is an synecdoche to my successes and happiness in life.

The weather was amazing. It was cloudy but wasn’t raining. Truly amazing. Trees were swaying! The breeze hit my face hard. I was humming one of my favourite MJ's song in my mobile. As Michael Jackson performed THAT famous anti-gravity lean in my mobile(I was watching the video), I noticed that the starter towards GPD turned yellow and then green. I got ready! Pinakini was on the way! In the far distance, I could see the face of WAP-4.

The road number was 22516. As it neared the station, the Loco Pilots started honking. As they passed me, I guess they would have realized me as a rail fan. The photo came out well in my opinion at least as per camera mobile standards. Moreover it was cloudy.


WAP-4#22516 with Pinakini Express blasting at 80kmph.

I walked along the tracks. I saw a few people gathered. Later I realized that a snake was lying injured. I suspected that Pinakini Express must have done it!


WAG-7#27391 with a BCNA rake crossing the station at around 60kmph.

I went inside the village and went to a small shop. I ordered for a drink. I asked,"Miranda". The shopkeeper said," What?". Oh, I used the wrong word. "Sir, do you have color?". Now he understood and gave me Miranda. Then I purchased orange colored candies for 0.25paise each. Pleasant memories of childhood. I had them when I was a kid. I walked back to my platform and sat with my tree. It has become 'my tree'. Since my school days whenever I visit this station Kavaraipettai, I use to sit under this tree. I had orange candies and observed the scenario. WAG-5's and WAG-7's hauled BCNA rake towards BZA.


I feel that Indian Railways is the only iconic symbol, which represents traditional India even today. The locals in the town must have been surprised to see me. Maybe my getup(dress code)! Formals, backpack. I walked along and spent sometime at the level crossing and sat on a trolley.


WAP-4#22756 with Navjeevan Express, Kavaraipettai.



Quiet and peaceful atmosphere.

I thought I had time to visit the other side of the village. I looked at my watch. I hoped Navjeevan would be a little late. It reaches MAS at 1605hrs. I calculated that it would cross KVP by 1505hrs. I had roughly 10 minutes. I decided to cross the LC and explore the other part of the town/village. I walked in lonely mud roads and took some photographs of fields. It didn't come out well. Then I returned back in time and sat at my favourite place to catch Navjeevan in action. Navjeevan Express came with a WAP-4#22756. It was doing 60kmph. At the same time, WAG-7#27391 came with BCNA rake towards BZA.

I decided to return in the next EMU, erasing my previous plans of watching Coromandel Express in action. I boarded the next EMU towards MAS. As I was returning back near Ponneri, WAP-4 crossed me with Sangamitra Express to Patna. I thought that I should have waited for some more time at KVP to see more action. Near Minjur, 23151+23227 Vijaywada WAG-5 hauled a goods train. I saw 23479+23438 with a goods rake at Korukkupet. Near Basin Bridge, I saw 22595 with Hyderabad Express. Just before entering into MAS, my EMU had a halt of 2 minutes. I had a Miranda at Central and walked towards Park Town. Since I had bought the return ticket from Kasturibai Nagar itself, it wasn’t a problem so I boarded the EMU directly. I calculated that it was Rs.13 from Kasturibai Nagar to Kavaraipettai via Chennai Central. Just before my EMU came, 7651 MS-KCG Express crossed Park Town with WAM-4#20549. I reached home by 18:00hrs. People at home were surprised. They expected me at 19:00hrs thinking that I would wait to see Coromandel Express.

Overall, it was a refreshing day.

Total Expenses: Rs.45 for 6 hours of fun.

-Krishna Kumar. S