Visiting Chittoor-Kanipakkam

27th December, 2008.


I decided to visit Kanipakkam Sidhi Vinayakar temple. The reason I stated to everyone was peculiar. I wanted to be in another state for a few hours. It was for a change. Kanipakkam is near Chittoor which is in Andhra Pradesh. My plan was to board Brindavan Express at Central and get down at Katpadi. Then board a passenger to Chitttoor from Katpadi. Return would be by bus from Chittoor to CMBT directly. From there I can board a bus bound towards Madhya Kailas.

I started early from my house with my dog Damien coming till Kasturibai Nagar Railway station. I boarded an MRTS train to Park. I reached Park by 0630hrs. Central was too crowded than I expected. I wondered whether I would get a seat in the general unreserved coaches. I went to the platform and the rake wasn’t there. WAP-4’s were bringing in trains from neighbouring states. Soon my rake was shunted to the platform. The crowd boarded the coaches on the run. Generally, I don’t do acrobatics like the so-called “College students”. But sometimes I do become a Professional Porikki-if necessary. As the rake was shunted, I got into one of the coaches on the run. I was lucky to get a window seat but the seat was towards the guard and not towards locomotive. I wasn’t that disappointed. I was happy with what I have got.

Brindavan had a delayed departure and it started only at 0730hrs instead of 0715hrs. Till Villivakkam, the train was slow. The stretch between Vyasarpadi, Perambur, Carriage Works, Loco works were done at 50kph. Korattur, Ambattur, Annanur, Avadi were crossed at good speed. For some unknown reason, the train slowed near Hindu College. Sevvapet Road was crossed at 80kph+. Surprisingly, my train had a halt at Tiruvallur. I was shocked when the announcement came over the loudspeakers stating that Brindavan has stopped. I never knew that Brindavan was so under-rated and it stops even at Tiruvallur. But talking as a true Indian, I knew that it was nothing wrong in Superfasts/Expresses stopping at Tiruvallur. Considering the huge amount of sub-urban traffic and population of the state a few prestigious trains can stop at Tiruvallur.

The scenery was excellent as usual like other train journeys. No words to say. How about buying a plot over here and living with ploughs for good? It seems no one is content with their life. Nature, greenery, rice fields, canals, bridges impressed me. I often travel in trains. There are two reasons. The simple reason is that I like it. Another reason is that I want to see my country.


Chittoor Vinayakar Temple.

Egattur, Senjipanambakkam, Kadambattur, Mosur, Puliyamangalam! As my train approached Arokkonam, I could see WAP-1’s and WAG-5’s standing inside Arokkonam Trip shed. My train had a 2-minute halt at Arokkonam. My train overtook 101 AJJ-SBC Bangalore Passenger at Mukundrarayapuram. I got down at Katpadi at 0940hrs. That’s bad for a superfast train which is going to run only for 350km approx.

I went to the VLR stall. It was closed. So I had no options than visiting the Non-Veg VLR. I bought chapattis and kurma. The price was Rs.20. I opened the parcel to find 4 numbers. I felt it was pretty good. Kurma was nice too! I went to the last platform and waited for my train. Katpadi-Arokkonam passenger left with a WAG-7. I was surprised to see a goods dedicated locomotive hauling a passenger rake. That’s India! Anything would happen anytime. We adjust within ourselves. Even if there are lots of crowds we would adjust and share our seats. We sit on each other’s head and travel for hours in the Unreserved Compartments but the spirit of unity is there. After all, we all look the same. Same color, same appearance, different culture with same style etc. Now what did I say different culture with same style? Am I contradicting? Nope. Different states, different dance, different language but almost the same script. Most of all it’s our land. Amazing isn’t it? What’s not there in our country? We have everything. It’s our land and we own it. There are no one called orphans and there should be no such thing in India. Each soul which takes birth here is the property of the Government and our Government is also like our parents. Each drop of water, piece of land in this land belongs to us and we own it combined.

If I had traveled in Brindavan for another 100km, I would have been in another state with different culture. But I was to travel north for another 4km. I was to enter into Andhra Pradesh. Awesome! I have been touring without any visas/passports. You must be thinking that I am kidding but I am not. I know very well that within a country no one needs to have any documents. But I view each state in my country as a separate entity forming a Union. I was amazed at the freedom I have got in my nation. I was happy and admired the unity. Even if Bill Gates wants to visit India, he needs to have a passport. It's because he is not an Indian. But just by taking birth in this country I have earned the right to enjoy its culture without any irritating formal procedures.

I could see a lot of Sabarimalai devotees waiting for the train to arrive. It was the Vellore Cantonnment-Tirupati passenger. It was a DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit). The crowd was enormous, but I was lucky to get the door. I stood near the door for the 31km run from Katpadi to Chittoor. It was a single line electrified route. Wonder why they were wasting diesels by running a diesel hauled train in an electrified stretch?

My train started and it took the line towards Renigunta. The first station was Bomma Samudram. I believe that I entered into (South Central Railway) SCR zone from this station. Correct me if I am wrong. The next station was Ramapuram. The person behind me was getting down here and since I am standing at the door, he wasn’t able to get down. He said something in Telegu which I couldn’t understand. The person nearby translated to me that the person was actually asking whether I was getting down or not? I was astonished. A fellow Indian was talking to me and I couldn’t understand. I looked at myself and felt ashamed. I haven’t achieved anything in life nor could I think that I have achieved something in life. There are many things which I don’t know about my own country.


I took this photo with my mobile. I wish it could have been better. I liked this photo though.

The next station was Peyanapalli. Blue shelters, standard yellow station sign boards, signals, loop lines, cows, trees were there and they greeted me as my train entered into the station. Then suddenly my driver went into an aggressive mood and started accelerating madly after crossing the points. I could make out that my train was doing at least 80kph. The next station was Siddampalli. Chittoor came at 31km sharp. I got down from my train. I saw the rake of Venkatadri Express parked alone. No locos were attached. I came out and inquired how to reach Kanipakkam in Tamil. Surprisingly, the reply came in fluent Tamil. I boarded the bus to the temple. If I am right the bus took the route towards Aragonda/Erali and took the right from a junction. I was in a private bus. Hence it had a lot of stoppings. It stopped even infront of houses and many people got down comfortably before their houses. The bus crossed a few villages. I was amazed at the scenery. Typical rural life. My bus reached the temple at 1200hrs.


My train stops at a wayside station. Excellent atmosphere. Typical rural atmosphere.

The queue was long. All around me people were talking in Telugu. I didn’t know what to do, but I managed to advance ahead speaking English. I bought a Rs.50 ticket to avoid the long queues. Rs.100 would have been more prestigious, but I didn’t want to see my God that way. I stood in the queue with fellow comrades but belonging to a different state. A Bengali family was also visiting the temple and was interacting with me. They were a family of 6 people with grandparents, a husband, wife and a small boy and a teenage girl. For some unknown reason, that girl didn’t even look at me comfortably and preferred to look away. The crowd was becoming more and more noisy. They were getting impatient due to the delay. The reason was some big shot was about to visit the temple. I stood at the back of her in the queue with her parents infront of her. It seems that she didn’t like standing with me. But little did she realize that I was at the back of her just to prevent men falling on her. It’s an unfair life isn’t it? People often misunderstand us.

I had a nice darshan of the deity. It is believed that the sacred idol grows every year. The kavach-shield donated for the idol in 1957, is now too short. I bid goodbye to the family. The family also greeted us in typical Indian fashion of saying, “Namaskar”. Surprisingly, even the girl greeted me. My eyes did the talking,” Why are you afraid of me? I am also a fellow Indian like you, but from a different state. We are all a part of the same Republic”.

I came out of the temple and I saw a person dressed up in paint. He had aluminium painting all over the body and was in the make-up of Mahatma Gandhi. I went to a nearby hotel. Generally, I take Chapattis, Parottas, but that day for a change I ordered meals. For some unknown reason, I was impressed with Andhra culture. Of late, the Andhra connection has brought some changes in me. Maybe it’s because that I like my country or maybe it’s because that I like N.T.Rama Rao very much. Koottu, kaai-kari, sadham, rasam, kuzhambu, pickles, chapatti, kurma, daal. Excellent. It made my mouth water. I enjoyed the meals. But I was surprised to find the bill amount to be Rs.50 as it was A/C full meals.


A person with aluminium paint all over.

I boarded a bus soon and got down near Chittoor Railway station. From there I walked to the new bus stand. It took at least 20 minutes. The time was around 1345hrs. I thought of taking a direct bus to CMBT but the next one was only at 1530hrs. I saw a Chengalpet bus and also a Sholingur bus. This was the crucial point. I made a mistake. I should have gone to the nearest railway station or maybe to Arokkonam or Tiruttani. But I decided to return by bus directly to my home. This was a great mistake and it hit me hard. Continue reading and you would find it why.

I boarded the Sholingur bus at around 1435hrs. The bus went through scenic places full of greenery. I bought a ticket to Sholingur. Exactly at 15:01hrs my bus crossed the Andhra Pradesh-Tamilnadu border. There was a marking in the tree and the sign board said, “Tamilnadu welcomes you”, the board on the other side said, “Thanks for visiting Andhra Pradesh”. Amazing! You just travel 500km and you are in a new land, with different culture, life style, new language. But we all look alike. Then why should we fight? Why India-Pakistan conflict? Maybe we are brother countries and we always fight as we love each other so much? Generally, it happens in any brother-brother relationship isn’t it?

The bus was doing well and at Sholingur the conductor suggested that I should go to Tiruttani and board another bus. I took another ticket and went to Tiruttani. Here came the problem. My bus took its own time to start. They started at around 1645hrs. The journey went on and on. The bus driver seems to be not interested in going to the third gear. The passengers were also frustrated and a few even got down. I should have taken the clue when my bus stopped at Tiruttani Railway station. I could have returned in my favorite “trains”. But since I was lazy I didn’t switch so I stayed in the bus. Here and there I slept. My worst shock was that I reached Tiruvallur only at 1830hrs. It took two hours for me to reach Tiruvallur which could have been done by train in 25 minutes approx. I crossed Manavalan Nagar at around 1900hrs, Poonamallee at 1945hrs and then Nerkundram at 2015hrs. I had enough. I got down at CMBT at 2025hrs and switched bus. It was a Kalpakkam bus. I got down at 2055hrs and reached my house at 2100hrs. My dog Damien was eating biscuits.

-Krishna Kumar. S