Arasili Trip-[01/02/2007]

My friend Prabhu poses with WAP-4.


February 1st, 2007.

The plan was to visit a place called Arasili and Irumbai Maakalam near Pondicherry. Aravind suggested that the gang should take 103SR Pondicherry passenger till Tindivanam and then board a bus to Arasili and Irumbai Maakalam. Our return plan was to board 104SR or any other available train at Tindivanam or Villupuram and we could return back to Chennai before 1900hrs. I was in college third year and I was busy but I wanted to join Aravind for this trip. I had an exam the next day but I didn’t bother. The trip members were Aravind, his colleague Prabhu, Harish and my friend Vimal. Our friends Ashwanth and Harish Kumar overslept and they couldn’t make it! I was a bit upset with Ashwanth for not joining me. I never saw Ashwanth again till November 2007.

WAP-4#22359 was the power for the day and the speed was awesome. This train is nicknamed as local shatabdi in my friend’s circle as it is popular amongst office-goers. We reached Chengalpet on time and we had a mini-breakfast at Chengalpet. Meanwhile, trains were coming from south and they were running on time. Vimalakar took a short nap while I was observing the scenery. Aravind, Harish and Prabhu were intensely discussing about temples as our train blasted through small towns and villages.


Aravind with WAP-4.

Doing such temple trips in weekends relaxes me a lot. I am seeing temples, at the same time I am traveling in trains and I am eating outside-I am being exposed to a lot of things! I was amazed at the driving skills of the Loco-pilot. He was able to drive the train on time, despite being delayed a few minutes at Chengalpet to allow a Sampark Kranti express to cross. YDM-4 hauled an express towards Tambaram and crossed our passenger at Acharapakkam. Aravind took a snap of the train! It came out well! This route has certainly got a lot of variety. Before Chengalpet, you come across various IT parks, BPO industries, factories. After Chengalpet, you can observe pumpset, wells, bullock carts, fields, temple gopurams, mosques and churches on top of hill and lonely level-crossings with Ashok Leyland lorry drivers in lungis smoking beedi’s waiting anxiously for your train to cross. Though I like the south route, I more interested in Vijayawada route. One honest confession!



Gopuram of Shiva Temple in Arasili. Pic taken by Aravind.

Our train reached Tindivanam on time. Aravind calculated the train speed by observing the mile posts(km in India) and the time taken between mileposts. He said that the train was doing 100kph even when Tindivanam station was only a kilometer away. We entered Tindivanam at a high speed. We immediately rushed to the locomotive. Now I had a clean close-view of the locomotive. It was very clean! Surprisingly the train didn’t start immediately. The halt is usually for one minute. But the train stopped at TMV for more than two minutes. Aravind requested the Asst. Loco Pilot for a twin-tone honk. The ALP told the Chief and as requested they honked in twin tones and then they started the train. Aravind recorded the sound in his mobile. Railfans and railnuts are eccentric people!!

We walked along the tracks to exit the station. There was a market outside the railway station and people were busy selling a lot of plastic items. Lots of fruits, flower selling girls and men selling small toys for kids. We entered into a hotel and we took our seats in an A/C room. After finishing our breakfast, we came to the bus stand and boarded a crowded bus towards Pondicherry. The bus was heavily crowded. Aravind, Vimal were at the back of the bus while Harish, Prabhu and I were at the front. The tape recorder was playing some silly double meaning cinema songs which I don’t approve. After half an hour of travel, we got down.




Prabhu was our guide and he was clear in all directions. The stopping name was Ozhundiyampet. We were the only passengers getting down. The place was deserted. Every 4 minutes a bus crossed either towards Pondicherry or towards Tindivanam. We were 25km away from Tindivanam. The temple was right in the middle of a small village. The path to the temple was a lonely mud road. We walked for around 15 minutes. We reached a village called Arasili. The temple gopuram was majestic and the complex was clean. There wasn’t anyone in the temple other than a couple of priests. There were small sannidhis for deities like Saneeswaran, Suryan, Murugan and Lord Ganesh.

After having a darshan of lingam, we were offered chakkara pongal as prasadham. It was delicious and sweet. The food offered to God has got its own taste and it can’t be expressed in words over here. We came out of the temple and proceeded towards the nearest shop. We had cool drinks. It was only Rs.3/- per bottle. The cool drink was known as “Colour”. If you ask for Coke or Fanta, they may not be able to understand. The bottle used was that of Coco-Cola Company.


Harish and Prabhu. Onboard 103 Pondicherry Passenger.

Our next destination was Irumbai Maakalam which was only 8km away from Pondicherry. We thought of taking an auto back to the bus stop, but there were no autos in the village. Luckily there was a tractor going towards a nearby town. The driver agreed to drop us. We sat in a small trailer and it was a shaky ride. Looks like this tractor was used for carrying bricks. I could make that out due to the presence of red dust all over the place. I was certainly enjoying the tractor ride. You don’t get this chance always. We offered him Rs.30/- but the driver declined. We waited at the stopping for more than 10 minutes. Luckily we got a bus immediately and we went to Irumbai Maakalam.

We realized that we were only 8km away from Pondicherry. It was a wise idea to board the return link at Pondicherry than boarding it at Tindivanam. We had our lunch at Pondicherry and we boarded 196 Pondicherry-Tirupati Passenger. Aravind believed that this train would reach Chengalpet early than 104SR. After reaching Chengalpet, we can return by EMU’s(local trains) or even the Pondicherry passenger. Moreover this passenger is a slow passenger and it halted at all stations.


YDM-4 hauling a passenger towards Tambaram. Pic taken by Aravind.

There would be a lot of crossings and plenty of action. I was excited. I love train journeys. The power for our train was WDM-7 of Tondairpet shed. The train kept below 60kph and we reached Villupuram late by 15 minutes. Since our train has come into Tamilnadu from Pondicherry, the Railway Police checked out bags and luggages as it is illegal to bring liquor and other stuffs from a Union Territory where prices are cheap. Generally, people visit Pondicherry to booze. Also the timings of 103SR/104SR are convenient. One can board it in the morning and conveniently return back to Chennai by 1900hrs after a nice boozing session at Pondicherry.


You can spot Vimalakar(red-shirt).

The RPF policemen were a bit rude that day. My friend Prabhu was feeling a bit tired and he was sleeping in the upper berth. The policemen woke him up and checked his bag which was actually his pillow. The RPF even asked him whether he was drunk. The RPF guy also checked his ticket and without returning it he walked out of the coach. Now who really was drunk? The RPF guy was not in his senses. Prabhu was certainly not happy. We all ran after him to remind him to give our ticket back. We had a long halt at Villupuram and God only knows the reason.

We were at last given clearance and the passenger slowly moved out. The driver was in no hurry. We halted at small stations like Mundiambakkam, Vikravandi. In my opinion the train kept below 40kph till Vikravandi. At Perani we were put on loop. We predicted an overtake. We wondered what train was going to overtake us. We got down and positioned ourselves to take photo of the incoming train. Taking photographs of train is my hobby.

Aravind asked the gangman at Perani about the halt. The reply shocked us! Pondicherry-Egmore Fast Passenger was on the way and it was going to overtake us. If we have boarded that train at Pondicherry then it would have better. Aravind couldn’t believe it. If we had taken this train, we would have reached Chennai earlier. Aravind felt that 195SCR(present train) would reach earlier so we boarded 195 and not 104(Fast Passenger). Perhaps the first time, I saw a fast passenger overtaking another passenger (slow).


Vimal posing with WAP-4.

WAP-4#22359 hauled the fast passenger and with thundering honks it crossed us at MPS. The entire atmosphere vibrated and the breeze generated came hard on us as the brute WAP-4#22359 blasted past us. The driver was in a aggressive mood. He was in no mood to control his aggression. He showed all his aggression and eagerness on the honk.

“Dhadhak Dhadhak, Tatak Tatak, Dhadhak Dhadhak, Tatak Tatak, Dhadhak Dhadhak, Tatak Tatak, Dhadhak Dhadhak, Tatak Tatak, Dhadhak Dhadhak, Tatak Tatak, Dhadhak Dhadhak, Tatak Tatak”.

Tatak………The last pair was a bit incomplete.

And the worst shock was yet to come! 195 stopped at all stations between Chengalpet and Villupuram. The acceleration was slow. The problem was not with the locomotive. The time table of this train was set in such a way that it had a lot of buffers. I was enjoying, but Vimalakar was a bit upset as he had some work at home.


Video: I am the person with the black bag with a camera in hand. The person behind me is Prabhu. See the video and relive the moment again! Video taken by Aravind.

More fun was yet to come. WDM-7 which was hauling us was taking its own sweet time to accelerate and it never went more than 50kph. I took a seat towards the guard and I was traveling backwards. The train had a good patronage! I observed the greenery around and I was amazed at my nation’s beauty. When I was young, I use to wonder how Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh would look like and how the people would look. Indian Railways has binded together this great vast unique country. IR is the backbone of India. As long as a train chugs along, things would be good for this country. I am quite satisfied with my country. The country has nurtured me well and it has created the society around me with good people, friends wherever I go, irrespective of states. What more do I need? I am critical about secessionist movements ocurring in Indian states. It's high time people realize that they are blessed.

Aravind and Prabhu sat near the door while Harish and I stood behind them. Vimalakar preferred to stay in his emergency-window seat! Trust me! The train wasn’t going fast at all. This was perhaps the slowest passenger journey I have encountered in my life so far. We reached Chengalpet at 2000hrs. We took an EMU at Chengalpet. I reached home at 2200hrs. My dog Damien was having his dinner and he didn’t even bother to look at me. I went to my room and sat with my computer and prepared for my exam next day. I went to bed at 0330hrs. I got up at 0630hrs and went to college. I scored 84% in that test! I came first in class! Such things don’t happen often! I am not a great student. But life could be made simple and easy if you are willing to associate each and every part of your life with Indian Railways.

Good luck.

-Krishna Kumar.S
(14th Feb, 2007)