Konark-Sun Temple.
There were various items kept in display at shops outside the Sun Temple. Balaram, Subhadra and Jagannath trio set, a model of Konark wheel, a model of Konark Sun Temple, Ganesh, Vishnu, Shiva and other deities. They were a bit expensive. The shop keeper mistook me for a Bengali and took it as an advantage and said that the Balaram-Subhadra-Krishna set cost "cholees tanka". I told him,"ponneru tanka". After some hard bargain in English, Hindi and broken Bengali, Sanjeev and myself reduced the price from Rs.40(cholis taka) to Rs.15(ponneru taka). After some shopping, we both went to a hotel and had Masala Dosai. Masala Dosai was bit different and unique. It had lots of vegetables, some leaves along with potatoes. It was very tasty and I liked it. We both then walked to a musuem nearby and had a glance at Orissa's historical collectionsa and some old paintings. Once the fog had cleared, we returned back to the temple to take a few photos. Fog and mists were causing hinderance earlier, but when we returned again, we found that the fog had cleared.The climate was cool and pleasant with little bit of sun.
Orissa was a different experience for me and I liked interacting with the people here. I personally hate forming affinity groups. The real thrill comes when you interact with a person who speaks different language. The real spice of life is when one accustoms to a new lifestyle and learns from the local people.
Sanjeev Rao was leaving to Puri by bus while I took a bus from Konark to Bhubaneshwar. We both thanked each other and after sharing our telephone numbers we departed. I should admit the fact that Sanjeev was good at bargaining. Even I can get cheated for some Rs.10 or 20 extra, but such things are not possible with Sanjeev.
The distance of 70km was covered in two and a half hours. The ticket cost me "poytreesh taka"(Rs.35). I was happy that I was managing the situation despite an acute language problem, but I was learning Bengali fast. The bus journey was an fantastic one. My bus went on top of lot of bridges and I could observe that Orissa had a lot of water. There were small ponds everywhere.
My bus reached Bhubaneshwar at 1130hrs and I had my lunch immediately. Oriya meals was too good and I loved it, but I couldn't identify most of the dishes. But I told the server/bearer that I am a vegeterian. Meals cost me Rs.30/-. I lazily walked towards Bhubaneshwar Railway station which was only a stone's throw away. The station was small and I was entering the station through Kalpana Chauk entrance. I felt as if I was entering into Saidapet or Kodambakkam or Villupuram. Since Bhubaneshwar was the capital city of Orissa, I expected the railway station to be very big but it turned out to be small and simple.
My return link was 2822 Dhauli Express at 1315hrs and I had nearly 90 minutes. I spent some time roaming inside BBS station. Since I had only one backpack with clothes, I had no burden and I was able to observe quite a lot of things comfortably. WDS-6#36125 Kharagpur was seen doing some shunting business. VSKP WAM-4#20616 came with a passenger from Palassa. Rajdhani Express to New Delhi was getting ready to depart. A girl who recently got married was moving to Delhi with her husband. As the train departed, tears rolled down in her eyes.
Dhak-Dhak, Jung-Jung.. Rajdhai departed slowly. She waved to her parents with tears. I felt a bit sad too. If I had a sister, I would also be waving at her with tears. But I never had that feeling as WAP-4's and WDM-2's are my siblings.
WDM-2#16246 came with Sambalpur-Puri Express. 2821 Dhauli Express came from Howrah bang on time at 1245hrs. My coach was D-6 and I got a window seat facing towards the locomotive. I settled quite comfortably and waited for my departure. To my horror, the train didn't start at 1315hrs. It started only at 1400hrs. Nearly 45 minutes late!
Konark! Pic taken during early morning hours.
Something unfortunate happenned soon after departure. The lady sitting next to me lost her chain. The door was near to our seat and the culprit was waiting there for a long time. When the train departed and reached the outer, he quickly snatched the chain and jumped down and fell on the tracks. The lady was shocked and for the rest of her journey till Bhadrak she was crying. I felt sorry for her and I was in no mood for railfanning. I took a few minutes to recover from the shock. As the train picked up speed I looked back and saw the thief getting up from the tracks and wiping the dust off from his shirt and pants. Her mother in law was scolding her intially, but later she consoled her. It is easy to scold anyone, but it is impossible to put ourselves in another person's shoes. We never knew what the other person's journey in life is all about. Maybe if we were in other person's shoes, we might not even be half as good as them.
My train reached Cuttack at 1425hrs. Santragachi WAP-4#22825 was spotted with NDLS-PURI Puroshottam Express near Cuttack outer. After Cuttack, the train became an unreserved passenger all the way upto Howrah. People with open tickets got in and were standing in between seats and also in the aisle. You can imagine my plight. I couldn't eat snacks or drink water comfortably as there was no space to stretch.
Till Howrah, I sat in the same seat looking outside the windows and jotting down important points needed for this travelogue. The best part was yet to come! In the next 6 hours, I witnessed some real monstrous quality driving! This was something which I haven't witnessed earlier in my life. My train did normal speed till Cuttack. After Cuttack, it was a single line secton for a few kilometers. WDM-2#18575was spotted with a BCNA rake near Mancheswar. Angul 28046 WAG-7 was spotted with coal rake just outside Mancheswar station. Looks like all the freighters have stopped for some reason.
Konark during early morning hours.
It seems that my Loco-Pilot was very upset with the delayed start. After Cuttack my train was doing very high-speeds. As my train curved towards the right, I saw dust being sprayed on the platforms of Kendarapara Road. WDG-3A#13401+WDG-3A#13403 came with a long freight rake in the curve. It was amazing. Truly amazing. But my LP didn't give up the speed. Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak. Praaanggggg!!!!! Jal-Jal, click-click, Jal-Jal, click-click, Jal-Jal, click-click, Jal-Jal, click-click. Both my train and the freighter crossed each other at dangerously high speed. Passengers inside my coach closed their ears including the TTE. It was very noisy and the honks of the diesels were very frightenning.
Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak. My Loco-Pilot was like Adam Gilchrist of Australian cricket team chasing a score of 250 in a T-20 international match. BRC WAG-5#23689 came with a BCNA rake and crossed my train at a good speed. Even the freights were doing high speeds!!! I couldn't believe. I spotted VSKP WDG-3A#14602 with a BCNA rake near Kapilas Road. There were lots of freight trains hauled by diesels and unfortunately I couldn't note everything as I was completely mesmerized by the driving of my Loco-Pilot.
The brake application was neat and clean. No jerks. I haven't travelled in a Rajdhani or Shatabdi earlier in my life, but this train came very close to the glory of Rajdhani/Shatabdi.I spotted Rajdhani towards BBS near Soru. It must have been Bhubaneshwar Radhani. I had my own doubts too. Or was it only a empty rake? The speed was too fast and I couldn't make out much. My train's average speed was 71.5 kph excluding the delay before start. Meanwhile, all my friends back in Tamilnadu were updated through repeater Sriram Karthik in SMS. I do this often during my inter-state travels. I even got replies from friends in TN asking me to describe the speed, scenery and my feelings in a more detailed manner. Each roaming message would cost Rs.3 but I wasn't bothered. I like sharing my enjoyment with my friends in Tamilnadu. WAP-4#22271 was too fast and too good. Santragachi locomotives are good performers. That's my conclusion.
Bhubaneshwar Railway station. Kalpana chauk entrance. Pic taken by Krishna Kumar.S
I spotted lots of diesel under wires after Bhadrak. I was simply amazed at my LP's driving skills. The way he was drove, I felt that he wouldn't stop even at Howrah and he would go all the way up to my house in Bidhan Nagar. I connected my headset to my mobile and started listening to "Dhadhak Dhadhak" of Bunty Aur Bubli. I listen to that song ofte during my train travels. The music was too good and my train was blasted at nearly 110kph. You can imagine how much I enjoyed this return trip. Asansol WAG-7#28113 crossed my train with a coal rake after Bhadrak. As I was constantly looking outside the window, my face became dark due to dust and my shirt got dirty. But I wasn't bothered.
Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak, Tatak-Tatak. The real beauty was when my train ripped through points. Track sounds appear a bit different especially when the train is not changing over. I am running short of words, I hope you understand what I am trying to say.
MGS WAG-7#27037 hauled an BOXN rake at slow speed as my train ripped through small stations at 100kph! I felt as I was flying on tracks! Brutal driving. As my train curved towards the right, WAG-5 twins 24061 and 24035 came in the opposite direction heading towards BBS with a BOXN goods wagon rake. It was a real beauty. I can't express it over here, but I wish you were there along with me that day.
Irrespective of how much you travel, towards the end of the day you would conclude that your home town is the best. I use to feel like that when my train crosses Gummidpondi and enters Tamilnadu. I had the similar feeling when my train entered back into West Bengal. How much ever you roam or railfan, you feel quite content only when your train enters back into your home town. Though West Bengal isn't my home town, I felt happy after my train entered back into West Bengal. I use to feel like that when I was in TN. But for my loco-pilot this meant nothing. He was driving as if there were no brakes in the locomotive. The onlookers in stations were baffled and astonished as my train flew past them. I wonder why there wasn't so much of aggression yesterday when I took the same train to Bhubaneshwar.
My train reached Kharagpur at 1830hrs-late by 27 minutes. I thought that my train would get held up after Mecheda due to EMU traffic. But my train wasn't blocked at all but the speed was below 80kph. The speed dropped to 40kph for a few kilometers as it neared to Howrah. I thought it would get delayed near Howrah outer, but it got all clearances and entered into Howrah station at 2030hrs. I was late only by 15 minutes. What an amazing experience. I rushed to the front to congratulate the driver, but to my disappointment there was no one in the cab. It was empty. I boarded a reserved taxi and reached Bidhan Nagar within 40 minutes without any problems. My five adopted pups were waiting for me at the gate. It's been months since I adopted them, but they haven't got a name yet. As I climbed up stairs to my room, they rounded up and didn't allowed me to enter the house, till I gave them their quota of biscuits. I went to bed quietly.
-Krishna Kumar.S
IRFCA-Howrah.
West Bengal, India.
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