Journey to West Bengal

Journey to West Bengal

Tickets were booked in Coromandel Express through tatkal and I travelled in 2AC for the first time. I had a thought of taking flight but later I dropped the plan. With the help of my cousin brother Jaikarthik, I got my tickets booked without any problem. I reached Chennai Central along with my cousin brother. We had our morning breakfast at 0730hrs and we waited at platform 11.

My school mate Manoj was also travelling in the same train-Coromandel Express but in 3AC coach. As the rake was shunted in to the platform, there was a mad rush for the UR or unreserved compartments. Even reserved sleeper coaches weren't spared and there was a mad rush! Within a few minutes, there were people sitting on floors, in between bays, near the doors etc etc. We were a bit relieved that we were going in 2AC; else we would have had a tough time. I also noticed that there were many people trying to get into A/C compartments without proper tickets.

I was a bit disappointed that we had got upper berth. A window seat would have been a better choice to see sceneries of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. Anyway, there were other priorities. Our coach was A-1 and 32-34 were our seat numbers. My friends Vimalakar, Sriram Karthik and Vivek were at MAS and assisted me with my luggages. Our train departed Chennai Central later by a few minutes. The power was WAP-4#22295. There were lots of jerks. I felt a lot of jerks in Basin Bridge itself. My train never accelerated and it didn't even touch 60kph for a long time. We had a 5 mins halt at Tiruvottiyur. It took 35 minutes for us to reach Ennore and we crossed the Ennore creek bridge with extreme caution (10kph-15kph).

The train was very slow for some mysterious reason! I came to the door near Kavaraipettai and witnessed my train negotiating the curve after Kavaraipettai. It was fantastic. I stood at the door till GPD outer. My train crossed Gummidipondi at 60kph. Lucknow Express came in the opposite direction with an Itarsi WAM-4 and it was going towards Chennai Central (MAS). In my opinion, my train never touched 110kph. It was damn slow. There were lots of jerks. I went inside my coach and I got busy with a packet of kurkure and Lays. I was listening to my Western Music collection as usual.

There was a Bengali family travelling along with us and they were our friends for a day. The person was working in IBM and he was travelling with his wife and their 6 month old daughter Pratyusha. My train crossed Gudur at 1215hrs at extremely slow speed. My friend Manoj came to my seat and we were talking for about 1 hour. We were pulling each other's legs (war of words)-something which we do often. That's what we have been doing for the past 15 years whenever we find time.

After Nellore, I went to upper berth. AC cooling was good and overall it was a comfortable journey, but I missed a lot of sceneries. I door plated occasionally, but most of the time I was with my elder cousin brother. I decided to take a nap after Nellore and I went for a short power nap. I got up at 1600hrs and I realized that my train was in Vijayawada. The train was obviously late! I called up my home and updated my parents. I hoped that the train would touch high speeds after crew change at Vijayawada, but it turned out to be even more pathetic.

There was a big jerk and even my berth shaked! My brother and I exchanged glances. After a very poor, horrible honk my train started from Vijayawada. I went and stood near the door to observe the mountains. The train was taking the wrong line! It was keeping right instead of left. I wondered why? Are such things common in SCR? I realized that there was a freighter in the left track. After travelling for a few kilometers in the right track, my train switched back to the left track. We touched 80kph consistently and we maintained the same speed for a long time. The classic moment was yet to come. WAG-7 of Kanpur came in the opposite direction with a short passenger rake. It was a wonderful sight especially with the mountains in the background. But I don’t know why? For some mysterious reason, my train never touched high speeds.

I managed to pass time by reading some dailies, newspapers. The entire trip was not a rail fanning trip, so rail fanning wasn't a priority. If I had got a lower berth things would have been a bit different! The people in the lower berth were always sleeping and we weren't able to sit even in the aisle seat. I was very disappointed. The entire coach was dull and everyone was sleeping. I came to the door near 755km post. My train was not going fast at all. I am not a high speed train fan, so I didn't bother. But fans of Rajdhani and Shatabdi would have been disappointed if they had travelled along with me in Coromandel Express that day. I couldn’t make out much as it was very dark and I came back to my berth.

My train reached Bhadrak on time. We were surprised. My brother felt that the driver who took charge after Vishakhapatnam was extremely good at driving. My train was now running on time! I got down at Bhadrak. Orissa looked very beautiful. My train had a loco change at Vishakhapatnam. As a result of that my coach was now fifth or sixth from the locomotive. I am not sure of the exact position. After Bhadrak, the acceleration was too good and there were no jerks.

I am not sure where exactly the crew change took place. It must have been in Khurda Road or Bhubaneswar. The driver who took charge for the final leg of the journey was too good. Simply wonderful! I doorplated for a while and I observed small stations like Morkhena etc etc flying past.. Then I came back to my berth. I was feeling disappointed. The person in the lower berth was occupying every bit of the berth. I couldn’t even sit in the aisle and watch through the window. So I went back to the door and I stood all the way for the next 3 hours till Kharagpur. I realized that the passengers running ahead of my train were put on loop and my train overtook them comfortably at 110kph! It was an awesome sight! My train reached Howrah on time. It was a fantastic experience.

I bid good-bye to Manoj and I said that I would meet him once I was settled. I had a glance at the city as my Taxi flew towards Salt Lake. The city looked a bit old and resembled some 1970’s. A small smile came over my face. I had a look at the people. I got confidence from observing their simple lifestyle. I believed that this was going to make a tremendous difference in life. This was only the beginning of a good friendship between this land and myself. A relationship which grew strongly within a few months, characterized by mutual trust, a sense of brotherhood and most of all I learnt how to treat a human being with respect.

-Krishna Kumar.S

Divinity of Madurantakam

Gopuram of Madurantakam-Yeri Katha Ramar Temple.

Why I like Madurantakam?

Madurantakam is a small town 84km away from Chennai. It is famous for a Ram Temple. I personally like Madurantakam very much for many reasons. I visit the Ram temple at Madurantakam almost every two months. Being a devotee of Lord Vishnu, I am always interested in Vishnu Temples. I am personally impressed with the overall majestic appearance of Lord Vishnu as Lord Ram in the Yeri Katha Ramar Temple. His brother Lakshman’s majestic appearance adds more beauty. As far as I know this is the only temple in which Lord Ram is portrayed as holding Sita’s hand. I got this information through the temple gurukkal with whom I converse often. One of my ambitions in life is to give Yeri Katha Ramar-a dhoti and thundu. I hope He would accept my gift.

Madurantakam has an interesting legend associated with it. It is believed that Lord Ram gave darshan to Lt.Colonel Plaze, a British collector when he prayed to Lord Ram to assist him. It is to be noted that Plaze was a sceptical person.

In the year 1796, the temple authorities decided to build a shrine for Janakavalli Thayar (Goddess Sita). It was a rainy season and Madurantakam Tank was getting full. There was a fear that the bunds would give away and water would come into the town. At that time, Lt.Plaze noticed a huge pile of stones piled up near the Temple. He inquired the purohits why there were so many bricks and stones inside the temple complex.


Temple Tank.

The purohits replied that those bricks were to be used for constructing a separate shrine for Goddess Sita. The collector was amused. Lt.Plaze said that building a shrine wasn’t a priority. He believed that the bricks should be used for repairing the bunds of the tank which had broken. The purohits replied that Lord Vishnu never betrayed any devotee and He always answers the prayers of his devotees. Purohits asked the Collector to pray to Lord Ram sincerely from his heart and they assured him that his prayers would be answered.

The rains never stopped. The entire town of Madurantakam was filled with water everywhere and daily life was affected. Many feared that the tank would overflow and water will come into the town. As a District Collector, Lt.Col Plaze had a lot of work pressure and he was extremely worried. He went to the spot along with his team and inspected the bunds. He prayed at heart that the bunds shouldn’t break.


Yeri Katha Ramar in all glory.

There was a flash of lightning. He saw two figures standing at a distance. One of them had a bow in the hand. Lt.Col. Plaze was amazed and spell bound. It was none other than Lord Ram (Vishnu) and his divine brother Lakshman. His prayers were answered! Lord Ram and Lakshman themselves have taken the task of protecting the tank. When the rains stopped, the Collector approached the purohits and apologised to them for being sarcastic. He personally took charge of the construction expenses and a shrine for Janakavalli Thayar was built. A small idol of Col.Plaze is engraved in the walls of the shrine of Janakavalli Thayar as a sign of respect. Even in the temple entrance Col.Plaze’s name is mentioned in the pillars.

While browsing through the Internet, I came across this legendary story. I was impressed. I visited Madurantakam for the first time in 2008 and as on date, I have been to Madurantakam 13 times. Tamilnadu has got lots to offer the world in my opinion. A British Collector believes in Lord Ram, but why do people over here inquire about the engineering degree of Lord Ram? I am confused and at the same time amused. British people are generally reserve and they follow a lot of rules. Even they have understood the existence of Ram.I think Lord Ram is a Civil Engineer and I am not sure in which college he graduated but the Britishers themselves have honoured him with a degree in Civil Engineering. The proof is the very existence of Col.Plaze's name in Madurantakam temple. What really matters is the knowledge and not the college. My Lord had enough knowledge to prevent the tank from breaking. He was the same person who built this world too. I am proud of Him.

Whenever I visit Madurantakam, I generally spend more than 4-5 hours at the temple complex. I like the taste of the divine theertham (water), the fragrance of camphor, the oil lamps, the granite floors, and the taste of tulsi leaves which my Lord Narayan likes very much. Madurantakam is one awesome place overall.

-Krishna Kumar.S