A trip to Madurantakam with Varsha

Madurantakam Yeri Katha Ramar.

February 30th, 2011.

This was the most fantastic day of my life. I took my younger sister Varsha to my favourite place Madurantakam, which is 84km south of Chennai. I love my sister very much and I had always wanted her to accompany in my travels, but it was never possible as she was very busy with her career and I didn’t want to disturb her too much. I never took her beyond TN. We started at 0600hrs from our house in Adyar. We boarded the new Tata Marcopolo type-M49 bus and got down at Guindy Railway station. The bus ticket cost Rs.3 each. We both walked to the ticket counter and purchased two tickets to Madurantakam. It cost Rs.14/- each.


Madurantakam Ram Temple-Gopuram.

The train was expected to arrive only at 06:55hrs. We had nearly 50 minutes at hand. We both sat in one of the platform benches and started talking about yesterday’s cricket match. I love “Varsh kutty” very much. The age difference isn’t much and I am elder to her only by one year! She has been my companion during my tough times and she has helped me to get through tough situations in life. I always use to tell our mother that she is more intelligent than me. But Varsha always believed that I was more talented due to experience gained through travels. I may have travelled, but I never had the ability to learn from the past nor use my so-called experience. What is the use if one couldn’t use his resources properly? What’s the point if hardwork goes in vain due to simple mistakes? But it was my sister Varsha who made me correct this mistake. I started learning from my mistakes in the past. She taught me to learn from my mistakes. Or rather made me learn using her own ways.


Taken during our return journey.

I was lost in my thoughts thinking about my sister, a shrill honk distracted me. It was a WAP-4 honk. WAP-4#22550 was hauling Pandian Express and it crossed us at high speed. I have taught Varsha to identify locomotives, numbers etc. After the train passed, she asked in an innocent childish voice, “Anna, is this WAP-4?” I replied, “Yes”.

I like this attitude in her. She tries to learn everything. She makes her own decisions after analysing things. Many think that liking trains is kiddish, but Varsha was different. Though she isn’t interested much in railways, she respects my love for these machines. She googles to finds details and tries to learn on her own about Railways. I have told her many times that she can also become a railfan, but she wasn’t interested in going to that eccentric level. She is 23, but still her voice is like a 6 year old child.


WDM-2#16881 with NCJ special at Karunguzhi.

We spent time watching a lot of trains coming from various places like Kanyakumari, Sengottai, Rameshwaram, Nagore. At 0710hrs, 103-Pondicherry Fast Passenger arrived at Guindy. It was nearly 15 minutes late. The locomotive for the day was WAP-4#22220. We boarded the second coach. There were few seats available, but I preferred to stand along with Varsha kutty atleast till our next halt. Within a few minutes, the train was doing 100kph. Varsha was standing near the door and I was a bit worried. I found two empty window seats and we both settled in it comfortably as we didn’t want to stand all the way. Our train reached Tambaram at 0730hrs. Just as we departed Tambaram, WDP-3A#15534 was seen entering Tambaram with Pothigai Express.


WDP-3A#15503 with Pearl City Express near Paranur.

Our train had halts at Guduvanchery, Potheri, Singaperumal Koil, Paranur and reached Chengalpet at 0815hrs, nearly 20 minutes late. WAP-4#22693 was seen hauling Villupuram-Tambaram passenger at Maraimalai Nagar. WDP-3A#15503 was spotted at Paranur hauling Pearl City Express. After 10 minutes halt at Chengalpet, our train started its run. Since all Chennai bound expresses from south were running late, our train being a passenger was put on loop giving preference to Expresses in the single line section. At Ottivakkam, WAP-4#22232 crossed us with Madurai-New Delhi Sampark Kranti Express. At Karunguzhi, WDM-2#16881 crossed our train with a weekly special from Nagercoil. I was enjoying the crossings and I got down each time to take photos but didn’t allow Varsha to get down! She got bit upset due to this.


WDP-3A#15534 with Pothigai Express near Tambaram.

Our train reached Madurantakam at 0915hrs. It was nearly 40 minutes late. We both walked for nearly 1 km to reach the temple which was located at the center of the town’s market. Varsha was visiting the temple for the first time and she was a bit excited. The temple wasn’t crowded much too. We had darshan of the Lord quite comfortably as there werent' many people around. As we explored the temple, I explained the legendary tale behind this temple.

In the year 1796, the temple authorities decided to build a separate 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.Col. Plaze, the British collector noticed a huge pile of stones near the Temple. He inquired the purohits why there were so many bricks and stones inside the temple complex.

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.


Madurantakam-Railway station entrance

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 due to this 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.

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.

Coming back to the present....

Varsha kutty was impressed with the temple's beauty and the surroundings. I can notice that by her looks. We slowly went to other sannidhis one by one and had darshan of other deities. We spent time seeing the paintings on the walls too. Varsha even took a few snaps too. One particular image which impressed her was that of Goddess Parvati’s marriage in which Lord Vishnu was giving her to Lord Shiva. She couldn’t understand the significance of the picture entirely. I explained it to her. “Varsha, this practice is known as Kanya Dhanam. The bride’s father or elder brother gives away the girl to her husband. No Hindu marriage is complete without it”.


Madurantakam Lake.

We went around the temple thrice. Varsha was very happy. I was happy too. At last I did something useful for my sister. I love my sister very much. I like her kiddishness, innocence, anger. Sometimes I am afraid of her too. During my disappointments, she has always been with me trying to change my mind. If I refuse to change, she has even forced me to change. I had no options than obeying her as she has been along with me always giving me hope. She is more valuable to me than any other friends. In a few circumstances in the past when I was down, she has literally taken over my life and shown me the path to happiness.

This is similar to a state under President’s rule. She is my President. She would continue to rule me, till a proper Chief Minister comes to take care of me. But her part isn’t over yet. She would be present during the oath taking ceremony and tie the third knot in my marriage giving her approval and appointing a new girl as Chief Minister to monitor the state. She has every right over me and I am happy every time she uses her rights.

We had our breakfast at Nirmala Bhavan. We walked back to the railway station. It was a long walk! We purchased our tickets up to Mambalam and waited for the newly introduced Villupuram-Egmore Passenger. It came at 1205hrs with WAP-4#22390. I peeped into the locomotive and was surprised to see 55-year old Loco-Pilot Ram. I knew him very well for the past 5 years. I told him that I had come along with my sister to see the temple. He invited us for a ride. I agreed as this was perhaps the best chance to take Varsha in a real locomotive.

Varsha was excited as this was her first ride in a real locomotive. Within a few minutes our train was hitting 100kph! WAP-4 shakes a lot at high speed! The track sounds were awesome. Praang!!!! Praang!!! LP Ram even allowed Varsha kutty to operate the honks once. The passenger had only 10 coaches and it was a piece of cake for the WAP-4. We reached Mambalam at 1330hrs. We both got down at Mambalam and waved at Ram as he departed towards the final stop Egmore.

We walked towards T.Nagar bus stop and took a 5B bus to Gandhinagar bus stop. As we walked into our house, I asked her, “How was WAP-4 experience??????” She replied, “Superb! Awesome!”

-Krishna Kumar.S

This article is dedicated to all girls who are considered as sisters by me.

Navjeevan Series "New Life": First Class Trip to Salem

WDM-2#16296 with Garib Rath Express at Pukkiravari. The train was in loop waiting for our passenger.

April 2nd, 2010.

I started at 20:30hrs from my house and reached Egmore at 21:30hrs. I hurried to the hotel just outside Egmore to have my favourite Chilli Parotta as I haven’t had it for the past 6 months. To my disappointment, the hotel staff told me that only noodles was available. My friend Sriram Karthik joined me when I was busy with my noodles. Together we walked towards our train. As usual we went to the front to find out the locomotive number. We found that WDM-2#16802 LHF was our power.

I was actually doing an eccentric trip (as usual). The plan was to travel by First Class as first class coaches were going to be removed from service soon. Also, I haven’t seen the section between Virudhachalam and Salem. We were eagerly looking for this trip due to the above mentioned reasons. Sriram Karthik also agreed to join in the trip and another friend Chidambaram agreed to come till Virudhachalam as he was proceeding towards Tiruchi for some personal work. So I charted a plan as follows.

Plan:

1. Taking 1063 Egmore (MS)-Salem Express till Virudhachalem (VRI). Getting down at VRI at around 3AM in the morning. I am not a time-table guy, I am not sure of timings. Sorry!
2. Observe night trains passing through VRI from 3AM till 5:30AM. This was Sriram Karthik and Chimbu’s plan! My plan was to sleep in the platform bench.
3. Board VRI-SA passenger at 5:30AM to Salem. The train reaches Salem around 8:30AM.
4. The return journey is by West Coast Express from Salem to Chennai in First Class compartment.


The Ultimate Road Number King in MAS!! Sriram Karthik!

I am not a guy who notes speeds, numbers nor a guy well versed in timetables. I simply enjoy train travels and I wish to keep my hobby to that limit itself and not venturing into technical details. So I didn’t care about noting down any timing, or spotting or numbers of the locomotives which I saw in action during my trip. However, my dear friend Sriram Karthik was exactly the opposite. He sat all night and noted down all the numbers and crossings with timings! I should really appreciate Sriram on this. Few members are simply great and I am nowhere near in these aspects of rail fanning.

I believed that my train started on time and very soon we were doing very high speeds. Chidambaram boarded at Tambaram and sat with us for some time. He had got a Side-Lower berth in a different coach, but he was interested in being with us for some time. I got a Side-Lower and Sriram got a Lower berth, but none of us were interested in sleeping early.

I was impressed with the driving of the Loco pilot. 18602 WDM-2 was indeed a performer. Even though I am not a great diesel fan, I do like the WDM-2’s. But at heart I had the feeling, that good old WDM-2 days are over. But it wasn’t. The acceleration and speed was awesome. I was not keen on being awake as my focus was not to observe the crossings, but to enjoy the section between VRI and Salem and the return journey in First Class. Chidambaram and I went to sleep when our train crossed Olakur. I opted to take Sriram’s LB and Sriram comfortably settled in my Side-lower berth. Sriram Karthik was awake all night in Side Lower Berth!!

When I woke up next, I noticed that my train was in Villupuram. For the next few hours, my sleep wasn’t continuous. I woke up every time when my train stopped for a crossing. At Tiruvennainallur Road 6108 Mangalore-Chennai Egmore Express was waiting in loop. RPM WAP-4#22806 was the power. At Puvanur, WAP-4 crossed with 2632 Nellai Express and it wasn’t doing great speeds. However, what happened next was something awesome. We were put on loop at Parikkal and 2638 Pandian Express crossed us at a high speed. The honks were monstrous and when the locomotive crossed my window, cold breeze hit my face. I went to sleep again.


Chimbu and Sriram during the early morning hours. The location is Virudhachalam Railway station. Even at that time Sriram is pondering over his notes, timetables, referring to spottings etc etc.

Sriram Karthik woke me up when my train was nearing Virudhachalam. I was feeling very sleepy and I slept on the bench for a few minutes as Sriram and Chidambaram were talking about various rail related topics. It was a different pleasant experience. I mean sleeping in a railway station’s bench at night hours when the whole city is asleep, gazing at the empty sky and stars. The atmosphere was very fresh. I inhaled fresh air and after a few breaths I was feeling as if I was in heaven.

Two of our friends Naveen and Raghu Jayaraman were returning from Sengottai in 2662 Pothigai Express and they agreed to meet us at Virudhachalam. WAP-4#22222 hauled 2662 Pothigai Express entered into VRI in a monstrous style. Amazing! I was speechless. Once the train rolled to a stop, we waited at the coach entrance. Sleepy looking bearded Naveen and a fresh looking Raghu came out and greeted us. Naveen was seeing me after a long time and even at that unearthly hour; he couldn’t resist pulling my legs.

Within two minutes, starter was given and Naveen/Raghu departed towards Chennai. Chimbu and Sriram started talking about train topics and I returned to my slumber. I was enjoying in my own dream world. Sleeping in a railway station is a pleasant experience. Sriram purchased the tickets to Salem and woke me up at 5AM. Our train was already in platform and to our surprised we found that WDM-2#16802 was attached to its helm. This was the same locomotive which hauled our train to VRI earlier. As our train was about to depart, Chimbu’s train came in another platform and so we bid good bye to him as he was heading towards Tiruchi.

Our train had an on-time departure at 5:30AM. The section was scenic and I enjoyed it. It was a single non-electrified line. Our WDM-2 was doing well. Sriram Karthik felt that the Loco-Pilot wasn’t driving well and he wasn’t making full use of WDM-2’s power efficiently. The LP accelerated and decelerated repeatedly for no reason. I couldn’t figure out either, but that wasn’t my job. I sat by the window side and observed the cows, dogs, goats and rice fields as my train went through a scenic route.

We arrived at Salem around 8:30AM. We had only one hour time before 6628 West Coast arrived at Salem. Immediately, without wasting any time we had our breakfast of Idlis, Dosas etc. Sriram was returning in coach as he was not able to get a FC ticket. WAP-4#22517 arrived with West Coast Express and without wasting any time, I boarded my train.

When I boarded the FC coach, I was shocked. There was only one elderly person travelling in it and the rest of the coach was empty. I looked at the chart and found that many FC travellers have got down at Coimbatore and Palakkad. I was overjoyed. There was no one to disturb me!

My cabin was a coupe which can accommodate two people. I got a window-seat facing the locomotive! But the window was towards the left so that could mean I can’t observe any trains which were actually going to come on my right.

22517 did perform well in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed my ride. I was all alone for nearly 5 hours all the way up to Chennai. No one disturbed me and I was floating in my own world. I gazed out of the window and observed the fast moving trees, roads, mountains, posts, stations. For some stupid reason, my train slowed down a lot especially near Jolarpettai, Ambur, and Arokkonam. But thanks to the buffer in the timings, my train reached on time at Chennai Central. It was a hot day and certainly not a season to rail fan, but I was in Chennai after a long time and I desperately wanted to do this trip. I got down from the coach and waited for Sriram. When I saw Sriram, I was amused. He was looking a chicken which has been fried. Chennai heat was really severe.

As we walked towards MAS entrance, Sriram lamented that 22517 didn’t perform well. However, I seriously differ from this. In my opinion, the locomotive did perform well. However, the train was made to wait unnecessarily at JTJ, AB and AJJ, otherwise it could have arrived MAS very early!

-Krishna Kumar.S
IRFCA-MAS (Transferred from Howrah)