Journey to Kalinga Desam-Part 3

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.

Journey to Kalinga Desam-Part 2

Photography prohibited!! Pic taken at Konark Temple, Orissa.

Trip Report Continuation....

I came outside Bhubaneshwar station immediately without wasting time and managed to get a cab to Puri for "threes taka"(Rs.30). The distance between Bhubaneshwar and Puri is 65km, but the taxi cost only Rs.30. Guess why? The call-taxi driver had already dropped a customer at BBS and he was returning to Puri empty. He wanted to make some extra money. So he simply charged the bus fee equivalent of Rs.30/-. The bus ticket to Puri costs Rs.30/-. I found that this was money-saving and more comfortable. The taxi started at 1300hrs and I reached Puri at 1415hrs.


Konark temple was covered with mists and fogs in the morning. I waited patiently to take a better photo.

With cab-driver's help, I found an accomodation in Hotel Subhadra near the temple in Puri. He scratched his head a bit and smiled at me. I understood what he expected. I gave him "kudi taka"(Rs.20). He gladly accepted it. If it was Chennai, things would have been different as expectations are more there. The A/C room cost me Rs.650 per day. It was a double bed, single room with TV. After taking rest for a few minutes, I came out and entered into the hotel next to my lodge. I had 4 rotis with sabji and pickles. The experience was fantastic. The taste was very good. I enjoyed the food.

Without wasting time, I immediately proceeded towards the temple. The temple was 500 meters away from my hotel. After nearing the temple complex, I found out that mobile phones were not allowed. Few people weren't bothered and many were carrying their mobiles, but I didn't want to take a risk especially in a new place. I walked back to my room and kept my mobile in my room and came back to the temple. I lost some good amount of time here.

One of the pundits or pundas tried to make some money out of me and tried various techniques by holding my hands and promising me to do pooja. He caught my hands a bit strong and he thought that I would be afraid. I gave a dirty look and reduced his guts to ashes. I looked at him even more firmly and removed even the last bit of his courage. There were lot of visitors from Andhra Pradesh. The darshan was suspended for nearly 45 minutes in the evening for some special pooja and I spent some time roaming around the compex.


Pic taken near Cuttack. Onboard 2821 Dhauli Express to BBS.

After 45 minutes, the crowd became less all of a sudden and I entered the complex quite comfortably. At a distance I saw Goddess Subhadra flanked by her two brothers Balram and Jagannath. It was a glorious sight. After darshan, I purchased a few small dolls as momento and returned back to my room. I slept for two hours. At around 2030hrs, I went down to have my dinner. I had rotis with sabji again.

I was listening to news in TV for sometime in my room and I went to bed at 2200hrs and got up at 0400hrs the next day. I got ready in 30 minutes and I checked out. I took a rickshaw from my hotel to Puri bus stand. It was a straight road, but the bus stand was a bit far. It cost me Rs.15/-. The guy was an old man and a kind person. He asked me for few rupees extra. I gave him "dosh taka"( Rs.10) extra. He was happy and he even helped me to find a bus to Konark. Konark was 37km from Puri. The private bus was to start at 0600hrs, but the driver took his own sweet time and waited till the bus was filled with passengers. We started only at 0637hrs.

I really enjoyed this bus-ride. Orissa was very beautiful. It gives me great pleasure and honor to write about Orissa and it's uniqueness and there could be no higher honor for me. My bus went through small scenic villages. Even the bus stops looked beautful. The entire area had a lot of greenery and there were lots of trees. Everything had a charm of its own. I saw a single-line electrified track accompanying our bus for sometime and later it went out of focus as my bus deviated towards Konark. I assumed that the track connected Puri and Bhubaneshwar. My bus went through small villages, primarly dealing with occupations like handicrafts, pottery, agriculture, livestock and farming. Great people with great thoughts, living a simple lifestyle. They may have worries, but those are genuine ones due to toughness of life.


Orissa was very unique and scenic. It was a bit dusty too.

When the whole world was worried about recession, thousands of ordinary Indians living in these small villages of Orissa, Jharkhand enjoyed their life by their simple lifestyle. Compared to these people, I have graduated nothing in my life. I need to learn a lot from them. These people know a lot of things. Those things aren't taught even in leading business schools or MNC's, corporates.

I reached Konark at 0745hrs. I met an old gentlemen named Sanjeev Rao from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. He worked for Income Tax deparment and currently posted Vizianagaram. He has come to Konark and Puri was sight-seeing. He knew better Hindi and we both helped each other. The entry ticket to see the Konark Sun Temple cost Rs.10/- and I bought a permit for Rs.25/- to take photos. The structure was very huge and I was amazed at the talents of Indian artistes who had so much of skills even in 10th century A.D-an era where there was no machines, advanced tools nor vehicles. If people are good at heart, they can deliver a lot of things. Technology is not a solution to everything.

-To be continued.

Journey to Kalinga Desam-Part 1

This article is whole heartedly dedicated to people of Orissa. I am from Tamilnadu and I live far away from you, but you people mean a lot to me and I love each one of you. I have my own personal reasons for it.

Best wishes to my brothers and sisters in Orissa,

-Krishna Kumar.S
"Toma mora swarer milan srishti kare chalbochatano".


January 30th, 2010.

The alarm clock woke me up at 0315hrs and I was ready in 30 minutes for another trip. The climate wasn't chill and I managed to walk comfortably to Tank Number 8 in Sector 2(Salt Lake). The stray dogs followed me for a short distance and they were suspicious about my activities. But I didn't panic-I quietly walked to the nearby Taxi stand and took one to Howrah Railway station. I instructed the driver that it should be a reserved taxi and no one should be boarding it other than me. Within 30 minutes, I reached Howrah thanks to some real skillful driving. Compared to Chennai, rates were reasonable here. Even if the driver asked Rs.20 or Rs.30, I didn't mind. I proceeded towards a small restaurant in Howrah station and had two vadas and one pizza with tomato sauce.

I was taking 2821 Dhauli Express till Bhubaneshwar(BBS). My plan was to visit Puri and Konark for the weekend. Travelling to Orissa has been one of my dreams and I am happy that I got the time to do. As usual, like any other travel buff, I went to the front to find the power for the day. Santragachi WAP-4#22271 was at the helm. I boarded my coach D2 which was near the locomotive and my seat number was 19. It was a window seat facing guard.


Konark wheel. Pic taken by Krishna Kumar.S

My train started on time at 0605hrs. It gathered speed in no time and literally sailed through the sub-urbs. I was surprised as I expected my train to struggle at least till Mecheda due to EMU's. Kharagpur WDM-3A#16382 R was seen shunting small rakes near Howrah outer. As my train negotiated a curve, I looked towards the rear end and realized that my train was a long one. I am not sure whether it was a 23 coacher, but it should have been a 18 or 19 coacher. After crossing Mecheda, I got a window seat towards locomotive. The person in front of me was feeling cold and he asked me whether I would be interested in a swap. I gladly accepted it.

I have a funny habit! Whenever, I am travelling, I send SMS to one or two friends who in turn act as repeaters and forward it to nearly 30 to 40 people in their respective distribution lists who like reading travel SMS's. I use repeaters who repeat SMS to avoid the cost involved in sending an STD SMS to everyone in Tamilnadu. I take the help of a friend who is a railfan named Sriram Karthik and another friend in personal front whose task is to forward my messages whenever I send them. I also make it a point to share my travel stories in SMS to update them LIVE, as and when it happens.

My train reached Kharaghpur at 0745hrs. At around 0748hrs, Barabil Jan Shatabdi overtook my train Dhauli Express at Kharagpur(KGP). I couldn't believe this. When I took this train to Naomundi two months back, it struggled to reach KGP due to sub-urban traffic, but it has covered 114km in 80 minutes today. How could that be possible? My train started at 0605hrs, but how come Barabil JS starting at 0625hrs overtake my train? Was Barabil Jan Shatabdi-a real high-speed one?


Konark Temple horse, Orissa.

After Kharagpur, my train was really fast. I felt a lot of aggression in driving. No jerks, no unnecessary application of brakes but still aggressive. I felt as if I was flying in a supersonic airplane. My mobile received an SMS from AirTel at 0850hrs. It was as follows: "Airtel welcomes you to Orissa. We wish you a pleasant stay here. For assistance call 121". I also received a message from my friend Abhijit Das, "wishing" me a happy journey.

It was an emotional moment for me. When I was in class 3 or 4, I remember marking Puri, Konark, Orissa in maps during history classes and exams, but I really can't believe that I was actually in Orissa itself interacting with Oriya people. You know how much it means for me. It means a lot!

My train reached Jaleswar at 0855hrs. Not many people got down here. The next halt was Balasore at 0940hrs. WAP-4#22269 was spotted at Balasore with a passenger in the loop. The passenger train wasn't crowded much. Since I was sitting in the left, I couldn't see the train traffic going towards Howrah. I wish I had got a window seat on the right. Dhauli Express crossed Bahanagabazaar at a high speed and even the onlookers in the platforms were amazed at my train's speed. My train reached Bhadrak at 1030hrs.


Surya idol kept inside in an isolated place. Konark, Orissa.

After Bhadrak, Dhauli became a passenger literally. Lots of people with UR tickets(open tickets without reservation) boarded the train. As my train blasted through Manjuri Road, I had cutlets, bread and sauce. Orissa was amazingly beautiful with trees, small houses, huts, small mountains. It was a bit dusty too. The wayside stations were amazingly clean with long platforms. 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,Tatak-Tatak.

The track sounds were amazing.


That's me at Konark Sun Temple, Orissa. Pic taken by Sanjeev Rao.

My train reached Jajpur at 1105hrs. After Jajpur, the train kept below 90kph for some unknown reason. We had an unscheduled halt of nearly 15 minutes at Kendarapara Road. The best moment was yet to come. After nearly 10 minutes, I heard a long honk. WAP-4 was coming with an express. I observed that at Kendarapara Road, the tracks curved towards the left. It was a real treat to watching her coming in the curve. The train blasted past Kendarapara Road at nearly 110kph. I was spell bound. It was amazing. Immediately, within a few minutes I spotted another train. It was a Rajdhani. GZB WAP-4#22569 was hauling Rajdhani Express towards New Delhi. The Rajdhani wasn't doing great speed as expected. VSKP WAM-4#20510 was spotted at Cuttack with a passenger. The weather was a bit hot and dry compared to West Bengal. My train reached Bhubaneshwar on time at 1245hrs.

-To be continued.

Kolkata Metro

February 7th, 2010.

It was a strict order by my father that I should railfan in Kolkata metro. I had been in Kolkata for sometime, but I haven't seen the metro but I have been to Bhubaneshwar, Naomundi, Chaibassa, Dangoaposi, Kendopaosi! My father called me more than 10 times in the past few months and requested or rather ordered me to railfan in metro! It is to be noted that my father has great opinions of IRFCA, moderators and Indian Railways. He is a railfan himself, but he hasn't got much knowledge about technical specifications, road numbers etc.

I boarded a share auto from Tank Number 8 in Salt Lake Sector-2 to Ultadanga(Bidhan Nagar station). It cost me Rs.8 and the share auto-driver was from Bihar. From Bidhan Nagar, I took an EMU to Dum Dum. This ticket costs me Rs.4. I reached Dum Dum at around 1100hrs. I was travelling in an EMU after a long time. I was surprised to find that metro trains don't run during the morning hours on Sundays. The service would start only at 1400hrs. I wondered what to do for the next three hours? I decided not to withdraw from the plan but decided to pass time in Dum Dum itself. WAG-5#23996 hauled a goods trains past Dum Dum at a slow speed. It changed tracks right infront of me. The speed was slow and not even 15kph. WAG-5HB came with Lalgola-SDAH passenger. I couldn't note the road number. I noticed a lot of freight train movements. The freight trains kept below 15kph and they were moving very slowly. I also noticed some officials travelling in a OHE inspection car.

BWN WDM-2#17416 ACD fitted loco arrived at Dum Dum with SDAH-Lalgola passenger at 1245hrs. I managed to pass time watching EMU's, freight trains and light locos. At 1340hrs I went down and purchased tickets upto Tollygunge(renamed as Maha Nayak Kumar station). My train departed on time at Dum Dum and the acceleration was simply fantastic. The motorman was driving as if he was Virender Sehwag chasing a score of 350 in 50 overs. I think that the maximum permissible speed was 55kph. Eventhough the MPS was less, the acceleration was too fast.

The patronage was too good. The track sounds were nice, but I should admit the surface rail sounds were even more better. But this was a new experience. I liked it. As the train moved out of Dum Dum, automated announcements came in Bengali and English updating passengers about the next station. Announcements were made when the train stopped at the station.

This is highly beneficial. You get to know the next station in advance and also you are reminded about the current station when the train stops. The train stopped only for a few seconds and the door closed automatically within few seconds. There was a sign near the door asking passengers not to lean on the door for support. Drivers and guards were in blue-shirt and dark pants with a smile on their faces. What's the reason? They seem to be enjoying their work.

The first station was Belgachia. The other stations(in order) were Shyam Bazaar, Shobha Bazaar, Girish Park, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Central, Chandni Chowk, Esplanade, Park Street, Maidan, Rabindra Sadan, Netaji Bhavan, Jatin Das park, Kalighat, Rabindra Sarobar and Mahanayak Uttam Kumar(Tolly Gunge). Later in 2009, the service got extended to Kavi Nazrul. But I got down at Tollygunge. If my knowledge is right, the train comes from the ground to surface after Tollygunge. I noticed that the track didn't have ballasts and there were no OHE's. I thought that the power for the train was drawn from the tracks. My train accelerated very fast and in no time it was touching MPS and it curved towards right heading towards Kavi Nazrul.

I didn't want to waste time so I decided to return as soon as possible. I used the subway and came to the otherside of the station. I had purchased the return ticket at Dum Dum itself. I decided to skip one train as it was very crowded. To my surprise the next train was also crowded. Ha! Things are not like Chennai over here!! I made up my mind that I should start in the next train. The next train was nearly 15 minutes late and it was crowded. I got into the first coach and stood in the corner all the way to Dum Dum. The train got more crowded in Maidan and it was crowded all the way till Dum Dum. Many people inside couldn't detrain and they even called their car-drivers to come and wait in other metro stations to pick them up.

I reached Dum Dum on time. I was the first person to come out of the coach. To my surprise, I noticed a lot of people rushing towards escalator. I thought that they were going to catch a connecting bus. I remembered onething at this point of time. This scene was quite similar to that of passengers getting down from Pallavan Express at Ariyalur and then rushing towards station entrance to catch a connecting bus to Thanjavur as the bus generally waits for passengers coming in 2605 Pallavan Express.

But I was wrong. My guess was wrong! Lots of people came from the train and within seconds the escalator was flooded. My goodness this was the reason! To avoid the rush, few people ran through the escalator and stairs. I took an EMU to Bidhan Nagar from Dum Dum. I returned in a shuttle taxi back to Sector-2, Salt Lake. My adopted pups were waiting for me. I went to the nearby shop to buy biscuits for them.

One day I will leave West Bengal. Everything has got an end. I hope that day is very far. I am not an emotional person but on THAT DAY I will cry irrespective of how happy I am in life. It would be a great loss to me.

-Krishna Kumar.S
a.k.a Junior KK
IRFCA-Howrah (Transferred from MAS in 2009)

Kestapur Market in West Bengal

Life in Bidhan Nagar

I had been living in Bidhan Nagar for some time and I felt that I should write an article about Bidhan Nagar in return of gratitude. For any human being, mother is important as only through a mother a child comes into this world. Likewise, a place or a city also influences a human being’s life. A city or a town is as sacred as mother. I live far from my mother, but as of now West Bengal is my mother. Next to mother, a state or a city actually acts as a foster mother. Not only in my case, but that’s the truth in every human being’s life. When I was Jharkhand, Jharkhand was like my foster mother-if not my actual mother. Every human being should love his land and the very land in turn becomes his best friend, companion and soul mate. All materialistic desires are overcome by becoming a friend of land.

Since it is winter, the weather in Salt Lake a.k.a Bidhan Nagar is very chill and even a guy like me who likes chill weather wears sweaters, mufflers. The area is entirely residential place and a sort of high-class posh area. Most of the houses are independent houses similar to my house in Chennai and people seem to be from well to-do backgrounds. I had a few problems, but the best way to tackle problems is to be pro-active and non-reactive. Every place I have seen had problems but I prefer to ignore them, else I would be laughing inside. When I came here for the first time, I felt impressed as the area was a bit isolated, silent and peaceful. It was quite far away from the hustles and bustles of city traffic. The roads were well maintained and were without bumps. Rickshaws were still popular and I find one almost every 5 minutes with a passenger. I always take a stroll in the roads during the weekends and evening.

During such strolls, I have observed quite a lot of things. The township was indeed well planned. It was quite near to the airport. City Center and shopping malls were quite near and conveniently approachable. The Taxi drivers couldn’t understand much English, but their meters spoke the truth. Sometimes, I do get a printed bill. It impressed me a lot. I suggest my readers not to take autos as drivers cheat a lot!
There were many other things which impressed me! No one throws garbage on the roads! All trashes are collected by a person who comes in a three-wheeled cart in the morning. The total fee every month for this service is Rs.50/-. People don’t litter the streets and majority of them follow a high degree of cleanliness. People of Bidhan Nagar are indeed living life the way Dr.Roy dreamt.

There were two types of markets in Bidhan Nagar. One is the modern CK market in CK block and another one is Kestapur market. There are also other markets, but I visit these two only. CK is actually the name of block like CK block, AK block, AL block. CK Market has got almost all things except vegetables, fruits, fishes and mutton etc. CK Market has got lots of shops, grocery shops, stationary shops, hair dressers, sweet stalls, shoe-sellers and other commercial stores. Kestapur market is entirely opposite in nature. I would rather call it a fish market as there are more fish stalls than vegetables. I have been there many times and I have taken many photos.

I always wondered what Kestapur actually meant. Later, I found out that it was actually ‘Krishnapur’ but in Bengali it is pronounced as Kestapur. As I walked along the bazaars, I could observe a lot of people busy purchasing various commodities, vegetables, fishes etc. The prices were cheap in my opinion. Fishes were caught during the morning hours and some of them were still alive. I was a bit surprised as I remember reading in my school that fishes die soon once taken out of water. I saw a few of them jumping on the ground. A couple of hits on the head by the fishermen/fish-seller silenced them permanently and then they were packed in plastics to be sold. Their souls were granted ‘moksham’ and they left this materialistic world.

Next to the fish shop was a mutton stall. I could observe various other fish dealers each proclaiming their products to be the best. I had a thought of purchasing some fishes for my pups but I changed my mind. The weather was still chill even when sun was out. I went around and took a few photos. Kestapur market had a beauty of its own.

There are browsing centers, banks nearby but the only problem is that there aren’t any good hotels near my house in Bidhan Nagar. I had a few problems during my initial days, before I learnt to accustom. Life teaches a few things in a hard way. I find that there are lots of medium-sized playgrounds, park in every block. During weekends, lots of youngsters and IT professionals play Cricket and it is a great pleasure to watch the game. Mostly during the weekends, playgrounds are filled with kids, boys of all ages and the entire atmosphere is filled with a lot of energy. It’s also fun to watch cricket played by kids. Everything has got its own taste in life.

Good luck to Salt Lake.

-Krishna Kumar.S