Train Journeys and Railway Stations!!

Yesterday Jayanthi made dry black gram choley for our evening snacks.

Black Chana presoaked and pressure cooked and mixed with her patented masala powder, finely diced green chilies and spices and grated ginger and lemon juice and the works!!

And she served it, steaming hot!

First spoonful and my throat started glowing.

A few spoonful’s later, my nose opened up and started dripping,

Then my ears got hot and eyes started watering, and my face and then my whole body started sweating.

You get the feeling?

And when I finished my bowl, I felt like coming out of a 5-star Sauna!

And I was troubled for a moment.

What would happen when I sit on the throne the next morning??

Fortunately, and thankfully, the morning passed off peacefully, much to my mental (and physical) relief and here I am - alive and writing this post!!

Black gram choley brought back fond memories of Central market and Sarojini Nagar market in Delhi. Where in winters you would find a row of chat wallahs with steaming pots on smoking coal stoves.

And you could choose your pick.

Hot spicy choley served with grated mooli (radish) & thin onions rings and a big green chili on top.

Or boiled and steaming shakkargandi (sweet potato). Freshly peeled and diced in front of you and sprinkled with chat masala & aamchur and a generous squeeze of fresh cut lemon.

And 2 toothpicks stuck on top and served with a flourish and a warm smile – aka. ‘enjoy your meal, Sir’.

And of course, my favorite - ‘bhutta’ !!

Black choley also reminded me of all the UP and MP railway stations where for 10 rupees you would get  a leafy tray with 4 thick pooris and topped with a generous portion of hot and spicy black choley with the mandatory sprinkling of chopped onions and the green chill on top!!

And with that, let me take you some 53 years back in time.

I was 12 years then,    and was already a veteran of 4 train sorties between  Dehra Dun to Vellore and back. (Not Vellore exactly, but Katpadi Junction).

A 3 nights 4 days expedition at that time.

Overnight train Dehra Dun to Delhi.

Then change over from Ajmeri Gate to Kashmiri gate (and later to Nizamuddin Jn) to catch the GT Express/Dakshin Express to Chennai.

A two nights train ride before alighting at Chennai (or Katpadi Junction) and then a bus ride to Vellore.

And I am sure many folks from my generation would have endured such 2 nights 3 day train rides to their hometowns, grandparents’ house, or on summer vacations.

And many of you might recollect these wonderful scenes from the past.

Steam Engines:

No electric locomotives then. A few diesel engines and a lot of big black smoking & steaming steam engines!!

The cone nose shaped ones ran express & mail trains.

The flat faced ones were for passengers and good trains.

And with absolute fascination we would watch the steam escaping from the numerous valves, hot water dripping from various spouts, the gushing hiss of compressed steam as the piston linked to the wheels plunged into the cylinder, a series of  deep throated ‘chugh - chughs’ followed by a huge mushroom of black smoke pushed thru the overhead chimney as the big black mammoth started rolling.

And the engine drivers mostly wore black clothes, his hands and face black with soot, the black hanky tied over his head. And his pearly white teeth would shine every time he spoke up or smiled.

And to humor us kids as we watched him shovel coal into the burning engine furnace and tweak the dials, he would reach out to the overhead wire and tug it hard – and with delight we would hear the loud ear piercing shrill whistle and see a gush of milky white steam escaping from the engine body.

The Railway Station:

Remember AH Wheeler and Higgin Bothams??

Overflowing with newspapers in different languages, and magazines. Sports weeklies and comics and fiction novels.

And they had English to Hindi translation dictionary.

And Competition Success Review and GK digest for folks who are traveling to attend an entrance exam or an interview.

And they sold playing cards too !!

Before boarding the train, it was mandatory for us to stock up our reading material. To keep us occupied for 2 full days. 

A few Indrajal comics,  Mandrakes and Phantoms and Amar Chitra Kathas.

Champaks and Tinkle Digest

Illustrated Weekly of India and Star & Style and Femina.

Sometimes dad also bought the film world weekly paper called The Screen – the first Indian newspaper to have color photographs!  

With snaps of famous stars & actress  in wet white sarees !!!

We bought our own books – Enid Blytons, James Hadley Chase & Alistair McLeans.  And Reader Digests too.

Remember the drinking water taps set in a cement island so that the water spills are drained out and do not spread all over the platform??

And you needed to stand on your toes , lean over the small ledge, bend over the marble basin and push hard with all your strength on the push  knob tap before the water would gush out.

Remember the earthen matka pot vendor slowly rolling his cart??

 A variety of earthen pots, some with narrow necks, and some with a spout at the top. And the spout shaped like a lion’s head with a hole in the mouth to let out the water.

Remember the toy cart?? 

Bright colored plastic toys – rattles and rubber squeezies and animals and board games and flutes and - drums and dumroos.

Dad never bought   me any of those.

Remember the ever-present group of military jawans in their olive fatigues and heavy boots.

Every station you could find a bunch of them on their way to join a new platoon. And they carried their regular khakhi holdalls and freshly painted army issued steel trunks.  And they had their names and battalion numbers stenciled on the side.

And the fruit carts and the food carts and the trinket carts loaded with fake pearl strings and mirrors, rows of plastic bangles and vanity items including soap, toothpaste, brush & comb sets.
And the chains and locks to secure your baggage.

And as the train started on its journey and chugged thru the various city stations, it took you thru a variety of experiences that you can never get anywhere.

First the traveling bards (singers)

Young children with shrill voices, old weather-beaten men with grating /booming voices, couples and blind folks and any number of combination of these.  

And they carried their ganjira / ek-tara / castanets and harmoniums!

And some had just two flat tile pieces wedged between their fingers and they created some wonderful beats!

And they would get on from one station and get off at the next, closely chased out by the TTE.

And I am sure they would board the next bogie when the TTE is not watching!

And they sang a medley of songs – from devotional to folk songs to filmy songs.

One time a bunch of bachelors in the next booth got a blind couple to sit down and made them sing all their favorite songs until the next station.  

It was wonderful!!

And we shared our food with them and gave them a generous bakshish.

Next the auctioneer.

A big bundle of towels, bedsheets, drapes, embroidered sofa covers and steel utensils. And he would run a brisk auction encouraging and goading the elders to bid higher!!

Next the hawkers!

The shikanji makers, the bhel puri makers, the peanut and chana masala vendor, the fruit salad makers, the cucumber walla,  and the soft drinks and ice cream vendors and the biscuit vendors. And the bread maska sandwich makers too.

And as we pass thru MP and AP, you get a steady stream of oranges and cheekoos and mangoes and guavas and jamuns and sitafal (custard apples). And small tubloads of ber (wild berries) the big fleshy oval shaped brownish green ones and the sweet and sour, deep red small round ones!!

And in between these offerings the in-train catering services would come up with vadas (batata vadas / medu vadas/ masala vadas) and samosas&  sandwiches and omelets and potato wafer packets and dosas  and coffee and teas !!

And as if these in train refreshments were not sufficient, each station will come up with if own specialty offerings.

 

Agra (& Cantt. and Raja ki Mandi) station will have carts piled with gift boxes stuffed with pethas (both standard dry  and angoori variety) and the famous Dal-moth in half kilo and one kilo packets.

And we had to buy them!!

And this cart is slowly pushed away by the Taj Mahal cart.  A variety of Taj Mahals carved out of white    soap stones. From pure white to sober colored border lined ones. In all sizes with matching packing boxes. And they also sold picture postcards and picture books on Agra.  Along with them they also sold diamond shaped mirror studded Air India Maharajas.

And one can never fail to notice the that young man in skull cap holding a thick stack of peacock feathers selling them at five rupees for a dozen. And he had peacock feather fans and tassels as well.

And Mathura station offered its famous brown Mathura pedas.

(You should go out into the streets of Mathura and watch those fat ‘halwais’ rolling the brown peda  in their pudgy hands before tossing it on a bed of fine grained sugar.)

And as the days pass you cruise thru other stations like  Gwalior & Jhansi & Bina & Bhopal & Nagpur & Warangal & Ongole  and Nellore before hitting Chennai..

And each station smelt different and has its own unique atmosphere.

Even the water tasted different at each of these places – sweet to bland to brackish.

And the food changed too

From stuffed kulchas in Hazrat Nizamuddin to phulkas with potato ‘gila’ sabji to pooris with spicy choley. And further south all you got was food packets.

Imli rice / lemon rice / sambhar rice and curd rice. All wrapped up in a banana (or pumpkin) leaf and packed in a newspaper and tied with a thin string.

And I can go on and on and on…

And as I reflect back on those days, I am motivated to make a trip again.

From Chennai to Delhi and back.

In a 3 tier non-AC coach.

Wonder if I will survive the trip.

But if I do, it would be an experience that would be worth writing another blogpost!!

Krish..

The PM’s Speech

I had watched with rapt attention the last part of the movie ‘The Kings’s Speech’

A sterling performance by the Academy award winner & British actor Colin Firth.

And I am sure he would have given multiple takes for this grand finale. 

And there would have been extensive edits as well.

And I watched our PM, Modi’s speech on 12^th May evening at 8.

No retakes, No edits. 

Live on camera;
With no 'read-out' from a 'ghost-written' script either.

And I would assume he wrote most of the script himself and spoke in chaste Hindi.

And it was a wonderful performance.

Both the content and the delivery appealed to me positively.

And if truth be told, I was much impressed.

And in such a time of crisis, gloom and uncertainty, the PM projected a well poised and a very positive message for all of us. A true confidence building & morale booster speech.

And he spoke with a kind of concern & sincerity that belies a pickled politician !

And he gave us what we needed the most – apart from the Rs. 20 Lakh Crore financial stimulus package which included Rs 3.7 Lakh Crores for the MSME sector.

He gave is the confidence to rally against the challenge of Corona Virus.

He gave us hope that we will recover well

And he gave us the assurance that not only will we recover, but we will also emerge as  a far stronger nation.

And not only will be rise and defeat the pandemic, we will also rise beyond our boundaries and help the entire world in its fight against Covid 19.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam

The whole world is one family.

Sarve bhavantu sukhinah. Sarve santu niramayah.

May all be prosperous and happy. May all be free from illness.

And I saw in him a leader who had utmost faith in the future & in himself.
An unshaken confidence in his nation & its people.
In the success of the task he has set out to achieve – Towards self-reliance, and to serve for the good of mankind.

And a leader who could see a bright future amidst the gloom and despair of the current crisis

A leader who could rise beyond the daily transaction challenges and create a vision for a self-reliant and a strong Indian nation.

And an impressive Political leader that I have not  seen in a long time .

(By the way I am neither a Modi fan nor a BJP fan. I have been a staunch 'old-timer' Congress supporter for a long time until the last election. And I would have very happily voted for Nandan Nilekani (Congress Candidate in 2014 Lok Sabha Election) if I had resided in his constituency. Sad, I wasted my vote on AAP that time !

And there are a few  leaders who I greatly admire.

Our First PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, who guided us from the chaos of liberation from the British and charted our first few baby steps as a fledgling democratic nation.

He was a true visionary!

And the situation then would have been far worse than what we see now, what with the traumatic division of India and Pakistan and closely followed by China’s surprise attack on India in Oct 1962..

And our first Woman PM, Indira Gandhi.  That gutsy and fearless leader who catapulted India onto the world stage.

And she could successfully (and daringly) challenge the US and command respect from the Russians with equal poise.

And we loved the way she beat the pants out of our neighbor  during the 13-day war in Dec 1971!!

And JRD Tata and Vikram Sarabhai for pioneering the  industrial and technology resurgence into the country.

And Dr Ambedkar & Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

And there would be a lot many more too. But I have not read about them as much.

The PM's speech qualifies for his inclusion into this list.

In spite of the chaotic  happenings in the world and the rapidly escalating death tolls, he has managed to steer India on a safe path.

Our second most populous nation is at #12 in the list of most affected countries. A tremendous achievement so far and the Health Minister must share credit for this too.

And against the clamor of anti-China sentiments and the rhetoric from the US President, he has calmly gone about his task of helping other nations with medicines & supplies and taking a leadership role in the Non Aligned countries (NAM countries) meeting on COVID-19.  

And with his last speech he has pumped the morale of the nation to a new high and strengthen our country's resolve to rise up to the challenge of rebuilding a stronger nation.

And a wise one might say, " People of our country, unite! We have nothing to lose but our own baggage!!"

And the Rs 20 Lakh Crore bundle will surely help!

And I am glad we have the right person at the right place and @ the right time !

Krish..

It all started with Hand Sanitizers !!

Preeti mentioned that I had missed a few milestones while tracing my path through the many long and winding What’s App conversations.

And so, I write this short sequel to my earlier Blogpost.

Thanks Preeti!.

Once upon a time,

When the Yemlur Road in front of Sobha Palladian was jam packed with traffic all mornings and evenings,

When it took more than 10 minutes to make an ‘U’ turn in front of our exit gate,

When shopping malls were packed and PVR & INOX ran house-full on weekends,

When people chatted in groups / when ladies gossiped in tight circles and kids tumbled upon each other while playing,

When you could not find an empty table at Café Coffee Day,

When Covid19 was not yet a global life threatening Chinese bug,

And long before we joked that the Wuhan Virus won’t last long because it is ‘Made in China!!’    

And when people were debating whether to wear a mask or not,

Those good old days,

When you could go out freely and unhindered by a suffocating mask,

Those times when you could freely walk on the pavements and happily inhale lung-full of rich smoke and exhaust fumes and the heavily polluted air. (Incidentally, last evening I over-heard one bird twitter to another, “these humans are so crazy. Now when the air is so clean and pollution free, they go about wearing masks”!

 

And when the HAL helicopters chopped the air & rattled overhead throughout the day,

And screaming jets pierced your ear drums every now and then,

And the mighty Gajendra screamed while it inched up slowly over our block every weekend

And when the Indigo departure area was packed with tired, apprehensive and extremely impatient folks who rushed and tried to squeeze thru the narrow boarding gate four-at-a-time.

In that time,

One Officer and a Gentleman from SP had the wonderful intuition and foresight to predict difficult times.

And he immediately acted by consolidating the need for hand sanitizers and negotiated a great price for a bulk order.

   

And his initiative started what went on to become a steady barrage of long message chains of the future.

The hand sanitizer conversation chain was impressive.

It went on for 2 weeks and more.

Each enthusiastic resident announced his demand for the various size of bottles and quantities for each.

More than 60 such messages populated the SP What’s App group within a few minutes.

And unable to keep a tally the gentleman created a chain order sheet where people appended their names & requirement to the sheet.

And very soon we were flooded with dozens of sheets and conversations around them.

And some names got mysteriously drooped off causing more follow-ups and explanations and confirmations.

And a few folks wished to modify their order and so on.

And it went on and on until a series of final deadlines ended at last.

And when things appeared to have settled down, the bottle volume specs from the vendor changed and the barrage of messages restarted with renewed enthusiasm & vigor again.

And then the delivery got delayed – so we had daily updates on shipment tracking & when it would arrive.

And the suspense continued each day until the consignment finally arrived!

And that led to another barrage of messages for collection and payment.

I am sure we must have set a record for WhatsApp chain messages.

And once the SP residents got a hang of how to do ‘sourcing for crowd’ (reverse of crowd sourcing)

And they experienced the excitement and the adrenaline rush that such chain message provided,

They got addicted!!

And they took up  this ‘sourcing for crowd’ initiative with passion.

Frost came the Mango group and messages stared flowing here.

And then they added watermelons, musk melons and avocados and Jackfruit!!

Then Thai guavas and Alfonzo mangoes.

Then pastrys and sourdough bread and cheese

And organic fruits and vegetables chugged on simultaneously.

Then fresh farm grapes in 2 Kg and 3 Kg packs

And Daily Fresh and Big Basket followed.

And All this while long chains of complaints of missed delivery and wrong deliveries of milk and essentials  maintained its momentum each morning.

And one good Samaritan started Palladian Medicine DLRY group and that built up another lengthy chain with people updating their orders on Survey Monkey and then announcing their successful google pay transactions as well.

And to provide some great background music to these exciting events, our   Palladian Music Club group went on air with some brilliant on-line performances. 

And more entertainment followed with well edited dance performances and people brewing awesome drinks!

So these are exciting times in Covid times!

And just now (11.25 AM) I got a msg announcing that mangoes and guava vehicle has come!

Need I say more??

And I have switched off my WhatsApp notification.

So no more ‘tings’

And now the messages flood in quietly!!

  

Krish..

Hard Times! Covid Times!!

I decided not to write and publish my blog for a few weeks.

I completely understand and appreciate the information overload all of us are going thru, in these tough times.

Covid and related subjects have monopolized conversation and we have tons of mails & messages filling our Phones & In-Box.

There is so much content that is hitting us each minute that by the time you go thru them , the day is over and you are left exhausted.

Covid has locked us all down. And chained us to Whats App !!

For me personally, it is not a big deal.

I have been retired and grounded for 5 years now.      

And the routine has remained the same for me.

The usual morning chores that includes washing clothes and hanging them out to dry in our balcony, 

Helping my dad with his morning routine,

And a quick aarati to the lord and the many God idols and pictures that adorn our puja room and the main hall.

Potting around in my small garden space and my evening walks also remains unchanged.

And the usual early dinner

And the news @ 9 

And watching one or two episodes of Amazon Prime serials also are unhindered.

But something did change!

And it is  upsetting me in a big way.

And it continues to irritate and bug me since India discovered Covid sometime in end Feb this year.

It initially started as a slow steam and rapidly evolved into a massive deluge .

And every time I manage to survive one onslaught and come up for air, I quickly get sucked up & drowned by another huge ‘tornado’ that pulls me down into its vortex.

And I am losing my patience and not sure how many more days can I survive before I do something very drastic ….

Like smashing my phone or drowning it in the water fountain in front of my balcony. 

Maybe you have guessed what is trying to smother me .

It’s the What’s App messages!!!

Everyday morning when I switch on my phone I get greeted by a series of ‘tings’ that can last many seconds.

And I get 100 plus What’s App messages within the first few minutes.

And I am sure you are not surprised by it. Some of you may be getting more too.

We have all got 100 ++ msgs in the past – be it for birthday wishes / Diwali, Christmas & New Year greetings

And when a bright kid  in our  colony tops an exam

And when one of the residents wins a prestigious award.

And when someone gets his PHd.

And when someone does a wonderful service to our community Eg. On one GAIL initiative I counted 67 ‘thank you’ messages before I gave up updating my tally!

And of course the numerous moticons – happy faces, clapping hands, flowers & bouquets, Namastes, Smileys in dark shades and so on.

And I am OK with a single birthday wish triggering a long train of 50+ wishes in various formats.

These are easy to read and quick to delete rapidly.

But when you get 100+ messages each day continuously for 75 days and you have nothing else to do @ home but to read them, then you can lose your mental balance or trip a mental fuse.

Plus each message looks so  important – with captions like ‘Must Read’ & Important & Did you Know  & ‘this will change your life’ & Covid 19 and so on.

And at these times of suspense and crisis, you do not want to miss an important news or advice or a warning .

And you end up opening each and every attachment, every video, listen to every audio  and go thru those long messages and thesis written by Doctors, spiritual leaders and home grown Covid specialists!!

And a small sample of what I get each day is …

15 video forwards. One or two fresh ones. Rest of them - old and repeats. forwarded in duplicates/ triplicates and more.

10 odd jokes. 6 puzzles.

7 songs from vintage / nostalgic Era

6 cartoons

5 news clips on Covid (WION’s Gravitas is a high scorer)

2 msgs from MC with attachments from MHA & BBMP

3 expert comments from Covid specialists’ doctors.

4 great ways to cure Covid thru aurvedic / home made concoctions.

2 videos on fitness @ home. 3 more home videos on what all crazy things one can do at home.

10 repeat videos on how to wear your mask properly.

7 Bollywood stars telling you to be safe and stay at home.

25 great places that you have not heard before

4 updates on Kim Jong Un’s whereabouts

3 vidoes on missing Wuhan doctors

2 Old Ted Talks

A few digital tours of old temples

A dozen jokes and wise cracks on Wife and Husbands and good old whiskey.

4 repeats on 4 groups – the complete collection of TinTin comics.

2 Sadguru lectures, 3 Sri Sri talk and 3 Gopal Das Gaur Gyan on happiness.  

And to top it all, an English quiz by Shashi Tharoor !!

11 good morning messages with butterflies, white swans, blue skies and some GIFs with profound messages like ‘Be happy that you are alive’ and so on.

An odd tutorial on basics of COvID vs SARS.

And topping  all this are a constant stream of  some great original content churned out throughout the day by the considerate folks of Sobha Palladian.

Here is one very small & unemotional example..

It starts with a simple announcement.

‘the fruit vendor will come between 4 and 6 PM today’

And that triggers an avalanche of messages..

Is it safe for him to come inside?

Yes, have instructed him to wear a mask.

How do we pay?

Google pay / PayTM

Can I pay cash?

No.

I am not sure.

I do not have Google Pay

Then use PayTM

Way can’t he take cash???

No reply

He is wearing a mask.

He should take cash if you have the exact amount.

I have bought the fruits – very good quality.

Are they organic?

Where is the fruit vendor? exit gate ??

Between Blocks 2 and 3.

Thanks  + namaste and a few emoticons.

  

And while such conversation continues endlessly, I suddenly see an odd one

Is ACT down?

Yes.

Do you have Airtel BB number?

And

There is a continuous rumbling in Block 2 terrace. Is the pump defective?

Same noise in Block 1 as well.

3^rd  Block lift 2 not working!

Inform security

Call Satish

A picture of poop on green grass

Not done!

Responsible pet parent, pl pickup this dog poop.

Not dog poop. It is cat poop

How can you distinguish?

Followed by war of words on why folks should sign the indemnity clause for allowing maids & drivers.

And followed by 3 sample declarations from other societies

And a trail of discussions on which we must adopt.

And the MC keeps its silence through out this conversation.

And on and on.

And I read a few, skip a few, watch a few videos half way.

Then I lose my patience and go about on a merciless mission and   clear chat on all my 12 odd groups.

And I sit back happy after having accomplished something substantial & wonderful.

But happiness is short lived, folks.

“Its Transient’ said a wise one.

A few more tings and I am back to square one !

Krish..