Back to Action! July 2, 2007
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I’m back at work in Muscat after my 42-day break! 🙂 (Seems like I just went yesterday!) It was the best vacation ever with lots of train rides, enjoying the rains & having a great time with friends. I’m gonna post about them in the days to come. Hey, one sad thing happened on my way back to Muscat. I had to give away all the packets of fried banana chips (they ran into kilos) which my friends had got me, at Trivandrum Airport, India, cuz of excess baggage. It was pretty painful doing so, cuz I just love banana chips.
I got home to discover some after-effects of Cyclone Gonu. My dish-antenna went with the wind and my birds lost their earthly abode. The building caretaker was kind enough to retrieved the now rusted, crumpled dish and leave it outside my door. Some rainwater did enter my flat, but dried up leaving dust. That’s cool, especially when lives and livelihoods were lost due to Gonu. I’m gonna get a new dish soon (it’s pretty expensive) not cuz I’m a stickler for cable TV, but cuz I want my birds back. (A lil backgrounder here: My dish is the perching place for a gang of blue-cheeked bee eaters who hang about there from dawn to dusk.)
I’m missing them so much and my million dollar question is – are they OK? Did Gonu take them? Or are they waiting for me to restore their hub?
A snap-up with the mighty WDM2 June 15, 2007
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in India, Indian Railways, Travel.6 comments
That’s ‘proud me’ perched in front of the hood of an Erode based WDM3A beauty that was to haul my train (6345 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus – Trivandrum Netravati Express).I’d got to LTT, Mumbai quite early from Igatpuri to catch Netravati Express that leaves for Trivandrum every morning at 11.40. LTT was as always crowded with trains leaving for Gorakhpur and other places. I snapped up a few pics of the train without getting noticed by the RPF (Railway Protection Force) or railway staff. I then decided to do the ‘ethical’ thing… ask the loco engineer who was running a series of checks on the WDM2-3A for permission to take snaps of his loco. He said yes and I wondered if the stars fell out of the sky. Most loco drivers refuse to have their locos shot as railway photography is against the law in India.
‘VS’, the loco engineer then asked if I would be interested in taking snaps with me posing with the loco. I thought my ears went bust. And then wondered if even the sun had fallen out of the sky with the stars. Soon I was sitting in the loco cab, trying to act the loco chief, while VS snapped me up, as over a hundred eyes curiously peered at the guy with the red-t-shirt & the loco driver who went about clicking him. My fav snap is of course this one.
Guys like VS are a rarity – he was polite, gentlemanly, considerate & helpful… meeting him definitely made my day. And a dream came true… posing with the mighty WDM2.
A week’s labor June 15, 2007
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Life’s been extremely happening in the past week, with me traveling to Mumbai and Igatpuri and coming back to Kerala. The week has a seen a lot of adventures, a little bit of work, long train journeys, lots of railway photography and interesting experiences. Rather than tell you about my week in a chronological story format, I think it would be a good idea to tell you about incidents & experiences as they come to my mind, more in a disjointed fashion. What say you?
Firstly, a word about Airtel, the mobile service provider whose prepaid connection I use.
No more roaming blues
I got impeccable roaming coverage wherever I went. I never made any calls as such, but extensively used SMS. It’s a pity though that they have increased their international SMS rates from Rs 3 to Rs 5. Someone else who has a good standing in my book is Western Railway.
Customer Service to the core
I swear by the super-professional staff at the foreign tourist counter at Western Railways Reservation Centre at Churchgate, Mumbai. They are professional, considerate, caring & smile – which are qualities I admire in people in the service industry. The lady at the counter sacrificed a good part of her lunch break to help me get tickets from Mumbai CST to Igatpuri and back. She accommodated my request to travel on the Punjab Mail and gave me a convenient connection back to Mumbai on the 13th morning so that I could catch my train to Kerala. She battled with the reservation system for over 20 mins before issuing my tickets while I shared my life story so far. If you are a foreign tourist interested in seeing India through some extensive rail travel, I recommend that you get your tickets & travel advice / support from the Western Railways foreign tourist counter at Churchgate. Of all such counters I’ve been to in India, I think they are the best.
Hello from Kerala… June 6, 2007
Posted by Arun Rajagopal in Conversations, India, Indian Railways, Travel.11 comments
It’s been a week since I got to Kerala, India & it’s about time I blogged about my adventures. I got to Trivandrum on 31 May and the monsoons have been elusive since then. It’s pretty humid out here, but I’m enjoying the sunshine along with loads of train rides, exams and movies.
I’d my first train ride on the 1082 Kanyakumari-Mumbai Express on 31st morning. Like always I ended up hanging about the door. 1082 was hauled by Erode-based WDM2 that has a ‘freaky modified front side’. Forgot the road number. Enjoyed the slight drizzle and clicked my first set of rail snaps.
Next train ride was two days later on the 7229 Trivandrum-Hyderabad Sabari Express to Ernakulam Town. My first ever journey in an electric train in Kerala. The Erode-based WAP4 proved its mettle as speed king.
Spent the next few days with some friends in Ernakulam, soaking up the trains. Roamed around in Ernakulam, and visited Vallarpadom, where Cochin is to get its new container terminal. Spent the nights listening to the crooning of diesel & electric locos and the incessant attack of mosquitoes at railway quarters, Ernakulam.
Went for a few movies as well – Shootout at Lokhandwala (Hindi), Goal (Malayalam), Time (Malayalam) and Khakee (Malayalam). Except Shootout and Goal, everything else was a waste of time.
3rd June. The most exciting day of my life. I’d my first ever foot-plating experience (riding in a locomotive). I can’t believe that I had to wait for 23 years to get on a loco, but I’m glad that it finally happened. You can see ‘my glowing self’ from the pic. It was amazing, being right in the thick of action with the majestic Erode WAP4 blaring its 2 pairs of HT-LT horns and leading one of the fastest trains in Kerala with élan. It was so cooooooool!!!
Came back to Ernakulam on Bokaro-Alleppey Express. Returned home next day on 2626 New Delhi – Trivandrum Kerala Superfast Express, which was running late close to 2 hours. Enjoyed the ride in 3AC. Clicked a few snaps as well. Got to meet Muscat based buddy Jayashankar who was traveling to Chennai on his favorite ride Chennai Mail.
Left for Trivandrum yest to meet a few friends, after my second exam. My ride was the 2626 New Delhi – Trivandrum Kerala Superfast Express again. Got my ticket to Dadar on the Ernakulam-Dadar Special for Thursday. I’m so looking forward to seeing Konkan Railway during the day. After a great evening of bar hopping, came back home around midnight, after catching the 6343 Trivandrum-Palghat Town Amrita Express train, which probably has to be the Express train with the shortest rake in Kerala. Got home and slept like a log.
For more snaps from my rail trips in Kerala, visit my flickr account arunmct.
Update on Cyclone Gonu: I’m sure that you guys have heard about the vicious cyclone Gonu that’s hit the coast of Sultanate of Oman and Persian Gulf today. Blogger friend Lori Magno mailed me this morning, enquiring if all was well and I was out of harm’s way. I was so touched with her kind gesture… and once again reminded me of how blogging has led to such powerful friendships. Thanks Lori. My folks & friends are in Muscat and they say that they are out of harm’s way. Here’s a blog from Muscat that features regular updates on Gonu.
Blogger Social ’08: I got the rundown on Blogger Social ’08 from CK’s & Mark Goren’s blog posts. What an excellent idea… I’ve just completed the survey & will blog about this soon. I’m excited at the whole prospect & can’t wait to meet all my blogger-friends & have a rockin’ time. After all, it’s not about social media, it’s about being social!!!
I also want to thank CK, David Reich, Drew McLellan, Lewis Green, Luc & Valeria Maltoni for their comments on my post – Here’s to share & care. Thank you for being my friends!!! 🙂
Rail Snaps from Kerala, India – 16 June 6, 2007
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An idyllic station next to Trivandrum, originally uploaded by arunmct.
An idyllic railway station next to Trivandrum
Rail Snaps from Kerala, India – 15 June 6, 2007
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A WDM2C baldie leads an express train, Trivandrum, originally uploaded by arunmct.
A WDM2C baldie leads an express train, Trivandrum.
Rail Snaps from Kerala, India – 14 June 6, 2007
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Close Encounter with a double WDM2 headed oil tanker train, Trivandrum, originally uploaded by arunmct.
A close encounter with a double WDM2 headed oil tanker train, Trivandrum.
Rail Snaps from Kerala, India – 13 June 6, 2007
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Kerala on Rails, originally uploaded by arunmct.
Picture Perfect!
Rail Snaps from Kerala, India – 12 June 6, 2007
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Curvaceous Beauty this 1082 Kanyakumari-Mumbai Express, originally uploaded by arunmct.
The 1082 Kanyakumari-Mumbai Express shows off her curves.
Rail Snaps from Kerala, India – 11 June 6, 2007
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So you’re snappin me, huh?, originally uploaded by arunmct.
So you’re snappin me, huh? The Guard of the 1081 Mumbai-Kanyakumari Express bears the brunt of my lens.
Arun Rajagopal 