Konkan Railway - Madgaon to Udupi

Monsoon Travels in India

After making a thickly regional accented English announcement typical of Indian railway announcers, warning the hapless and hopeful traveling public, of the imminent arrival of our famed 12133 down train, the announcer at the station, crackling with static, lapsed into a meditative silence. After a full 10 minutes since her staccato cry, we continue to be swarmed by flies reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds. Our daughter Shruthi,  covers her twitching nose and walks away peering into the distance if she could spot the train. Physical movement also counters the still monsoon air and keeps the flies at bay.

We debate if we should abandon the journey altogether or brave it for the Buckets List and keep the rendezvous with Udupi Krishna. This was a planned trip after much deliberation to experience the Konkan railway during monsoon. But the jump to what Shashi Tharoor called cattle class, from the lap of luxury at Cidade de Goa to the Madgaon railway station seemed a rather unnecessary giant leap.
The plenty of patient passengers, all of them waiting for their respective trains were lounging about, involved in various activities. They seemed to be in no hurry whatsoever. The number of chairs present at railway platforms seems to be distributed in indirect proportion to the passengers and this is the norm. I walked the length of the platform past the waiting rooms, TTE office and book shops.

Championing the Swach Bharat campaign, I spotted a solitary ragpicker, handpicking the nonchalantly and callously dropped paper cups and numerous other human remains. Comprehending the gravity of the situation for the administration and the Government, I wondered if my fellow travelers too had such thoughts. Too few to tidy up and too many to discard.
We seem to have been hit by reality and it bites and gnaws!

As the train snaked it's way into the station, Shruthi furiously clicked pictures for social media glory. The public congregated towards their respective bogies and air was suddenly heavy with the hum of anticipatory pleasure. The announcer, kicked back into life, after the long, meditative lapse,  gleefully declared a delay for the next train while simultaneously expressing her deep regret at this delightfully unfortunate occurrence.

As we settled into the second class sleeper compartment, motivated and enthused by the various YouTube videos of the Konkan railway journey from the comfort of our home, we were really struck by the neat and clean compartment. The hesitation and perception created by the Railway Station wait induced lesser expectations and the bogie came as a pleasant surprise.  As the train departed, so did the swarm of flies and initial views of rain drenched, agrarian India was a sight indeed for sore eyes. A pleasant breeze played along to the musical, rhythmic beat of the train moving along gathering speed on the tracks over the wooden sleepers. Nostalgic memories of journeys undertaken during my childhood came flooding back and it was actually a reassuring feeling, that Shruthi continued the tradition of enjoying rail journeys.

As the cool, humid, monsoon air crept into the compartment through open grilled windows, Shruthi literally and figuratively let her hair down. The instinctive, inherited genetic trait, coming down from her mother was quite touching and amusing at the same time.

We passed water bodies surrounded by rich, verdant, freshly washed greenery. Rice fields, startlingly reminding us of ancient civilizations, being cultivated by hard labour and faceless farmers, possibly handed down the art through generations, toiled while we, the upwardly mobile, sneered and threw away the adrak (ginger) chai paper cup out of the window debating furiously about how the Government deprives the farmer.

The hypocrisy evident in the liberal could not be more stark.
The mind, thrust several memories together at this time, in a beautiful cyclical, non linear fashion and another train journey that we did with friends a few years ago in Switzerland came to mind. Touted as the most enjoyable trip in Europe, past manicured green fields and sparkling lakes with its customary humorless Swiss efficiency we compared that unfavorably with the current one! Somehow this seemed so much livelier, noisier and connected with Earth!
While we slept on that train journey, we were wide awake here. So much for the human element, with its idiosyncrasies, differences, similarities along with the thought of losing our luggage that probably kept us awake.
We had ordered hot breakfast delivery as part of our online booking and were surprised to see it delivered piping hot!



As the sound of the train moving on the track jostled and brought back childhood memories, I urged Shruthi and Bala to accompany me to the door to feel the rushing wind. It was indeed joyous, wondrous and inexplicably uplifting - the Konkan Railway engineering marvel with its numerous tunnels and past swathes of rice fields and green Western Ghats.

At this juncture, impulsively we felt like thanking bountiful nature  for bestowing the monsoon in India since the Miocene period! Several thousand years of regular rain and a fairly laborious approach to cultivation, bypassing the alleged advancement of the Industrial Revolution, seemed to be a blessing.

Every shot, from a moving train, captured on a standard smart phone, seemed picture perfect! No accolades for the photographer here - it was simply a case of Mother India on Planet Earth providing the landscape.

Past Karwar now as the train stretched further south of Goa, a slight drizzle accompanied our journey making it more pleasant. The constant cries of hot Bajjis, upma, tea and coffee were too tempting to resist and we indulged our cravings at a fraction of the cost we paid at Cidade!

Suddenly the phone registered no service and we spent an hour or so, virtually unplugged, amazed to discover no craving for connection or feeling of threat or isolation.

Connected to the world once again at Kumta station, the train slowed down and another passenger train crossed. Looking at many faces peering out, I wondered if it concealed bankers, engineers, carpenters wives, hopeful sportsmen, laborers, religious fanatics, bigots, artisans, musicians all brought together in a single moment by Indian Railways! Dylan's Tangled up in Blue came to mind.....

The sun was almost at its peak now but completely obscured by clouds and as the train moved, it was very pleasant. The light breeze, humid air, rolling motion aided by the rhythmic clatter of wheels lulled us into a pleasant nap. The red alluvial soil nurtured by several million years of constant rains looked fertile despite the indifferent and unintentional human efforts to make it into an arid zone. The train snaked its way past curved tracks and we instinctively peered out to spot the engine. This pastime, practiced to perfection almost since the Miocene period by Indians is part of a shared culture bringing instant joy and delight.

Bhatkal, Byndoor Mookambika stations passed by and we were really struck by clean stations. At Mookambika, we caught a glimpse of the huge Shiva statue. Kundapura was the next station before our destination at Udupi.

We almost feel a twinge of regret that the six hour journey was coming to an end where the three of us were together while also being wrapped up in contemplative thought.

As the train slowly moved into Udupi station, it was time for a rendezvous with Udupi Krishna and we bade goodbye to the 12133 down with memories of a incredibly enjoyable ride.