51. Two Stations

Railway journey has always been a joy to me - in spite of the crowds, the dirty stations and the cockroaches in  the compartment.
Some of my best journeys are associated with railway.

Kanyakumari, the southernmost town has a beautiful station.

I have seen the station at different times and different phases of my life - and I have always liked it.

The other station that I liked but have never entered into it is thousands of miles away from Kanyakumari.

It is Agartala station in Tripura.
Once I want to reach this station by train.

11. Limited Space

Mumbai means crowds.
People everywhere.
Coming form all directions.
Rushing to all directions.

I was at Bandra Terminus after a long time. This is not the best of the Railway stations, so I never look forward to visiting it. But whenever I have opportunity, I become nostalgic.

And what do I see? Even at 6.00 in the morning?
Platforms full of heavy items. Making crowds more alarming than they sometimes actually are.

Maybe I was there at the wrong end.
Or wrong time.
Or wrong place.
Or all of that.

Whatever it was, it certainly did not make me smile.
We are not only over-populated, we are over-materialized.
Our space is getting squeezed every day - nay, every moment.

What happens to us when we have limited space?
To our body? To our mind? To our spirit?
That too becomes small; that too becomes limited;  I guess. 

6. Public Transport

Using Public Transport is a good Reality Check.
So, when I had to travel from Marthandam to Kanyakumari and onward to Thiruvananthpuram, I decided to use Public Transport.

To begin with, I had to pay only Rs. 17/- (Yes, you read it right!) for  Marthandam to Kanyakumari, - a distance of approximately 40 kilometers.

Marthandam to Kanyakumari Bus Charges

The roads are good - narrow but in good condition. The driver and the conductor were friendly. They did not speak either English or Hindi and the bus board was only in Tamil, but I could manage to convey them my destination.

The condition of the bus was very poor. See what supports the board.

What did 'SSS' indicate I did not know. From where this bus was coming, I did not know. Somehow I could read 'Kanyakumari' written in Tamil and did run for the bus, then the driver and conductor helped me.  The journey was bit 'fast and furious' but enjoyable.

While returning to Thiruvananthpuram, I chose Railway. My favorite train is 1082 Up Kanyakumari Mumbai express. Now it is numbered something else - five digit number - something like 13682 - I am not sure.

I always like to visit Kanyakumari Railway station.

Especially early in the morning at 5.00, the sea breeze is very cool and that is the time I generally leave  Kanyakumari. So, I was bit nostalgic. This photo is taken at 11.00 am and not at 5.00 am.

Well, and the ticket costs just Rs. 31/- This distance is 87 kilometers. If I had hired a car, I would have paid at least Rs. 2500/- for the same journey.

Public Transport does not save only money. It opens our eyes. For  example, in this train journey I met a group of 7 people (6 women and 1 man) from Saran district (now called Chapara, Bihar) who were visiting South. They were happy to speak Hindi with me. None of them spoke English, how did they manage in this strange part of the country?

"Did you enjoy the food here?" I asked.
"We don't know. We are carrying Sattu flour with us" - they told me.

What do we need when we travel?
Maybe, just a place to sit. That is all.
Public Transport offers that.
Mostly.