A Chalukyan Baraat

Dabbas of besan laddoos, moong flour laddoos, crispy masala poha, chaklis – Karnataka style, murukkus – Tamilnadu style and an assorted mélange of around 50 people occupied what seemed to be their own space on the FN1 coach – that last coach of the 6010 MAS CSTM Mail on a very sultry night in May 1992. Well, the ruse for this gang was to travel to the wedding of one Sridhar Joshi, which was to be solemnized on 5 May 1992 at a small town called Bagalkot – some 800 kilometres away.

An affair that began in July 1989 was to culminate in a wedding – in about 57 hours from the departure of the train. On board were an assortment of relatives – many of whom were employed with the railways – and had their own FC free passes – that meant the entire FC half of the coach with 10 berths (4+4+2) was their own. The children of a lesser GOD – the other section of 32 SL berths also had around 40 people – again all were either friends or relatives of the ‘hero’ – who was to have his two minutes of fame later.

The coach itself was an old one – incandescent bulbs threw a bit of light both in FC and SL sections, and only brightened as the train picked up speed. The number, I recollect, began with 6xxx. The advent of the Air braked stock was just happening, and this was one train from SR that was almost the last set to be air-braked (Well, I am also following the ‘Language in evolution’ on irfca-derailed). That meant, during that time an assortment of coach number – appendages painted with a ‘/’ after the actual number. X meant that the train was on newer 110V lighting, Y meant it was the older 24V with incandescent bulbs; A was air-braked stock. So you had xxxx/A-X, etc. painted.

All the close relatives had arrived - some from Hubli, some from Bijapur and many from other places in Karnataka. They had come all the way for the pre-wedding rituals, and would leave with us to Bagalkot for the wedding.

There was a small twist to the tale – a couple of office friends joined in at the last minute and we needed unreserved open tickets for them. The queues at the counters were too long, and train was only a few minutes from departure. In spite of protests from the huge milling queues at the counters, I located a friend working a counter, and bought the tickets in a jiffy.

The train would have been probably headed by a WAM4 – little would I know the loco classification then – even IRFCA was learning to walk with a few legs, as against the six thousand odd pairs that support it now. We left at 22.20 hrs sharp, which was the then departure time, and slowly made our way through the maze of points and crossings and picked up speed only after we passed Veysarpadi (VPY). Our first halt was at Tiruvallur (TRL), where we spent about a minute and a half. Then on to Arakkonam (AJJ), we spent around 5 minutes. All the way, the compartment was a gaggle of voices, laughter and healthy leg-pulling – I was the main target, being the ‘hero’. Most of the group went off to sleep, exception being a few youngsters, and that included the Electrical Engineer on IRFCA now – Gopalakrishna Kadni. Whenever we meet, it is always trains – and it has been like that even before IRFCA was born – and that night was no different. We were wide awake till we reached Renigunta (RU), before we had a cup of tea and went off to sleep. We were absolutely unaware of what happened after that, and woke up as we neared Rayalacheruvu (RLO), a few kilometers before Gooty (GY) at about 0700 hrs. Most of our gang was still asleep, and as we finished the morning chores, the reality hit us. Being the last coach, even behind the SLR meant that we could not get a cup of tea at small stations, where the coaches were out of the platforms. We really rued that we could not get up and be ready before Kondapuram – we would have had the time to get a tea at the watering station. However, we would soon pull into GY at about 0840 hrs, for a scheduled 5 minute but an actual 10-15 minute halt for a loco change. That gave us the time to haul a chaiwallah into our coach, and start counting the cups. By the time the last person had been served a cup, the first was ready for his second! The loco change over, we soon hit the mainline again at a very good speed, and thanks to the slack, were into Guntakal (GTL) at about 0825, around five minutes before time.

We unloaded ourselves and the hordes of luggage onto the fag end of the platform, by which time the coach had been uncoupled from the formation and the starter was cleared for the mail to continue its halting journey to BBVT. We trudged along the trolley path with our luggage and hit what I now recall as PF5, the MG platform. We spread our wares on the platform, and the dabbas begin opening one by one. Masala poha, chakli and besan laddoos were served on paper plates and handed over to the gang. We took turns filling up water containers – the days of mineral water had not yet dawned then. At around 0925, the shrill tone of a steam loco perked us up, and it was clear that a train was being backed up from the yard. This was the Chalukya Fast Passenger from GTL to Bijapur (BJP), with a scheduled departure of 1000 hrs at GTL and arrival of 1800 at Bagalkot (BGK) and around 2130 at BJP. We rushed into a coach and placed all our luggage and then allowed the ladies in and settled down into our seats. The entire train was unreserved, and I think we were in the penultimate coach – Gopal should correct me if I am wrong.

We left at 1000 hrs to the shrill whistle of the steam loco – must have been a YP – maybe John Lacey or Prof Siva could correct me, as I am not aware of the holdings of the GTL steam shed. We stopped at many stations, skipping a few – this was after all a Fast Passenger. We skipped GTL North, Virapur and stopped at Daroji for watering. The parallel BG line shimmered in the bright late morning sun, and the heat was already searing. We had a plate of Kanda bajji at Daroji, and we were on our way without tea. We then stopped at some stations, but the one I remember was Bellary (BAY). After Bellary we stopped at Bellary Cant, and made our way through stations like Kudatini, Pappinaikanahalli, etc., though I may have got these names mixed up. We also stopped at Tornagallu (TNGL), the origin of scores of iron ore rakes headed to Madras Harbour (HOM) for disgorging the iron ore into the huge bowels of ships for export to Japan and China.

Between BAY and Hospet (HPT) we had our lunch comprising of idlis, puliyodarai and curd rice, packed the previous evening from home. The packets were devoured as fast as they were unpacked. We filled and refilled water at HPT – the loco did the same, and a fresh crew took over. We left HPT and ran across the Tungabhadra, parallel to the dam, and crossed over to Munirabad town for another brief halt. Post Munirabad, we stopped at Koppal. We then made our way through small stations, stopping at what seemed important to the time tablers but insignificant for us – the big city brash bunch. The locals from Hubli were explaining the importance of the halts, and even they sneered at a halt or two.

The stunning experience of the trip was at Bhanapur. As we waited for a crossing, we were on the PF line. Locals descended on the train with pots, and started selling buttermilk – freshly made at their rustic homes, with a sprinking of rock salt. The buttermilk tasted wonderful in the mid-afternoon rural heat of Karnataka, and we would have easily downed at least two glasses each. I do not remember how much we paid, but it must have been around two rupees for a glass. We then retreated into the shade of the coach as we started to leave, and the long journey continued. We hit Gadag (GDG) at around 1500 hrs and I ran to where the Vada stall would have been. The disappointment was palpable, as the fellow had closed for the afternoon, and would come in only at around 1645-1700 hrs for the evening round. I am not sure we had a loco change from steam to steam, but left GDG far earlier that our usual halts there – probably because we did not need a reversal.

We took the track to the right side as we faced Hubli, and swerved a huge right curve about a couple of kms after GDG. The one the right would go to UBL. As we went to the right, we were accompanied by swathes of arid black soil. This was, if not the heart of the drought prone areas of Karnataka, pretty close to it. We then stopped at all stations, I presume. Hombal, Balaganur and Mallapur had nothing to write home, except an SM cabin, a lever cabin situated bang in the middle of the platform at an elevation, a counter from where the SM issued tickets and if lucky, a closed tea stall. Maybe a water tap or two that was dry and hot!

After Mallapur, we hit Hole Alur (HLAR) – another watering station, and home to wonderful kanda bajjis, cool buttermilk and a rather decent tasting tea. The entire gang feasted on the stuff before we left, and the stall owner would have probably had his largest single bill of his lifetime that day, like many others at preceding stations.

We quickly crossed the river bridge and stopped briefly at Jakanur. As we left Jakanur, the wrangle for the doors began. Many did not know what it was for – I have always loved to see the wonderful left curve on a high gradient – seeing the tracks wide to our left well before we actually hit them, and head off behind a small hill into Lakhmapur. I took in the entire route and none the less sated – I longed to come back for more – in fact, I still do!

A halt, what I now recall as Yeragoppa was skipped, and we headed into Badami – the railhead for the famous Banashankari temple and the Chalukyan heritage sites of Aihole and Pattadkal. A brief halt later, we stopped at Guledagudda Road, and then made our way across the longest block of the day – to BGK. As we hit BGK at 1800, it was my time to be embarrassed – embarrassed by the reception. I was garlanded, a band accompanied the gang that had come to receive us and was belting out instrumentation of the latest Hindi and Kannada hits. I was far too embarrassed to be the centre of all attraction, but that is the way the cookie crumbles in this part of the world.

That was a report of what I remember of my trip to my wedding – Gopal will surely correct me wherever I have gone wrong. I will not detail the return by the SUR UBL passenger’s slip coaches to SBC and thence to MAS, and understandably so, even though we traveled SL class!

And, finally a big thanx to Shanx, whose Shaadi ke Laddoo inspired me to try this out!

DUST AND DELICACIES

A very hot day of May dawned and the searing heat broke through the asbestos roof of the bedroom at Bijapur. The hall and the kitchen were that much cooler which explained the presence of almost everybody at home in those two rooms. We gave breakfast a skip, had an early lunch at 1000 hrs, waiting eagerly for the eventual to happen.

The tonga arrived in front of the house and we were off to the Railway Station. We passed close to half-a-dozen monuments – all of them under ASI – Bijapur (BJP) is as much a historian’s delight as it is a tourist’s. The last one we passed was the Gol Gumbaz – the magnificient whispering gallery cool as a cucumber on the inside and simmering bright domes on the outside. As we took the road alongside the ROB and veered left to enter the station road, we were really excited.

Somebody bought us one full and two half tickets on exchange of a PTO (Privilege Ticket Order – where the full fare was only one-third of the coaching tariff and the half fare was one-sixth) for just Rs.5 in total. We walked to the board outside the SMs room and saw that our train was about 10 mts late! Milling crowds, chaiwallahs and hordes of vendors selling a dozen other things were the sights of the day. There was also the usual quota of beggars and stray dogs, crows and sparrows, and a couple of cows and a calf.

Just about fifteen minutes to the arrival of the train, the station porter or the signalman ventured out to ring a bell – a bell that would indicate that the train had been cleared to leave the previous station – Minchnal in this case. We would hurriedly check our entire luggage, and all our relatives – yes, there were at least a dozen to send us three out of BJP. One of the seniors would tell us to remain patient; there were at least 10 mts for the train.

Eventually the train was sighted, and as it passed the home signal, the dozen relatives would head off standing one or two to coach to hunt seat for us. The train was usually crowded, and getting a butt on was very difficult. Somehow, we always managed to get two seats for three people, and even managed a window seat within the next 50 kms or so. The train, drawn by steam would hang around for about 10 minutes for watering. The rather languid pointsman would trot to the loco and hand over the token – remember, until recently this was the authority to start a train in the absence of any kind of starter signals. Entry into a station was controlled by a home signal, there were a few gate signals as well. The token in hand meant that the train had the block up to the next station’s home signal for itself.

Tearful farewells with people running alongside the trains to see their beloveds off were routine, particularly with the rustic people. The train crossed over into the mainline, chugging along, letting steam. We picked up speed and traveled at a rather high speed of what I now perceive as around 60 kmph, slowing down on gradients when the engine strained its every sinew to pull the rather overweight rake of about 9 coaches – all MG GS.

After a stop start at Jumnal, the first station towards UBL (Hubli), we crossed a girder bridge laid over a nullah called Honagana Halla – the next halt station was Honaganahalli. Ibrahimpur is a relatively new halt station between BJP and Jumnal, and rather surprisingly for its name, is home to a locally famous Venkateswara temple. Then a slew of stations passed us – though not in the same order – Wandal, Benal, Basavana Bagewadi Road. The last one was earlier known as Telgi, and has the rather attractive code BSRX, probably since BSR was allocated to Vasai Road, earlier known as Bassein Road.

The train itself was rather cacophonous – babies crying their hearts out, kids bawling all over the place, running around (?) in tiny nooks and corners stepping on feet, the adults, mostly rustic, discussing all things about all their friends and relatives like a news broadcast – it was one fun mela all the way. What added to the fun was the vendors criss crossing the coach, jumping between coaches selling ‘delicacies’ that we yearned for – I am reproducing some here: limbihuli – a sour sweet that reportedly kept nausea at bay and came in a variety of colours, pedhas – three for four annas, shenga – peanuts roasted and dry bhel, alle pak (pronounced allay paak) – a ginger and gud confectionery that promised to keep cold, coughs, nausea and a hundred other illnesses away! Also on the list was cheap imitation packaged Glucose Biscuits, Parry’s chocolates, toffees etc. We used to try to wangle a few annas – about eight or twelve annas from our mother from the collection we made at various relatives’ during our stint, to savour these delicacies. Mom would always ignore our requests for a while promising the very famous kanda bhajis at BSRX.

BSRX was a watering station, and the kanda bhajis were hot and spicy, and it was watering time for us too. We would down a bronze jug of water and run to the nearest tap to get our fill. As the LP got the token, the whistle would go off, and so would the train over stations like Almatti, Sitimani and Kadlimatti before we hit our next major town called Bagalkot (BGK). Sitimani no longer exists, having given way for the Krishna project, and in its place has come Kudalasangama Road. Sitimani, situated on the banks of the Krishna was famous for the hordes of people performing the rites for the departed ancestors. In fact, even my grandfather used to visit Sitimani to perform the annual shradhdha of his ancestors.

Bagalkot was a mixed bag. A fairly large station serving a fairly large town, it was almost like BJP. It even had a retiring room like BJP. We would usually arrive at around 1420 and leave at 1430. Little would I realize that in a decade and a half, my love affair with a girl from this town would bring me here very often. It is another matter that we are now happily married for 17 years now! After a fairly long run – the next block was distant, we would halt at Guledagudda Road, then another halt station and then on to Badami. Badami is the railhead for the famous Banashankari temple and the monuments of Aihole and Pattadkal. Badami was treat like a poor cousin of BJP and BGK – the train halted only for five minutes here. As we left Badami, we would stop a few seconds at another halt station and then onto Lakhmapur.

Lakhmapur was a brief halt of about 2 minutes. As we exited the station on the straight for about ½ km we encountered a hill which was cut through to pave our path. As we exited the path we took a sharp curve around the hill. Down below about two kms away to our right, we could see the the next halt station Jakanur. The track would its way curving left around a hill, and the Jakanur station played hide and seek with us. As we finally landed on level ground – after saving on fuel since the down gradient would mean a few kms of coasting, we were braking hard to stop at Jakanur. Jakanur done with, we crossed the river Malaprabha (?) on a half-girdered bridge. The river separated Jakanur from its neighbouring relatively large town Hole Alur (HLAR). HLAR was again a watering station and a crossing station too. The UBL SUR (Solapur) Pass would cross us here, and right from Lakhmapur, we would hope to reach HLAR first to take the PF line. The train arriving second was put on the loop, with no platform. The Lakhmapur – HLAR section was undoubtedly for me the crème de la crème of the UBL SURM MG line.

The rather longish halt at HLAR ensured that we could have another round of kanda bhajis, and wash it down with a not-so-thick, but very tasty glass of buttermilk. Majjige, as it is called there, was slightly spiced with a bit of ginger, hing, and splattered mustard, and went down very well after the kanda bhajis. My mom used to shout from the window not to venture too far, but there I was, at the stall taking my own time to get the glasses of buttermilk. This leisurely activity was, of course, in the smug belief that the crew were inside the VLR downing bhajis and buttermilk, and for the train to leave, they would have to pass me!

The next stations that we crossed, though not in the same order were Mallapur, Balaganur and Hombal. The stations had a halt of about a minute or two each, and as we passed Hole Alur, the familiar black soil – bone dry and raising dust welcomed us. As we neared the only junction on this route, we were sweeping to our left as another pair of tracks joined us from the right. We would ride the track to the left for a fair distance of about 1.5 kms and come to a screeching halt at GADAG – probably one of the few palindrome stations on IR! The halt at Gadag, which we reached around 1710 was a leisurely 20 minutes, though the TTs reckoned it should have been 10. The hot – just off the oil medu vadas in dried leaf cups liberally bathed with spicy coconut chutney was a sure winner, even in the hot climate of May. Mom, my sister and I usually had 2 vadas each – the cost would be not more than Rs.5/- including three cups of tea.

As we were downing the vadas and the tea, the staff worked leisurely and attached a loco to the other end – this was a reversal station. The train usually left around 1730-1740, and we would retrace the way we had come in to Gadag, albeit on the other track. The track on our right was the one that would shortly divorce us on its way to SURM, and we would be off on the next series of stations, with about 60 kms to go to UBL.

Binkadkatti Halt, Hulkoti, Navalgund Road were the next three stations. After these brief halts, it was time for a slightly longer halt at Annigeri, this was a station that saw some express trains stop. Leaving Annigeri, we again halted briefly at Sisvinahalli H, Hebsur and Kusugal. Kusugal, I have heard somewhere was the first station on IR to use solar panels to light the signal lamps of the home signals on either side of the station.

Leaving Kusugal behind, we made a straight way for some time and then banked sharply to the right, past the Anjaneya temple that all crew say a silent prayer to when they cross this part. We invariably were stopped at the distant home signal that heralded our entry into the SBC MRJ mainline for a minute or two, then made our way to the ‘real’ home signal and were received on PF3 or PF4 at UBL at around 1925, well before the scheduled arrival of 1945 or 1950!

That was an account of whatever I could remember of the scores of bi annual trips made on this line from 1967, when I was a one year old to around 1992, when it retained the charm of MG and steam. That my wife is also from this area, and the courtship of around 5 years before our marriage meant more trips was a huge bonus from me. I may have gotten the station names mixed up, but I believe the essence of the trip is captured.

And, finally, what better time to post this trip report than now – as the new BG line is ready and waiting to herald a new era in what must be one of the most drought prone and dry areas of northern Karnataka. Though the charm of MG and steam will be missing, I still yearn for a trip on BG – especially another ‘up-down’ on the Hole Alur – Lakhmapur section!

Hope you enjoyed the nostalgia!