TRIP REPORT
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Dear All,
Presenting my third trip report of the four report series, of the return journey from Katra – Pune. The earlier two reports are /blog/post/1624862 and /blog/post/1637077 .
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The mood in our group was ecstatic and why not, our Yatra had been successful and Mata had blessed us!! The entire day 18.10.2015 was spent by most of the members in deep slumber from morning till afternoon, visibly tired from the long ardous trekking up and down. On our way back from top, our admin Kush Kalra, his cousin brother and myself availed the Global Vectra helicopter service (the other being Himalayan Heli) from Sanji Chhat Helipad to Katra helipad, which was my first ride aboard a chopper and a completely thrilling experience. We were fortunate to get seats in current booking; that too in peak Navratri season. The ticket is priced at Rs. 1039/-, for a 3-5 minute flight. The view of Katra town from above and especially the station is remarkable. The three of us took an auto and arrived at our hotel. We checked into our rooms and found that some of our group members had already returned and were in deep sleep!! We were furiously banging the doors and calling up their names, however our results were futile!! With great difficulty, we were able to wake them up (by throwing water from bottle through the room window, directly on their face!!). Finally Mata answered our prayers and some of them woke and opened the doors!! What a hilarious scene that was, even the hotel guys were amused and laughing!!
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Anyways, with limited free time, the things to do on my personal agenda was to have a bath and set off to explore the town, despite being tired and sleepy, (but less tired than others, thanks to the chopper ride). After a wash, I took an auto to the market. I was famished as the clock had struck nearly 11.00 for we had our last dinner at around 21.30. The marketplace was bustling with various shops selling dry-fruits, spices, local produce, clothes, religious items, etc. I went to JKTDC’s Jewels Restaurant located in the market square and gobbled down Masala Dosa & Dahi Bhalla, which calmed the flames in my tummy. The taste was pretty good and so was the ambience. I roamed around the market and purchased some religious books, walnuts, almonds and “Prasad”. I returned back to the hotel and packed my things, ready to move out as and when our trip organizers tell us to do so.
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I took a short afternoon nap thereafter for a couple of hours and woke up at around 15.00, to find my room-mates readying themselves. We had to check out the hotel by around 16.30. The clock struck 17.00 and we left the place. The hotel guys arranged a vehicle for dropping us at Katra (its a complimentary pick-up and drop facility offered by many hotels in Katra, to and from station and Banganga / Darshani Deodhi, the starting point of yatra). Having assembled, many of us seized the opportunity to explore the station, keeping our belongings in the custody of our non-RF friends of the group. We clicked pics, went upstairs in the Food Plaza for food (since many of them had spent time in sleeping and were badly hungry). The food plaza managed by IRCTC through is a cool place, with both stalls like arrangement and restaurant like seating place with many things on the menu. I didn’t know what options we could have for food in the night, so I decided to eat something which would be good till next morning. I had Pav Bhaji and Dahi Bhalla [Yes, I am a Dahi Bhalla guy and love them like anything :P :)]. The rest of the time was spent in exploring the station.
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At around 18.00, we went inside the station after a thorough security check. The rake of Uttar SK was already on PF-1 and such was the swankiness of the platform at that time that one could use it as a mirror to see his/her face!! Absolutely spotless clean!! On PF-2 was SVDK-ADI Express. The seats were in S2 and S9, with S2 for most of them while just the six of us were in S9. My co-passengers were Kush, his cousin brother, Sparsh Sharma and a couple of other guys from Delhi and AP respectively. Barring the exception of myself and the guy from AP, the rest of them had gone to the market to explore and buy some souvenirs. I was the first person to enter S9 coach, there was absolutely no one then and grabbed a window seat for myself. Soon the passengers started arriving one by one and it was still dark, as power supply to the coaches had not been started. Our group members too arrived soon. A couple of EMDs were seen, ours being TKD WDP-4B which was coupled. The coach was somewhat full with the rest to board en-route. We got the starter and we moved out at sharp 19.10. Our heads turned left and the hands automatically folded, in gratitude for the bulaawa, with a wish to come back soon.
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No sooner did we depart, the EMD cut loose and and hit MPS, furiously moving through the numerous tunnels, as a result we were bang on time at UHP at 19.40. Many people boarded here and the occupancy levels now rose considerably, around 85%. Post UHP, we had our dinner which the group had got for from a local restaurant. This was totally unexpected, as I had no space in left in my tummy to eat anything but still they insisted on me having atleast something to give them company, so I agreed. The really tasty dinner consisted of Rotis, Paneer Bhurji, Dal Makhani and rice from Prem Vaishno Dhaba, Main Bazaar, Katra. Post dinner we sat chit chatting enjoying the sounds and chill air. The catering guys (Doon Caterers) too started their dinner services. The run was good as we made it to Ramnagar JK at 20.10 Only 2 people boarded here. The run further was uneventful and we got good clearance, as a result we were almost on time at JAT, however we were made to wait at outer on the “Bahu Khadu” bridge for some 5-10 minutes. The Navratri celebrations were at its peak in the city and we could see many goddess pandals playing devotional music. The sight of attractively lit Bahu Fort, a popular tourist spot in the city was mesmerizing, too sad we had a clear sight of the same but the camera was locked in my bag :(. The train crawled past the yard and we made it to PF-1 at JAT at 21.20, 30 min late.
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Our group members bound to UP and Bengal (Harsh, Arif Bhai, Archie) took our leave here as they were to board 12332 Himgiri later. JAT was crowded, with triple back to back departures of Uttar SK, JAT-BTI Express on PF-2 and Jhelum on PF-3. We bid JAT goodbye at 21.35 and accelerated quite well, but was not MPS straightaway. The occupancy levels were now in excess of 100%. We had already made our beds and were in the process of lying down, so as to prevent those WL passengers from occupying our seats. One person approached us and sought our permission to lie down on the floor between two LBs. After a careful thought, we did allow him, as he was from BSF and it is because of these guys we sleep peacefully at home. Personally, I was delighted to meet him as he was from Maharashtra (Nagpur rural) and did not miss an opportunity to speak to him in Marathi. Things settled down quite fast and most in the coach were in the process of sleeping. Surprisingly, not much WL pax in our coach but could see too much crowd in S8, I wonder why.
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Exhausted from an entire day’s proceedings, I didn’t remember when I went into a deep sleep. It was only at JRC I woke up, at 00.50, due to noise made by vendors. The train halted for 5 minutes here and left at 00.55. Post departure I slept again and woke up somewhere prior to LDH. The entry to LDH was smooth and we were given PF-1 at 01.45 where we met our sister the SVDK bound Uttar SK on the nearby platform. I really wonder about the perfect co-ordination how the same pair of both UP and DOWN trains meet each other daily at the designated stations, all over the country. Being a major place, few alighted and boarded. The “change of passengers ceremony” concluded and we got starter at 01.55. We set out again, with a parallel race with the vehicles plying on the nearby GT Road, crossing 14033 Jammu Mail on the way. The clock read 03.35 and we were already at UMB and the loud honking of a lone loco somewhere woke me up. There were cries of CHAI CHAI and also CHHOLE KULCHE. The Chhole Kulche here are a famous station food, lip smacking taste and available 24 x 7. By the time I peeped out, the announcement for departure was already being done and the train rolled out at 03.40.
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One of our group members who worked in Gurgaon wanted to alight at Panipat itself and catch a connection to Gurgaon had asked some of us if awake, to wake him up. [I wonder why he did not set an alarm?]. Anyways, for me, history repeated itself. When Panipat arrived, I woke up with the CHAI CHAI noise and the train was already moving out of the platform, hence it would be futile waking him up. The clock read 05.20. Post Panipat, I did not sleep and continued peeping out of the window, in a lying down position. We had done quite well upto PNP and the train was running on time. The intermediate stations were being skipped at MPS, shattering early morning silence and aggressive honking. We overtook Hoshiarpur-Delhi Express somewhere around Sonipat. The jawan sleeping on the floor too got by by now and greeted me “Raam Raam”, as is the usual way of greeting in rural Maharashtra. I greeted him back and he joined his mate sitting on SLB. Sun God had risen by now. Haryana countryside gradually started changing; farms and fields made way for tenements and concrete structures, which grew dense with every passing minute. We made quite a few unscheduled halts at Azadpur and Sadar Bazar just for regulation of time, as our chariot had done exceedingly well to cover whatever delay had occurred. At Sadar Bazar, we met late running 11057 Amritsar Express. This halt proved to be a blessing in disguise for those living around these areas, as they quickly got off from the train.
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At around 06.30, we crept towards our final destination. The train crawled further up, with intermittent honkings and clickety clack track sounds, negotiating the points and crossovers and passing through the huge yard area and trip shed. The controllers gave us full clearance without any halts and we touched PF-5 at NDLS at 06.45, 5 minutes before time. The Chandigarh gang was absent, as they had alighted at UMB itself. A few others were missing too, as they might have got off en-route for their onward connections. Those of us present assembled on the FOB, greeted each other and bid goodbye, hoping to meet again soon one day. With the thoughts of “Three Down and One to Go”, I inched towards the exit…
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Thanks for reading – HAPPY DIWALI!!