Friday, May 16, 2014

Ride to Prasanthi Nilayam

The ride to Prasanthi Nilayam

On A Saturday left for Prasanthi Nilayam with hopping across four different buses looking to be a more reasonable way to approach the station. At Nizamuddin station, the earlier arrangement of getting the current status of seat availability from ground floor has been done away with and in store is a window counter on first floor with no display status on trains and the berths available. You can only know the status once your turn comes, not before that. SEcond, the govt run canteen is not to be found and whatever little you would like to take, one has to settle for a private restaurant whose charges are exorbitant. This is happening in national capital what to talk of other cities and towns in tier I and tier II. The loo too has been moved further away on platform one and during late evenings it cannot be safe for women. At least the loo should have been equidistant on platform one.

The Bangalore bound train left Delhi at 8.50 pm , with seat number 37 taken by me as the lad opposite mine had taken 39. Having been allotted 39 i preferred to stick to 37. Amongst those closeby comprised a family and some preferring to spell out their  B Tech status. Mathura coming at  10.05 and Jhansi coming at 1.26. This time round i could not find any interesting character like Gomes working in Kitchen Department in Dubai whom i came across during my return journey from Chennai. Bina coming at 3.05 am, it presented a picture of India with the platform chock a block with passengers, most of them sleeping on floor. MNREGA has been of limited success with no effective checks and balances and this is just an illustration of that. If MNREGA had effective checks and balances, the wages meant for eligible people would have been delivered solely to them. More effective checks and balances needed. Not less than three hundred to four hundred passengers were on that platform during that point of time. Bhopal coming at 4.26, surprise of surprises, the train left before the schedule time. Betul at 7.35am, Amla 7.51, Hatnapur 8.07, Chichonda at 8. 11 and Nagpur at 10.25. Fruit vendors at Nagpur station could be seen doing brisk business. As the train pulled out of nagpur station, there is a blue colour structure followed in the same line by a series of appartments. Would returns come, it is hard to spell.
This was followed by semi pucca houses, which should be made sturdy and letting the residents stay should be the mandate. Then there was Narayana Vidyalaya, hoping fee would be less here.

Nagpur cricket stadium came after 15 minutes from station. Warora came at 12.30.  Before Warora long tracts of land not irrigable could be sighted and post Warora somewhat irrigable template could be seen and equal attempt being made for the same.

Majri station at 12. 41 and Ramagundam at 3.11

Majri station comes at 12.41 with a station after this that is fairly clean, Sirpur Kaghaz at  2.30, Manchiryal at 2.50, Pedamppet at 3.09 and Ramagundam at 3.11. From here fairly green belt.
Well nothing much could be said about the family carrying a kid, the JNUTU lad opposite me looked to be dipping in the non veg preparation with bare hands and with the same taking the curd, perhaps nothing to differentiate between the two. Another man who too seemed to have passed out from JNUTU spoke about the meet the PSU he worked in had organised in the national capital and they were made to stay in Surya, a five star hotel  at a much lower rate given it is yearly arrangement between the company and the hotel. That reminded me of struggling template of these five star hotels and the Kashmir Food Festival that was organised in the national capital in a five star hotel in Nehru Place. If Kashmir food charm is to be spread then during the course of festival at least 500 coupons each day should be set aside where commoner can take the grub at a price between 50 and 70 rs. Let the spread be limited but let there be the temptation of having the same.   This would do a world of good than just having 100 odd people each day.

Secundarabad at 6.10
Kazipet came some time after 4.10 followed by Secundarabad at 6.10. Here one man from which coach of the same train he emerged God knows who insisted on coming with me to a nearby temple was not a good experience. Perhaps a better judgement i could not make at that point of time. Now the JNUTU lad had been replaced by an old lady who took pride in the fact that his son worked in an IT company. The way she was feting her grandson, offering chocolates, biscuits, mineral water and cool drinks (in the South people prefer to call cool drinks and in the north it is called cold drinks) every other minute and the way it was left half eaten and even the train food showed the disrespect they have for food and money. She herself left the food half eaten. IT Company does not teach you to show disrespect to food and money. Dharmavaram coming at 3.35 am and Prasanthi Nilayam between 4 .10 and 4.15. TTE Nagaraj was fairly cooperative and his stint in the railways has been good for either side.

The ride to Prasanthi Nilayam was ok except for the fact that it takes almost two nights to reach there from national capital.

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