Leave Ajmer; reaching Howrah

 Leave Ajmer; reaching Howrah

Leave ajmer at 1.03 pm by Ajmer-SEaldah Express from Platform No 2.First comes Madra followed by Kishanganj. The area between Basham and Kanakpur is fairly green. Reach jaipur at 2.40. A jaipur- sikar- chiru train can be seen stationed perhaps not in use. Twenty km before bandikui rains are seen. Bandikui comes at 4.15, Biwai at 4.30, helak at 5.25 and bharatpur at 5.35. Ikran comes at 6pm. Here dmu agra goes on other side. There are two other stations, Idgah Agra and Agra Fort, the latter coming at 6.30.

Mughalsarai coming at 7.20

Tundla comes somewhere after 9pm, Chunar coming at 6.36am and  ahrau ra road at 6.49.  Here i see a white ambassador something of a rarity these days. Jeonathpur comes at 6.54, Mughalsarai at 7.20. Here the pco booth is on pf 1. and the platform on which our train is there is no rail neer. I notice a Guwahati- anand vihar train passing through followed by a Varanasi Rajgir and Varanasi Ranchi train. At 8.20 dheena comes followed by darauli at 8.35. In Darauli a jeep going with some people sitting on roof  can be spotted.
What is to be noted here is after Darauli huge tracts of fertile land can be seen.  Dildarnagar junction comes at 8.50, Gahmar 9.20. Here going past our train is a malda-new delhi one. Few minutes later comes Dumrai After dumrai station a board showing the land on sale can be seen. Perhaps the deal is worth a try.

Buxar comes at 10.20am, huge tracts of fertile land

Buxar comes at 10.20, Arrah at 11.30. The Abdul Bari Pul is grand and it needs to have swelling water. Bihta  comes at 12.05pm. Here a rail linked logistic and dry port is coming up. Neora comes at 12.40
Near Kansa station a boat being rowed on a small river that is deep. Patna comes at 1.30 pm. The train is inordinately delayed. Gulzar bagh comes at 2.10, banka ghat at 3, fatuha east at 3.05, barh 4, hathida 4.30. Mind you huge tracts of fertile land after gahmar, bihta, fatuha, barh and hathida can be spotted. Kiul comes at 7, jhajha 10.30 and jasidih 11.30. After reporting to the authorities about why i deboarded the train at Jasidih, a written explanation is given along with all facts and the train that was getting inordinately delayed, i started from Jasidih at 11.50pm.

Bardhaman comes at 5.40 am, Pundooah at 6.15, Adisaptagram 6.32, bandel 6.40, Chandnagar 7 and finally Howrah at 7.30. Mr S Ahmed is the train driver and i happen to meet mohammad in the train.
Mohsin khan the boy giving tea in jan ahar is great. Perhaps one should avoid jan aahar as on occasions some people visiting the outlet tend to misbehave.

In Howrah station the local trains that can be spotted are:

uluberia local, bandel local
amita local
seoraphuli local
belur mutt local
midnapore local, bardhaman local
The cloak room charges rs 15 for 24 hours, with the need to improve the services. I spot wheeler and co established in 1877 and Jan Ahar and food plaza. Rabindra Setu Howrah Bridge looks majestic. A Majestic Rabindra Setu Howrah Bridge needs constant monitoring.
I take a local to Bally to reach Dakshineswar.


In Dakshineswar the sightings are as follows

Hoarding of a school remarkably consistent result for 8th consecutive year, 97 per cent secured 60 per cent. Twelve new campus coming up in baranagar.  Another ad with child holding a stethoscope. Have you planned for his future. How many get inspired from such ads is debatable.

In Rani Rashmoni road
sona tori guest house
dakshineswar guest house
purnosri hotel
mandir palace guest house

There is Adyapeath where too there is a guest house. As for Dakshineswar the time spent in the platform of the station is no time wasted. Not only you get to spot the locals on either tracks. The number of hours i was there on most of the occasions i was caught in a rain spell. As for station dormitory / room facilities, the response of none available seem to be not true. Similarly the IRCTC run yatri niwas should have a display board at the reception counter where the rooms availability should be shown. A truthful exercise would halp the passengers.

The ride from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur

The ride from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur

The ride from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer had winding tracks with a special mention of Phalodi station. A query on why so many people deboarded elicited that it has to do with employment. Summers have been hard, there have been fewer rains in the areas we were travelling. Perhaps Phalodi retained some shine as far as jobs went. In Jaisalmer as well, the discussions centred around the dwindling employment opportunities and how farmlands are in distress. Left Jaisalmer on a Monday at 1.50.


Having stayed in Jaisalmer for four days, with Friday and Monday  spent on cancelling a confirm ticket and seeking a new one. It were the autos that proved handy in accessing the station and the place of stay.  In Jaisalmer you can hire autos which are a treat to travel in as most of them are run by locals not charging huge. A special mention may be made of  tiptop taylor and Hukumchand, the auto man who took me to the Jaisalmer bus station.

Left Jaisalmer at 1.50 on a Monday.  One can sight near the roundabout near nagap palika parishad office, which occasionally has a fair collection of people, who wish to undertake journeys that could fetch them employment.  Going past army public school around 2.10 somewhere before or later a board shows bikaner 315 kms. As the bus made its way came across a hoarding of cool beer and english wine. Not to miss the point the road here is winding and strong. Somewhere here basanper is shown 3kms away.

Sighting first railway crossing

At 2.16pm jodhpur is shown 258kms, pokaran 84 kms and philodi 140 kms. We reach Jaisalmer byepass at 2.20 pm followed by Chandan at 2.35.  The first railway crossing comes at 2.47. Reach Lathi at 2.55. At 3pm jodhpur is 215 kms. Reach chacha at 3.20. At 3.29 the second railway crossing comes and 11 minutes later we are in Pokaran. In Pokaran delhi ki mushoor thandi shikanji cart can be seen on side of the road. From here jodhpur is 175 kms.

A 4.30 we reach Dechu, break for snacks and leave in 10 minutes. At 5pm jodhpur is shown 104 kms and fifteen minutes later we reach 54 mile. At 5.35 comes balser and around 6.45 we reach jodhpur, and it takes over 30 minutes to reach the bus stand. The time the bus took to cover the outer limits of the city to bus station shows the expansion of the city with fewer inclination to keep it green. Perhaps the earlier period would have seen a city much in thrall. From here the preferred mode to travel to Ajmer would have been a shared taxi. The Jodhpur bus stand doesn't bring good tidings, cleanliness and discipline is something in short supply.

Leave jodhpur at 9pm, reach Jatt or a place with that name around 11.20pm followed by a railway crossing at 12am.  Swift and pacy is the response of the staff manning the railway crossing. Beawar comes at 12.30 and we reach Ajmer at 1.40am. Against not to be appreciated conduct by a bus staff member, here in Ajmer this time things look much under control. If honest attempts are made to have a share taxi counter next to the bus stand in Jodhpur,  perhaps passengers who wish to travel towards Ajmer and beyond could avail them. The ride from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur looking dignified but the one after that illustrating the travails of travelling.

In Ajmer go past madar gate and stay in a lodge near Dargah. The lodge is inside lane and the floor above stores every possibility for peace to prevail. After putting clothes to dry, hit the bed around 3am and i am off the bed by seven. Tea from another inside lane is good. A visit to Dargah is amidst additions being made to the sanctum sanctorum  in the form of marble. Perhaps the previous order looked to be more strength-giving. THe marble addition could be something that some would debate. Later hire a cycle rickshaw and reach the station.Amidst sightings in Ajmer are
calcutta gift
kachodi from azad kachodi centre run by azad kumar chaurasiya.

Take some Kachodis from him and consume some during the ride from Kolkata station to Delhi.Here the rickshaw i engaged went with the tide and the man looking to be fairly simple.All in all the stay in Ajmer this time was wonderful.

Thoughts

WE tend to live in times where wheels of rough and smooth side of justice move along.We tend to come across stories where a newly joined personnel in a govt hospital has to grease the palms of a clerk to get his monthly salary. We tend to come across instances where roads built in the past give way to pressure of vehicles and still fake bills and favouritism prevail. A speedy check here, a data bank of roads there could be the way to steer ahead. Vigilance and transparency can do wonders.
People come across new variety irresponsibly raised showing how the rules have been thrown to wind. In cities the people tend to be arrogant aided by flush of money and flush of power. They tend to give sleepless nights as they are committed to the idea of raising a variety whose very  bottom instills fear and no freedom.Arrogance of a big city won't be of no use if things are not in control. People will migrate to new towns and cities in search of employment. THe fertile land of their homes in villages would discourage them to move. But when they would come across new variety raised in cities that have people live in shadow of fear one can imagine the impetus the people would have got to raise this variety that hurts the commoner.