The ride from Chennai Egmore to Rameswaram

The ride from Chennai Egmore to Rameswaram

Having reached Chennai a little after 11am on a Wednesday, it was time to look for a lodge in the vicinity of Chennai Egmore station. There are no easy ways to approach the local station to take a local towards Egmore. Perhaps autos taking you to the local railway station would be handy. A taxi ride to the lodge is the other option as autos are nowhere to be seen in the vicinity of the airport. A taxi ride to Anna Salai was all we could manage when the weather was humid and taxing.

Stayed in Hotel Ammu Palace, located in Bootha Perumal Street, Anna Salai.  With meals taken from Sangeetha restaurant the train ticket to Rameswaram was procured from Chennai Egmore. In the LIC Mount Road Wellington Plaza where the lodge is located there is a Coffee House which serves one of the best teas in the city.  As for the snacks at the airport being carried in a cart it was a big relief  as it was not that pricey and good in taste.

At the Chennai Egmore station  there are no porters  and to approach platform six and seven isn't that easy. Came across Mohammad Shah Alam selling samosas in Egmore station. Hailing from Barauni in Bihar Alam has had the opportunity to visit his home state every second or third month. He had a word of praise for the administration in the state of Tamil Nadu which has had a handy template to settle cases with alacrity.


The train ride from Egmore
According to wrist watch the train starts at 5.05, stops to start again at 5.10pm. Goes past Madras Christian School at 5.15, Coovam river 5.17, ST. Thomas Mount 5.24, Pallavaram 5.27, Tambaram 5.35, Vellimmai engineering college 6 and SRM University 6. Between 5.35 and 6 pm the train has a slow speed, fairly good speed after 6.
At 6.02 Kottaghuthur station and around 6.14 after a large lake few houses amidst greenery can be spotted. At 6.15 Chengalapattu Junction with a lake in the background

After AG Church there is a fair degree of greenery. Around 6.21 it has begun to rain. At 6.26 we can spot a lady in a blue saree holding a green torch. There is lush green after this followed by rich paddy fields and not that fertile land. At 6.34 there is a yellow coloured temple looking resplendent. Between  6.20 and 6.35 it has slow speed followed by a fairly good speed after 6.35.
At 6.40 we are in Madurakantam station, at 6.45 in Melmaruvathur, a fairly clean station with a railway personnel in a safari suit holding a green torch. The train goes past a station at 6.55 with the name starting with letters Tozhu, a fairly clean station,at 7 Olakar, again a clean station, at 7.10 Tindivana station and at 7.45 Villupuram. Here the halt is for over 20 minutes. At 8.15 comes Tiruven. Somewhere in the middle of the night come Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram. A polite man from CID with one of his relations reveals that dhoti in Tamil is called something close to Kelly. His son-in-law till recently reported for work in the machinery section in the Middle East. The Sivaganga man is heavy and some of his associates would have recommended him to reduce weight. Both are bound towards Sivaganga. At 4.12 am we are in Rameswaram almost half an hour before scheduled arrival.

At Rameswaram station i lay on the bench for almost an hour as 24-hour checkout would have meant to vacate the room at this odd hour. Karthik the auto man agrees to drive around the town looking for lodges. A lodge opposite Queen's  Palace is all i could manage with the manager showing his willingness to give accommodation for two days with advance for the same paid at the counter at entry time itself. There are lodges across town which have their own set of demands with some insisting no rooms when the signboard suggests otherwise; some coming out with the rationale that booking is there from evening as big parties are coming and rooms at the most can be availed for 10 hours or so. Securing a room in the temple town is not a smooth affair as the law and order department has set out rules which makes it increasingly difficult for single person to secure rooms. No room for single person or take room at a higher tariff is quite unreasonable.

One change we came across was the Rameswaram-Kanniyakumari bus leaving from RMM bus stand a little after 11am; earlier only early morning or late evening buses used to depart for Kanniyakumari.   

Reaching Chennai

Reaching Chennai

Took a taxi to the airport in the city of Delhi. The fare was little under 400rs. The ride was accomplished on different set of roads that showed no traffic irritation a little after five in the morning. When i reached the airport, the different set of vehicles showing the eagerness to drop the passengers showed the ill-tempered momentum the traffic maintained right through the year. One household one vehicle was never conceived as a policy and what we see on Delhi Roads is complete mayhem coupled with mindless driving. Here the local population works with a mindset that could be right and right irritation in other parts of the country with no outright condemnation coming from any quarter. When vehicles go past the barrier right at the entrance of the airport, those manning the affairs look to be lean and patchy. In the airport the articles on sale could not be termed affordable, even the food appears to be out of reach. Right after frisking  the board reads Airport size (capacity) 25-40 million in a year. As the aircraft approaches the takeoff point, there are string of carts lying abandoned meant to carry luggage. They could be a security threat.  The self check in counters don't deliver as those looking for a particular set of seats won't come; it is better to approach the desk being manned by a cooperative staff.   

With no clear skies the outside view entertained at most a stadium. The flight begins to descend from 10 a.m, the announcement to the same is made at half past 10. Some occupying seats in the vicinity, the local population, speak with a mindset that is far away from reality out there to promote their endeavours, private schools and private endeavours. Their tone and tenor conveys that Delhi can be home to only one Punjabi section and outsiders would be least tolerated. Then why make Delhi the Capital when you can't tolerate others coming to the city in search of livelihood. This local population can keep the law and order machinery in their pocket as revealed over the years and flaunt money and muscle as and when they desire. Every one has the right to live, you can't snatch away one's livelihood. In the plane they talk about the growth strategy about a company in the state of Punjab little realising that resources have dried up in the state due to faulty policies. As for the flight the cabin crew was cooperative, hailing from Kashmir, Cochin (Kochi) and Pune.   

As for the private schools whom they wanted to be promoted at all cost, do they realise these are money minting institutions. The intake in govt schools in the capital is more than private schools and if efforts are not made to rein in highly charging private schools, it is the population and their kids that are going to suffer.The local population in the city is arrogant to say the least and this local population has least respect for people coming from Ladakh, North East,Assam, East India, Kashmir, Minorities, South India and those coming from other countries. Newspapers thrive on full page ads day after day little realising that this is not what they are meant for. 

The local population is in a world of its own and it believes money is muscle and power is the tallest tower. Each household having three to four cars is because the planners did not bring in rules that could prevent them from creating mayhem. One gentleman in the South observed Delhi is the most polluted city , by air and by tongue. The flight landed in Chennai at 11.12 with the affordable snacks and tea being carried in the cart inside the airport proving to be a big blessing. The landline connection outlet near the entry point has been done away from the Delhi Airport (another sign of arrogance), the coin dipping phones still stand in some cities of the South. Stayed at Ammu Residency in Chennai and there were scores that underscored the point that political class has lost the battle to bring normalcy in the city of DElhi where liquor vends thrive, locals abuse and the women are not safe. A city which can't give respect to different communities should give another thought of getting it replaced by another city as the capital.