Senior Citizen Banasthali Prof BR Natarajan Mission with Passion Bharat Ek Naya Khoj with Vandhe Bharat Trains

American Travel writer Paul Theroux befitting quote "Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going" has inspired millions across the globe. For Ruskin Bond who wrote The Great Train Journey and many more authors, trains have been the central theme of several all-time great books. Famous writer Agatha Christie quote goes as "Trains are wonderful - To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns and churches and rivers, in fact, to see life."

The history of trains goes to as early as 1550 in Germany where it was called "wagonways" (horse driven wooden rails) and later in 1700 as tramways when iron replaced the wooden wheels and rails. Steam locomotives came in 1800s in Great Britain and Railroads took off in the United States in a big way because cars and airplanes were yet to be invented. Down the years, steam locos gave way to electric and diesel powered locomotives and the era of high speed trains running at 100 - 200 mph.

In India, the first steam operated railway operated in 1837 in Chennai (Madras) with the first passenger operating on 16 Apr 1853 between Bombay (Bori Bunder) and Thane. Since then, the day has been celebrated as the Indian Rail Transport Day. Presently, Indian Railway is the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a total route length of over 42,000 miles. In 2022, it carried about 8 billion passengers and 1.4 billion tons of freight.

Indian Railways presently operates over 13,000 passenger trains and over 8,000 freight trains daily covering over 7,000 stations across India. Over the years, India got 120 km/h Rajdhanis (1969), 130 km/h Shatabdis (1988), 160km/h Gatimaan Express (2016) and the latest most famous and most popular Vandhe Bharat 160km/h (2019).

For Senior Citizen and alumnus of BITS Pilani, BR Natarajan (aka Dean Nattu) who is presently Professor at Women's University Banasthali Vidyapith, train travel has been a fascination from childhood and tourism geography is his favorite area of interest also. During May - June 2022, he took up the Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarion call of Dekho Apna Desh and visited 15 tourist places spread across Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Haryana in one month for which he was felicitated by the Ministry of Tourism Government of India.

In 2023 he undertook a thunderbolt Bharatiya Rail Garv Yatra: Jaipur - Guwahati - Vijayawada - Chennai - Trivandrum - Kota - Jaipur 8000 kms during 01 May 2023 to 10 May 2023 crisscrossing 15 States of India which included Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry (Mahe), Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh. This journey involved just 6 long distance super-fast trains but none of them were talk of the town Vandhe Bharat ones.

Impressed by his first Vandhe Bharat (Train 20977) travel on 24 Feb 2024 from Jaipur to Delhi and inspired by iconic Discovery of India Bharat Ek Khoj, Nattu decided to do a Bharat Ek Naya Khoj of travelling 8000 kms across India in as many Vandhe Bharat trains as possible. The Bharat Mala route planned for execution during 14 Apr - 22 Apr 2024 was Jaipur Jodhpur Ahmedabad Mumbai Madgaon Mangalore Trivandrum Chennai Howrah Patna Varanasi New Delhi Anandpur Sahib Jaipur.

The journey commenced on Sunday 14 Apr 2024 which marks Tamil New Year and Ambedkar Jayanti by boarding Train No. 12465 Ranthambhore Superfast express Coach B1 (3A) Lower Berth 60 at Banasthali Niwai station at 3.30 PM. The train whizzed past Durgapura, Pink City Jaipur, Phulera, Sambhar Lake (India's Largest Saline wetland which has nothing to do with the spicy liquid which goes with idli dosa vada), Nawa, Kuchaman, Makrana (famous Marble Mines), Degana, Ren, Merta Road, Gotan (limestone mines), Raikabag Palace and hit Jodhpur at 10 PM covering a distance of 379 kms in about 6.5 hrs.

A visit to blue city Jodhpur cannot be complete without seeing iconic Mehrangarh Fort (built 1460 CE), Jaswant Thada, Toorji Ka Jhalra (stepwell), Umaid Bhawan Palace and last but not the least Ghanta Ghar Clock Tower market aka Sardar Market where one gets mouth water harvesting sweets (Ghewars) and savouries (Kachori). Roaming around Jodhpur in an auto rickshaw and that too at midnight is indeed worth the adventure.

On Day 1 (15 Apr 2024) at Sunrise 6.05 AM, it was time to board Train No. 12461 Vandhe Bharat Coach C2 (Chair Car CC Seat 51) at Jodhpur to zip down to Sabarmati (Ahmedabad) a distance of 449 kms in about 6 hours run at 12.05 PM racing through Pali Marwar (famous for Gulab Halwa), Falna (close to famous Ranakpur Jain Temple), Abu Road (gateway to Mt Abu), Palanpur (Famous Kirti Stambh), Mahesena (well-known for a Buffalo Breed). The refreshing Tea / Coffee with biscuits followed by a delicious breakfast provided by Vandhe Bharat catering team shall linger in memory for long.

A trip to Ahmedabad is not complete without visiting Gandhi Ashram (located between a jail and crematorium) at Sabarmati established in 1917 which was home to Mahatma till 1930. A walk through the ashram truly lifts patriotic fervour new heights. Recommended by family member Aishwarya, taking a bite of the Yellow Roll Khandvi and Green Patra which are two item numbers from Gujarati dishes is unavoidable.

One must have a mandatory sip of the hot brew at Lucky Tea Restaurant near Lal Darwaja where renowned artist MF Hussain used to regularly visit and gifted a coveted painting to the restaurant owner. Memories down the lane took to Ahmedabad Railway Station Platform Number 1 where two cups of refreshing HPMC Himachal Apple juice was had. From the railway station, one gets an iconic view of the Minarets with some unique architectural features popularly called Brick Minars.

At 3.00 PM, it was time to hop on to Train No 20902 Vandhe Bharat Coach C12 (CC Seat 56) at Ahmedabad station to reach Mumbai Central a distance of 491 kms in about 5.5 hours run at 8.25 PM zooming past Vadodara, Surat, Vapi and Borivali. The evening tea / coffee with snacks and the dinner with ice cream given in Vandhe Bharat is indeed a treat to cheer the journey.

On Day 2 (16 Apr 2024) at 5.25 AM, it was time to board Train No. 22229 Vandhe Bharat Coach C7 (CC Seat 38) at Mumbai CST to reach Go Go Goa Madgaon at 1.10 PM a distance of 765 Km in about 8 hours. However due to oversleeping, boarding at CST was next to impossible. For a moment it looked as if the meticulously worked out entire travel plan was on the brink of abandonment.

However, Pooja Natarajan a thoroughbred Mumbaikar for over a decade came up with a thunderbolt idea to take a cab from Chembur to Panvel to board the Vandhe Baharat at 6.30 AM which worked like magic. The train passed through Khed, Ratnagiri, Kankavali and Thivim and the scenery along the Konkan coast is indeed a memory to cherish lifelong. The customary welcome tea / coffee followed by a heavy breakfast makes you cherish the entire journey.

A lunch at Ginger Hotel Madgaon with Proud to be BITSian Bharath Khamma and his lovely wife Rasagna who pioneered Myz-Uno and Reybier Aico Bev Spirits Goa is truly unforgettable. Birthday boy Akash Srinivasan joined the lunch celebrations and a drive with him across the new Zuari bridge shall remain fresh forever in memory. When one is in Goa, its customary to pick up cashews and if you wonder what Goans do to the fruit after knocking off the nut, then you have to elevate yourself to a higher spiritual quotient.

At 6.10 PM, Train No 20645 Vandhe Bharat Coach C4 (CC Seat 54) was boarded at Madgaon saying bye bye to Goa to hit Mangaluru at 10.45 PM a distance of 437 Kms in about 4.5 hours racing past Karwar (Kashmir of Karnataka), and Udupi (Krishna Temple Pilgrim Centre). The Vandhe Bharat crew was very friendly and enthusiastically heard the mission of travelling 9 Vandhe Bharats in 7 days and made a video of the entire travel plan too. The sumptuous dinner with ice cream makes the travel in this beautiful coastal stretch truly unforgettable.

On reaching Mangaluru, had a fantastic night out drive passing through Mangaladevi temple and St Joeph's Church to catch up with Chiller Thriller writer proud to be BITSian Shashi Warrier whose home is right on the Someshwara beach. Shashi Warrier is the author of Children's books The Hidden Continent, Suzy's Gift and several books which include Night of the Krait, Sniper, Hangman's Journal (a semi-fictional biography of the last hangman of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore) and The Homecoming a novel based in Kashmir.

If you want to know the Kerala and Ujjain connection, then you must hear it from Shashi only. After a short sleep, got ready sipping hot coffee with Shashi and drove past Sayyid Madani Ullal Darga (1569 CE), Milagres Church a historic Roman Catholic Church situated in the Hampankatta locality of Mangalore built in 1680 by Bishop Thomas de Castro to reach Mangalore station to board the fifth Vandhe Bharat.

On Day 3 (17 Apr 2024) it was all set to board Train No 20631 Vandhe Bharat Coach C1 (CC Seat 8) at 6.25 AM to hit Trivandrum at 3.05 PM a distance of 619 kms in about 9 hours through a dream ride galloping through the backwaters of God's Own Country Kerala passing through Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Tirur, Shoranur, Thrissur, Ernakulum, Alappuzha, and Kollam. Too many short distance travelers in this route is a little irritating but cannot do much about it.

Considering the travel time, this Vandhe Bharat provides both delicious breakfast and lunch. The front view of Trivandrum station built 1931 CE aka Thiruvananthapuram is truly majestic. With just about an hour break at Trivandrum, all one could do was to meet a bunch of three BITSians ISRO Retired Scientist C R Thomas, Rajiv and Mani over a spicy snack session right at the station itself. The gossip session took the BITSians down the memory lane five decades back.

At 4.05 PM, Train No 20636 Anathapuri Express Coach S2 (SL) Lower Berth 57 was boarded to run through the state of Tamil Nadu for 14 hours a distance of 798 kms to reach Chennai Egmore at 6.10 Am the following day passing through Nagercoil, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Vridhachalam, Villupuram, Chengalpattu, and Tambaram. At Tirunelveli station grabbed a bottle of Bovonto an aerated beverage with a grape flavor a brand which has stood against onslaught of mighty Coke and Pepsi.

At Madurai station was lucky to catch up with Dr BR Srinivasan over a cup of the famous hot Masala Milk. With just about two hours to catch up the next train to Howrah, decided to do a thunderbolt visit to Vadapalani to say hello to Surseh, Hema, Sushma and Reshma over a cup of filter coffee and steaming idlis. The metro rail network was good enough to reach well in time Chennai Central Railway station.

On Day 4 (18 Apr 2024), at 8.10 AM, it was time to board at MGR Chennai Central Train No. 22808 AC Superfast Express Coach B2 (3A) Lower Berth 57 bound for Amar Tomar Kolkata (Santragachi) at 10.25 AM the following day passing through the stations Gudur, Nellore, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh; Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack stations in Odisha along the beautiful Coromandel coast and Kharagpur in West Bengal. The travel plan did not consider Vandhe Bharats for the Trivandrum Chennai Howrah stretch as they did not fall in a desired sequence leading to considerable idle time.

From Santragachi rail terminus the best way to enter Kolkata was to ride across the awesome 823 metres long cable stayed second Hooghly Bridge aka Vidyasagar Setu to get a glance of Victoria Memorial, Rabindra Sadan, Academy of Fine Arts, St Paul Cathedral, Birla Planetarium, Tata Centre and enter Russel Street where a dear friend and Proud to be BITSian Chhatra Singh Nahata was waiting to give a hug.

Since one could not find any parking lot in Russel Street, decided to try in Camac Street where with some luck found one and took a walk through Park Street to have a chiller and awesome lunch at Kwality Heritage Indian restaurant adjacent to Park Hotel. One cannot walk past Flurys without grabbing some famous Chocolate Rum Balls packed. Also at Kolkata a ride in the iconic yellow taxis is a must which was done for reaching Esplanade Metro station from Camac Street.

It was time to board India's first underwater metro from Esplanade to reach Howrah station. Esplanade Metro station itself truly looks what one gets to see in Hollywood Films and gives the feel that Indians are inferior to none. From Howrah station, one gets a fantastic view of the Hooghly River, ferry Ghats and the iconic cantilever Howrah Bridge aka Rabindra Setu. Howrah station itself with its eateries and shopping plaza looks grander than the grandest.

On Day 5 (19 Apr 2024) at 3.50 PM, Train No. 22347 Vandhe Bharat Coach C5 (Seat 31) CC was boarded at Howrah station to reach Patna Saheb (birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh) at 9.55 PM in Bihar a distance of 522 kms through a run of 6 hours ripping through the stations Durgapur, Asansol in West Bengal followed by Jamtara Jasidih in Jharkhand and Luckeesarai, Mokama in Bihar. The snacks given in the evening was too good to resist and the dinner with ice-cream is truly worth relishing.

Thanks to guideline given by Proud Banasthalite Trisha (BTech Chemical Second Year) who is a thorough bred Patnawali, it became easy to have darshan at Takht Sri Patna Sahib also known as Harmandir Sahib), view of the mighty bridge Gandhi Setu across the Ganga, Patna Medical College, a replica of India Gate, Golghar, Gandhi Maidan with 72 feet tall Mahatma statue, Museum Building, planetarium, Buddha Smriti Park, Mahaveer Temple and reach Patna station to catch up few hours of rest.

On Day 6 (20 Apr 2024) at 6.05 AM it was time to board the recently introduced Train No. 22345 Vandhe Bharat Coach C1 (Seat 24) CC to reach Varanasi (Banaras) at 9.20 AM a distance of 229 kms roughly 3 hours running time racing through Ara, Buxar and Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction. A view of the Ganga River with famous Ghats is a treat to watch when the train crosses the bridge.

At Varanasi station, Vikas Singh Proud BITSian who also had been colleague at BITS Pilani was waiting to take to the river front for a holy dip in Ganga and then walk through a steep fleet of steps and nothing to say much about the famous Kashi Corridor to have a Dharshan of Kashi Vishwanath (one of the Jyotirlingas). A stroll through the narrow lanes of Banaras one gets a variety of eating joints with creamy Lassi.

Same day at 3.00 PM the next Vandhe Bharat Train No. 22435 Coach C2 (CC Seat 76) was boarded to hit New Delhi 11.00 PM a distance of 771 kms (longest Vandhe Bharat Train Stretch) in 8 hours zooming through Prayagraj (Allahabad) and Kanpur. The evening tea / coffee with biscuit and dinner with ice cream has become customary in all Vandhe Bharats. At New Delhi station, Arjun Natarajan was waiting to receive and make arrangement for the much needed few hours of rest.

On Day 7 (21Apr 2024) at Sunrise 5.50 AM, Vandhe Bharat Train No. 22447 Coach C4 (CC Seat 74) was got into to reach Anandpur Sahib in Punjab at 10.10 AM a distance of 373 kms in a running span of 4 hours whizzing past Ambala Cantt in Haryana and Chandigarh. Reaching New Delhi station at any time of day or night via Paharganj entrance is the scariest one can have with a mess of traffic on Chelmsford road.

Anandpur Sahib railway station is in bad shape with construction work going all over and the Virasat-e- Khalsa Museum is at a short distance from the station commutable by auto rickshaw. It's necessary to produce identity to get entry pass to the museum (no charges to be paid). As a matter of fact, for the design and implementation of this museum of international standard, an alumnus of BITS Pilani George Jacob was involved who had been a student of Prof BR Natarajan.

The most important of the complex of shrines at Sri Anandpur Sahib is Gurdwara Keshgarh Sahib, which stands on the place where the "Khalsa" was born. It is regarded as one of the five sacred "Takhats" or seats of Sikh religion. An auto rickshaw ride to Gurdwara Guru Ka Lahore in Bilaspur district Himachal Pradesh at a distance of around 10 Kms from Anandpur Sahib is indeed soul filling as it signifies the place where Guru Gobind Singh got married.

Same day 21 Apr 2024 at 5.30 PM, Train 19412 (Daulatpur Chowk Sabarmati Express) Coach S1 (SL) Lower Berth 52) was boarded to reach Jaipur the following day at 7.00 AM running through Chandigarh, Kurukshetra, Jind, Rohtak, Rewari, Alwar, Bandikui and Dausa. With a wrong date ticket booking for 22 Apr instead of 21 Apr, the TTE was kind enough to make a Blank Paper Ticket BPT to ensure travel in the train undisturbed. The grand finale for the travel required an auto rickshaw ride from Gandhinagar Railway station to Jaipur Railway station to retrieve the forgotten bag containing holy Prasad devotionally from Patna Sahib and Anandpur Sahib Gurdwaras!!

To conclude, travelling 8000 kms in 8 days Jaipur - Jodhpur - Ahmedabad - Mumbai - Madgaon - Mangalore - Trivandrum - Chennai - Howrah - Patna - Banaras - New Delhi - Anandpur Sahib - Jaipur over 9 Vandhe Bharats and 4 Superfast trains is indeed a Bharat Ek Naya Khoj (Discovery of New India) which can be done only when it is taken up as a mission with passion. When asked what next, Prof Natarajan said a truck ride from Kashmir to Kanyakumari navigating the national highways is a dream not to be ruled out!! Picture abhi bahut baki hai .......

Prof BR Natarajan
Proud to be BITSian
Pilani Rajasthan India 333031
Phone: +91-9799476406
Email: brnatarajanbits@gmail.com
Website: https://www.bitsaa.org/

Pilani Chronicle covers news about happenings in Pilani including achievements of Proud to be BITSians who are alumni from institution of eminence BITS - Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani spread across all latitudes, longitudes and altitudes.

This release was published on openPR.