Safar khoobsurat hai manzil se bhi – an ode to charm of train journeys ! 💕

Train as seen from pulbangash metro station, New Delhi. 

There is a certain nostalgia attached to train journeys. This blog is all about my childhood and trains but i am quite sure every 90s kid can relate to it.

I still remember as a kid when we had to go to a destination faraway, the preparation for the journey was more than the preparation for the destination. Packing started atleast two days back, neighbours came and made munchies so that we kids don’t go hungry on train. Cool cases were cleaned as they were the only source of clean water. Utensils were packed to eat ‘puri-aloo’. Oh god! These little things. Never understood the value at that time but at this moment, I realize how valuable those moments were.

Jumping from berth to berth along with other kids in the bogie, and ours mothers running behind us to feed us and secretly taking care that we don’t fall off as we do our stunts. Those little joys. The millenial kids are missing a lot. Ludos, champak, nandan all were packed so that we restrict our monkey instincts. The cards were packed for the adults. I was a little different. I kept an atlas with me and marked all the stations I crossed( trust me, it made my political geography really strong. Would really thank my parents for encouraging this idea).

Another special feature of these trains were they got late during the journey. They stopped anywhere anytime. A twenty four hour journey never took the time

These long journeys have also given birth to long time friendships. The people in bogie were not individuals but a big family keeping aside the distinctions caste, class, religion embarked on the same journey towards the same destination.

They would not realize the beauty of the blue snails running through lush green fields and people from the village running to have a view of it after all train journey was a luxury which not many could afford. They waving us and we waving them back. The yellow board which were in perfect contrast with the background, no matter what the vegetation of the place is.

Nagercoil junction, Tamil Nadu- the cleanest station i have been to. 

One of the nearest destinations from Delhi. Visit here for Sariska wildlife sanctuary and bala kila.

 

Not many people know that delhi has a local train and it has these small pretty stations which are a beauty in itself.

 

Dholpur is a hidden treasure in rajasthan. Go here for chambal gharial sanctuary. I will blog about it soon.

 

Bharatpur, rajasthan famous majorly for Keoladeo national park. Have a look at this link to know more about it –Bharatpur : A bird’s place .

Delhi – My second home. 🏡

 

Home 🏡

I will still prefer train over a plane anyday but time, this fast moving life has snatched the pleasure of travelling in  a train 😦 !

DU is changing? Nah,not really !

The on going tussle between ABVP and AISA on the invitation of Umar Khalid to deliver a lecture on bastar tribes has been really violent. Students are being hurt, they are being beaten up, dragged by hair, attacked by stones.
On this issue, many of my friends have been saying that our “DU was never like this” “This is not DU ” “JNU is spreading”  , but i plan to go against them and say our DU was always like this. It always had overexcited seeds forever ready to blossom and here are the consequences.
These seeds are sowed as early as May-June, as soon as the forms are out. Many expected candidates take admissions just to participate in election and some are so crazy that they fail to be a part of these elections. Shocking isn’t it? But yeah , this is the reality!
Talking about the student elections that happen in DU every year, are nothing but outrageous show of money.They are extremely misogynist, pro rich, scandalous and provoking a region based politics. Is this what one calls student politics? Agenda less, or even if they have an agenda, it has rotten years back.
The panels from the student wings of all big parties have no ideology but just one aim “TO COME IN POWER AND EXPLOIT IT”. The candidates are no other but the sons (‘at times’ daughter), nephews of already existing rich politicians whose main motive is to win the election and keep that achievement in their pocket and show it whenever needed (or not needed), or to become a recognized face so that when they stand in elections in their towns, they are already “experienced” in politics, which undoubtedly they become.
The Clause 6.6.1 of Lyngdoh committee states that “The maximum permitted expenditure per candidate shall be Rs 5000/-”is very strictly followed, only they replaced the word “candidate” with the “voter. They distribute notebooks, pens, t shirts, and even umbrella at times. Mentioning free food coupons, alcohol, trips to amusement parks wouldn’t be stating the obvious? Posters and pamphlets, are they counted in the expenditure too? Nah, not for them. They have different tactics to impress different groups, the north easterns, the biharis, the new and vulnerable, Muslim voters, differently abled. Every group is taken care of!
They ask ‘pretty’ girls to campaign for them, as they would attract the “new boys”. They stoop so low that they ask the students to vote for them on the pretext of friendship with the “pretty face”. Each group is in a competition who has the prettier face. The girl candidates are judged by how beautiful they are because already nobody is ready to be ordered by a female, and if they are ugly, “whooshhh, lady you have just lost your chance.” Nobody cares what your agenda is, how intelligent you are, only your appearance matters.
Now coming to the campaigners, they are paid on day to day basis. They are mostly not the members of DU and when they come here to campaign, they are already aware of “Dilli ki ladkiyan” (Thank you bollywood and punjabi rappers), so for them, they are in a fairyland, where passing lewd comments, touching them inappropriately is all acceptable, you know “dilli ki ladkiyan badi modern hai, yeh sab normal hai unke liye“. DU girls even if they deny are very well aware of this reality.

And in this pomp and show, the actual candidate is shadowed but why should we care, it’s just a university level election, they happen every year, what’s the big deal? Isn’t in with resonance with the new rule “SURVIVAL OF THE MIGHTIEST?” Then why are we blaming DU now, it hasn’t changed, this kind of actions were long overdue. We should blame ourselves, where were we when there were DUSU elections? Chilling at home probably, or partying somewhere! Why did we not question them, why were we indifferent to the money flowing at a higher speed than tap water these days, why were we mute spectators, why were we dormant volcanoes at the time when explosion was actually needed?

Bharatpur : A bird’s place

Since my college is over and I have not much to do, we planned a vacation to Bharatpur , Rajasthan. It’s a two hour train journey from Delhi. It’s famous for it’s bird sanctuary: The Keoladeo National Park. Tourists from all over the world come and stay here.

Bharatpur Railway Station

     The railway station

1. Watch sunrise and sunset

Experience the beauty of sunset and sunrise here. Birds humming along with soothing sun rays is a moment worth living.
It has a calming effect , filling you with positivity and joy.

2. Cycling
This park ensures that you stay fit. It rents you bicycle at a very nominal cost. Hop on to your bicycle and make your own paths. ! 😎

3. Explore different trails
  

               Kharanja as they say. It’s not a pucca road , neither a kachcha one.

Bharatpur bird sanctuary or Keoladeo National Park is spread on an area of about 3000 hectares. It is a home to many ecosystems. It has wetland , grassland , dense trees , lakes . There are many species of bird which you might not find in a day. Explore the different trails to meet new birds and new animals.

The concrete road surrounded by big trees like mango, ashok , banyan which forms an arch above you.

The kachcha road and the trees which got uprooted due to heavy rains and high speed winds.

The arid ecosystem

4. Eat rajasthani cuisine
  Relish the delicious rajasthani meal. I must warn you it’s quite spicy and very salty. There food has excess salt because of high temperatures , they sweat a lot and so as to not face a salt deficiency , they put more and more and salt. One suggestion do eat the Chulhe par bani moti roti. The roti ( chapati ) is a mix of wheat flour , chana , jwar and bajra with three to four teaspoon ghee is their specialty.
Please forget your diet for all the time you stay here.

       Men making a roti on chulha
5. Bharatpur bund

    Bharatpore bund

  Bharatpur bund is a dam built by Maharaja Ram Singh in 1856-57. It is about 50 kms away from bharatpur in a village named “bund baretha”. It is a very beautiful dam which uses the concept of rainwater harvesting to supply water to all the districts of “Bharatpore Province” through efficiently build canals. Though it is dysfunct now but it’s aesthetic value is intact.

The reservoir

It is also cooler than rest of the city. It also has beautiful gardens around it maintained by the Forest Department.

Reservoir again

6. View from watch tower

Steps to climb the watch tower

When in Keoladeo National Park ,  do climb the watch tower and have a “Bird’s eye” view of the whole park. It might be hectic because of all the cycling , but worry not you have canteen nearby , you can bring snacks above there and have a good view while eating. MAKE SURE YOU DON’T LITTER.

View from watchtower

In the end , I will suggest you make a list of birds and animal you saw. I saw salamander , blue bull , spotted deer , sambar , kingfisher , drongo , stork , rabbit , owl , peacock , peahen , white dove , snake , butterflies and now I am forgetting , so you make a list to make sure that you don’t forget.
😛

Have a good day 💕