Konkan Splendour, DEMU Style

They say it's the journey that matters more than the destination. Keeping this in mind, I chose to change my travel plans during the regular visit to Shree Shantadurga Temple in Ponda, Goa. I usually take the Chikmagalur-Madgaon-Ponda-Madgaon-Mangalore-Chikmagalur circular route for these visits, so as to avoid returning by the same route. Madgaon is the place I prefer to stay the night, at a hotel in close proximity to the railway line. The usual mode of train travel is the Yesvantpur-Vasco Express followed by the Mumbai-Mangalore Superfast 'Rocket' for the return leg. 

The 'Rocket' takes the beautiful Konkan Railway route to Mangalore, and runs through the countryside of coastal Karnataka at top speed. This was the part I wanted to change. I wanted to take in the scenery this route has to offer. So to slow things down, I decided to take the Madgaon-Mangalore DEMU, a recently-introduced stopping service between the two cities that departs from Madgaon at 0500hrs., and reaches Mangalore at around 1200hrs. Perfect for my plan then, because I still had to take a bus from Mangalore to Chikmagalur, my home.

Having woken up the hotel staff to check out of the lodge at 4 in the morning, I walked the half kilometre to Madgaon Station at a brisk pace, with tripod in hand to ward off any stray dogs or er..humans who might want to take a look at the costly cameras I was lugging. The walk, thankfully, turned out to be quite uneventful and by 0430hrs I had bought a ticket to Mangalore Junction (instead of Mangalore Central, a decision which I repented later). This is where another aspect of travelling on the Indian Railways comes up. The ticket costs just Rs.80 for the 320km journey. In contrast, it cost me Rs.103 to travel the 7km from Mangalore Junction to the KSRTC Bus Stand by autorikshaw. That's how cheap it is to travel by train.

Back to the DEMU. This is a multiple-unit train manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory and is the only one of its kind plying on the Konkan Railway. The train was stabled on the mainline, and I decided to board the train immediately. After the smartly dressed Konkan Railway loco pilots had boarded the DEMU's spacious cabin and started the engines, the train was brought to the platform and at exactly 0500hrs, the little 8-coach train departed from Madgaon. The pilots were quick to accelerate out of the station and the line gradually turned South towards Mangalore. At the very first stop, Balli, the northbound Netravati Express was given priority and it came by at its own convenience, delaying my train by 25 minutes. At this point I decided to take a nap to catch up on lost sleep. 

When I woke up, it was already daybreak and the train was making quick progress, trying to make up for lost time. Canacona and Loliem were dispatched in quick succession, and we crossed over into Karnataka. The idyllic countryside was a treat to watch early in the morning, with the sky being turned into a mix of blue and dark gray. The DEMU rumbled past sleepy villages and towns of Northwest Karnataka, where one could see people going about their morning chores. The smoke from kitchen fires hung low in the cool morning air, even as farmers got ready for another day of providing the nation with food. As another hour passed by, children in their varied uniforms started appearing on the village roads, and office-goers who worked in cities further south started boarding the still-empty train. One thing I liked about this train is that it never got crowded. I had 6 seats all to myself during the entire journey!

Passing over the beautiful bridges over the Kali and Sharavati rivers, into and out of numerous tunnels at top speed, all the while picking up and dropping passengers like a city bus, the DEMU's continuous run was stopped at Manki Road, a little village just past Honnavar. The pilots who had got down to stretch their legs informed me that there would be a crossing here. As the warm morning sunlight broke through the cold, dark clouds, the Ernakulam-Okha Express rattled past at top speed with an Ernakulam ALCO in the lead. Delayed further by a higher-priority train, the pilots started making use of the full potential of this kind of train - accelerating early, accelerating hard, and braking late. The technique seemed to work, until we were stopped at the very next station - Murdeshwar - for Mamta Banerjee's brainchild to speed through. The Ernakulam-Mumbai Duronto Express seemed to blend in with the green environs of Murdeshwar as it sped past with another ALCO chugging happily. None of the delay seemed to bother the pilots though; they still looked bored as ever.

Moving on, the DEMU had another uninterrupted run till Barkur, where I had to juggle the two cameras again for the final crossing of this journey. Owing to slack time here and there and some spirited driving by the men in charge, the DEMU had maintained its original delay of 25 minutes, even with three crossings in between. This is where I decided to have a little chit-chat with the pilots and asked if I could take a photograph of the train with its headlights on. The immediate reaction was "You are from press?". Being a railfan, I am used to this kind of query. Hell, it was better than being asked "Are you going to send the photo to our not-so-friendly neighbour?". After I gave the usual explanation of why I love trains and photographing them, the assistant pilot happily obliged and I got the shot I wanted. A few seconds later, the Mangalore-Madgaon Intercity thundered past, with yet another ALCO firing on all cylinders. The spirited driving resumed, and soon we were at Surathkal, where a WDG4 from Golden Rock shed was awaiting departure with Konkan Railway's money-spinning-environment-saving traffic decongestant: the Roll On-Roll Off train. With over 30 trucks off the road and on the train, the reduction in the amount of pollution, congestion and all other things was evident. An uneventful run later, I was at Mangalore Junction, where I got down from the train and bid adieu to this little(in train terms) mile-muncher. The next realisation was of how stupid I was to have taken a ticket to Mangalore Junction, instead of Mangalore Central. Following the usual trend of my journeys on this stretch, I had bought a ticket to Junction instead of Central. For those who do not know, Mangalore Junction is virtually outside Mangalore city, while Central is inside. What followed was a fruitless wait for a bus in the hot sun, and an exasperated decision to take an autorikshaw to the bus stand. I was in no mood to spend any more time in the hot, humid environs of Mangalore, what with having been sick the previous day. A 'loss' of 103 precious rupees, a quick lunch and a 4.5-hour bus ride later, I was home.

Words can only tell you so much, which is why I also recorded some 20 videos en-route to show the beauty of this section of the Konkan Railway and compiled them into a 15-minute 'documentary'. Do have a look at it. Hope the little travelogue was worth reading. For people who love to travel, this route and this train deserve a spot on the to-do list. Thanks for stopping by!

                                                     

Madagadakere, Chikmagalur

Chikmagalur. For most people in South Karnataka and beyond, any mention of this place would bring to mind mountains adorned with lush greenery, thick clouds, coffee estates, and a steaming cup of coffee, in no particular order. A beautiful hill-station, to put it simply. In reality though, Chikmagalur is situated mostly in the plains, just at the foot of the towering Chandradrona Mountain Range, with smaller hills scattered around for good measure. And this is what gives it a different kind of beauty. It is, for all practical purposes, a convenient 'halt' from where one can travel to all the beautiful places that abound this region.

Apart from the usual tourist spots here, about which much has been written and photographed, and which are all in the mountains (or are mountains), there is probably only one well-known spot visited by tourists, and that is Ayyanakere (kere meaning lake) in Sakharayapatna, a small town (or a big village depending on how you look at it) around 23km from Chikmagalur. But that is not what this post is about. There is another lake hidden in this region, among the foothills of the Western Ghats. Most people do not know about it even though it is barely 5km from Ayyanakere as the crow flies. It is not a well-known place because of the longer route needed to get there, and lack of facilities and good roads. 35km from Chikmagalur, Madagadakere is the place for people who want to explore relatively unknown places. For people who, like me, want to find hidden gems like this lake. 

Madagadakere is one of the most beautiful and serene lakes I've ever seen, and is as large as its more famous neighbour - Ayyanakere. Surrounded by lofty hills on almost all sides, with rustic villages nearby, this place makes for a wonderful view. The village nearest to the lake is Hale Siddarahalli, which was inaccessible to our little Alto, because of some er..puddles. Apparently hundreds of years old and restored only 25 years back, the lake overflowed in 2012 and 2013 after a long time. As was expected from this year's unforgiving monsoon, the lake has overflowed again. The quantum of water flowing into this lake is so much that the small roads connecting these villages are out of bounds for anything short of a boat. The one road which is manageable is again a 'danger zone' for small cars. This road connects the villages directly to the Chikmagalur-Kadur Highway.

Bad roads and lack of facilities notwithstanding, a visit to Madagadakere just after monsoon is worth it. It is accessible by two routes, one via Sakharayapatna, and the other via a deviation from the Chikmagalur-Tarikere Road. Both routes take you through very different landscapes, and being the mountain-lover that I am, we took the route via the Chikmagalur-Tarikere Road. This route, apart for some small stretches and of course the inundated part near the lake, is quite good, if a bit narrow. We visited this place in early August when the rains were at their best, on a cold and cloudy evening. Visiting as a group is recommended as the route is quite lonely with only a couple of villages on the way and three little villages near the lake. Initiatives are being taken to develop the lake as a tourist spot, with better accessibility and facilities, and I am doing my bit to showcase this mesmerising place with my trusty 550D. Away from the crowd-ridden hotspots, this place will give you peace of mind, and that, according to me, is what visiting Chikmagalur should be all about.

The pictures that follow will describe the beauty of Madagadakere much better than a lengthy explanation of every aspect of the lake. Thanks for dropping by.

Serene green fields and scary clouds contrast sharply with each other. 

The 'little puddle' that forced us to turn around and find an alternate path to the lakeside.

Rainwater from the hills gushing through fields into the lake.

Finally! A view of Madagadakere and the surrounding hills.

Another view of the lake.

The alternate path a villager showed us led right into the water! The road resurfaces in the distance. That's the power of monsoon rains here.

A view of Deviramma Betta, the last peak of the Chandradrona Mountain Range.

The road leading back to the Chikmagalur-Tarikere Road.

Chikmagalur's First Train

The Indian Railways has always been the backbone of our country since the time it was started. People have had an intimate relationship with trains, depending on them for everything from daily commutes to family vacations. I had never really thought about the value a train holds in normal people’s lives (non-railfans, to be precise) until the 19^th of November, 2013 – the day when my town, Chikmagalur got its first train service, which meant that it was finally connected to IR’s massive network spanning more than 65000km. This line is absolutely beautiful to say the least, and the railways have had to face a lot of challenges while constructing this line. A railway line descending over 200m in about 40km is no joke.

The Lakya Viaduct - probably the toughest, and easily the most scenic landmark of this route.

Children watch the coupling process.

On the day of the inauguration, I went to the new railway station early in the morning with my dad, and found that the rake for the Inaugural Run had already arrived, and the reversal process was going on. Krishnarajapuram Diesel Loco Shed had been kind enough to send one of their best performers - WDM3A 16294R – looking stunning with its new paintjob. We spent some time at the station, watching people go gaga over the ‘new’ train, and went back home.

The inaugural function was scheduled to start at 1330hrs. and we went to the station again at around that time to find that the Union Minister for Railways, Mr.Mallikarjun Kharge and the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr.Siddaramaiah were already present, as were numerous other dignitaries from different areas of politics and railways and everything else. We decided not to waste much time with the speeches and entered the platform where the train was waiting. The level of excitement and anticipation among the thousands of people gathered there was just something that I have never seen before in any kind of event. Everyone was obviously interested in the locomotive, which was looking even more stunning now, after being decorated with loads and loads of flowers.

After a salvo of speeches from the dignitaries, the Railway Minister and Chief Minister performed a remote commissioning of the railway line(by pressing a button!), inaugurating the train in the process. The moment the dummy signal on the dais turned green, the real ones turned green too, and 16294 let out an ear-splitting 15-second honk that had everyone screaming with happiness. Never have I seen a train horn eliciting this kind of response from the public. The train departed even as the ministers looked on, and I boarded the train and joined my dad, who was waiting with two new tickets bought for us by my friend. 

The rest of the journey was just epic, to say the least, and people were on a level of happiness that spread around like wildfire and soon everyone was cheering. People both on and off the train were so excited at seeing a train chug away after decades of promises that they waved and shouted at each other as the train passed by, sending out huge clouds of black smoke. For once, everyone enjoyed getting their face covered by black smoke.

Railway workers were the happiest of the lot, seeing their hard work pay off.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, and I am glad that I decided to travel in the inaugural special. For a railfan, seeing such events unfold has to be one of the best experiences of a lifetime. Adding to this, the beauty of this railway line is tremendous, and I will let my videos do the talking.

I managed to cover the event as best as I could with both photos and videos on one camera, and here are the links:
Photos on Facebook

Videos on my YouTube Channel

Desi Police Story

Restarting my blog with this post after a three-year gap. -_-
This incident happened to me today, while I had to hurry to an ATM and parked my car along with many other vehicles. After withdrawing money, I came out to find a traffic cop(henceforth referred to as Maamu) waiting for me. The following conversation then took place, after which I decided to double- and triple-check while parking next time.


Maamu: Saar licenseu documentsu torsi.(Sir, show your licence and documents.)

Me: Yaake yenaithu?(Why? what happened?)

Maamu: Saar raang parking.

Me: Yellide 'no parking' board? Bere jana nilsidaare alva?(Where's the 'no parking' board? Haven't other people parked here, too?)

Maamu: Adella nimge gottirbeku. Fine yeshtu kaTteera?(You need to know all that. How much fine will you pay now?)(There was not a single 'No Parking' board anywhere nearby. I have learned never to argue with a traffic cop. Never. I found out later that there is some unwritten rule about parking on one side on alternate days.)

Me: Sari yeshtu kodli?(Ok how much should I pay?)

Maamu: Too hundrad kodi, bidtini. Illa andre challan haakthni. Sumne kashta aagatte nimge.(Give two hundred. Else I'll have to give you a challan. You'll be in trouble.)(I need to pay Rs.200 bribe for an apparent violation that attracts a fine of Rs.100? WTF??)

Me: yenu bekaagilla, challan haaki. Naanu huchcha alla nimge bribe kodakke.(No need, give me the challan. I'm not mad to give you bribe.)

The word 'bribe' silenced him. He gave me a receipt for the fine paid, and hurried away to find another victim. 〄

Vajra Volvos ROCK!!

Had been in two BMTC Volvos today...from BSK III Stage to Jayanagar 9th Block. I've made it a point that if I have to travel more than 20 minutes in a bus, it'll be a Volvo, reason being they're much more comfortable and much faster than the usual Ashok Leyland/Tata/Eicher buses.

Got a KA01FA1679 Volvo running on route 500K, the fare was just Rs.13, compared to a normal fare of Rs.9. And it was worth it. The driver was maybe a race driver who got fired or something, I don't know, but his driving was just awesome. Ok I know city bus drivers aren't supposed to drive like that, but still..the way he drove it like a bike and managed to squeeze into almost-impossible spots at traffic lights was just superb; this was the first time I saw a Volvo driver using all the 6 mirrors and the rearview camera. He even beat all two wheelers at a couple of traffic signal-to-traffic signal drag races :D. And even though the driving was very spirited, it was never rash or risky. He even let people board the bus wherever they wanted. You're on the other side of the road, desperate to cross it and board the Volvo coming (very) quickly? No problem. Wave wildly at the bus and this driver will stop by the side of the road, open the appropriate doors and wait for you! :) He drove so mind-blowingly(scaringly, for some) fast that I reached my destination in a mere 20 minutes, during which time a normal BMTC would have covered only half the distance.

On the return journey, however, it was a slightly different story. I boarded a KA01FA1538 Volvo running on route 600K and the first thing that drew my attention was the driver himself. 'Ferrari' jacket, bald head + cap, driving glasses and a smile on his face! He kind of looked like a rapper or hip-hop singer :D To prove the point, there was 91.9FM Radio Indigo playing BEP's Boom Boom Pow. This was the first time, in my 38 Volvo rides( Yes. I've counted) that I found a driver playing English songs. Anyway..another thing that I noticed that this bus was cool, literally. All Volvos here are invariably cool, but this one was really very very cool. In fact, the Volvo's dashboard indicated the outside temperature as 27 degrees C, and the inside temperature, wait for it, 19 degrees C! Now THAT's what I call cool. And the air-con blower was running on full tilt, which made it very 'windy' :) Even though some passengers told the driver to increase the temperature setting, he flatly refused. And though this one was no slouch, it still took 35 minutes to reach my stop. Not bad, considering normal buses take about 45 minutes.

So there you have it. Same type of bus, totally different experiences. The longest distance in the two routes I travelled, i.e., 500K and 600K, both going from Vijayanagar to ITPL and back is Rs.55-60, which is way cheaper than going in a car, or a bike even(think of the traffic, the pollution, the noise etc., etc.). So if you need a fast and efficient mode of public transport, this is it. And it doesn't eat into your purse, either. In short, these Volvo B7RLEs are one the best things that BMTC has done for the commuters of Bangalore.〄

Where's the Practical Knowledge?

I just finished my third year exams, and I can't help but wonder, what use are these exams to us when the emphasis is on marks and not on what knowledge has gone into our heads?

I mean, what use are our marks and percentages and what not, going to be when we finish our degree and step into the real world? Yeah we'll get a job based on what we have 'studied' for four years; but, does anyone wonder why, unlike other countries, Indian education emphasises theoretical education (most of the time) and not practical? Yes, we do have practicals and laboratory things and stuff. My question is, how many students get to know the actual reason for these experiments that we do in our labs? Very very few. Most of us would go, conduct the experiment according to instructions given by the lab in-charge/attender, note down some values and put them in some formulae, get the answer and leave - all this being done in the shortest possible while. So, did we learn anything there? No. Why is he experiment conducted? Dunno. What is its significance? Ho-hum..who cares? This is the attitude of many students (sometimes me too), and the teachers don't bother either. Their opinion is 'If the students want, they'll ask. Why should we put the effort?'. I'm sure most teachers are like this. There are some, of course, who'll take the time to explain everything(while some or most students will be yawning).

Foreign universities, on the other hand, put more emphasis on practical aspects, and the method of teaching employed by them forces the student to study on his/her own, rather than rely on the lecturer to provide the notes and other things. Here it's the opposite. Even though some colleges' teaching method forces the students to do some serious self-study, most colleges don't. So is there a solution?

I think there is. What we need is a system where practical knowledge is given at least as much

importance as theoretical knowledge, if not more; this will mean that students, when they finally come out from their colleges with a degree certificate in their hand, should have an idea of what awaits them when they get a job. They should not be like a pen-drive filled with a lot of data but not able to do anything else other than reproduce that data somewhere else. Most importantly though, we need a single authority on higher education, that controls all the colleges in the country very strictly, and maybe some tie-ups with foreign universities to enable knowledge exchange and an idea on what is going on in other colleges around the world.

I just hope that my juniors will get a better practical knowledge than I have got, instead of having their brains filled up with lots of theory, with no idea on how to implement it practically.〄

Tata Nano - A Revolution or Just a 4-wheeled Autorikshaw?

It’s finally here! After almost 3 years of speculation and waiting, the much talked-about 1 lakh car made its first public appearance. On January 10, 2008, with the theme from “2001: A Space Odyssey” playing in the background, Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Motors drove the small white car onto Tata Motors’ show stage where it joined two others. The applause was such that one might have imagined that a movie star had come on stage! “They are not concept cars, they are not prototypes,” Mr. Tata announced when he got out of the car. “They are the production cars that will roll out of the Singur plant later this year.” The base price for the Nano will be 1,20,000 rupees, including road tax and delivery. Higher level models will cost more and come with air-conditioning. 

With the launch of the “People’s Car”, Ratan Tata has silenced his critics yet again, just like he did with the Tata Indica, which, in 1998, was India's first indigenously designed, developed and manufactured car. People said it could not be done, but he proved them wrong. Now he has done it again. And what’s more, he has also kept his word that the car would cost just 1 lakh rupees. He has even proved other manufacturers wrong, who said that developing such a low-cost car was practically impossible. Now, why did Mr. Tata decide to build this car? To put it in his words, this is how he was inspired to develop the 1 lakh car-“Three or four family members on a scooter, the kid standing in the front, the guy driving the scooter and the wife sitting side saddle holding a little kid.”- and he did what he had promised. The one sentence that had the greatest impact on the audience was -“A promise is a promise”- which he said while revealing the actual base price of the car. This ensured that they would keep their silence for some time. “Today, we indeed have a People’s Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, and to be fuel efficient and spacious enough for a small family,” Mr. Tata added. “We are happy to present the People’s Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility.”

Many critics laughed at the idea of such a small, cheap car. They said it would be like an autorickshaw with four wheels. But that is not what Mr. Tata had in mind. So, the four-door, four-seater Nano is a little over 10 feet long and nearly 5 feet wide. It is powered by a 623cc two-cylinder, four-stroke engine that is located at the back of the car and drives the rear wheels. With 35bhp of power and 48Nm of torque, the Nano is capable of a (electronically limited)top speed of about 105kmph and is claimed to give an efficiency of around 23.5kmpl. Its four small wheels are at the absolute corners to improve handling and increase interior space. There is a small boot at the front, big enough for a couple of small bags. Surprisingly, though the Nano is 8% smaller than the Maruti Suzuki 800 (its intended competitor) on the exterior, its interiors are 21% more spacious than the latter, with four people able to sit comfortably and five making it a bit of a squeeze.

Once the initial excitement faded away, the critics opened their mouths again. Some said that the Nano will put a lot of stress on the already-crumbling infrastructure of India. Well, there will be a lot of stress initially, but this is exactly the thing that will wake up the government and make them do what they have been putting off all these years, that is to improve the conditions of roads and also improve public transport in cities. The government will then have to improve regulations such as emission norms and make safety features such as ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) compulsory in new cars. Others said the car was unsafe and would not meet emission norms. Mr. Tata silenced these people by saying that the Nano would come equipped with the required safety features including crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat-belts, strong seats and anchorages, ABS and tubeless tyres and that the car would also conform to Euro III/IV and Bharat Stage III/IV emission norms. However, what most critics complained about the Nano was that it would lead to unimaginable levels of congestion.

But hey, the Nano is not a car made just for cities, people from rural areas and small towns will buy it too, and there is no question of congestion in such places. In cities, the notorious autorickshaw, which costs more, could be replaced by the Nano, and passengers would be safe too, unlike the utterly unsafe autorickshaw, in which there is virtually nothing to protect the passengers during an accident. The Nano will also create more jobs. New factories will have to be set up for its assembly, for which lots of manpower is needed. It will be exported to, and sold in other countries, whose economies will improve as a result. As some people are saying, the Nano will do to India what the Volkswagen Beetle, the original “people’s car” did to Germany after the Second World War. The Tata Nano is not just another car; it’s a revolution in the world of automobiles. It’s the most awaited car. And it’s here.〄