THE WORST JOURNEY

I was home for a break in ’96 when I got the news that rail tracks on the east coast were damaged by heavy floods. This meant the return journey to my place of work in Andhra Pradesh would be difficult. Anyway, I decided to go ahead since I wanted to report on time. I would get a bus from Chennai, if trains were not running as usual.

I booked my train ticket from Kollam to Chennai. On reaching Kollam railway station, I found a special enquiry counter at the platform near the entrance. There was a lady behind the counter. I asked her if trains were running from Chennai towards the north. She looked at me and repeated my question. I could not understand the need for a special enquiry counter if they couldn’t provide the required information. A man standing nearby overheard me and told me that the trains from Chennai towards the north were not running.

I boarded the train to Chennai. The compartments were dilapidated. Like most travelers, I had a chain and lock to secure my luggage. If you don’t do so, you may get down for a tea and return to find your luggage missing. Theft was common. I saw my brothers on the platform. They had come to see me off. The train started moving but it was slow and reached Ernakulam at about 8 pm. Then there was an announcement that we had to change to another train on the next platform. Since I had less luggage, I could easily change trains. Those who had more luggage found it difficult. I noticed a man with a leg in plaster being carried to the other train. The train started moving and early next morning we reached Coimbatore. Again there was an announcement that the train would not proceed any further and that all passengers could report at the ticket counters with their tickets for a full refund. We stood in queues and collected the refund. I decided to get a bus to Chennai. I saw the man with the fractured leg being carried to a taxi. They may have decided to go by taxi since getting on a bus would be difficult.

I got a bus to Chennai but by the time it reached Erode it got a flat tyre. Since they didn’t have a good spare tyre, they send someone to get one. While waiting for the tyre to be replaced, I met two keralites who were traveling with me. One was a navy man and the other worked in a bank. I was having a headache and took a disprin. My new friends asked me to join them for a beer at a nearby bar. I was reluctant since I had just taken a disprin and didn’t know if it would react with alcohol. They told me it would not cause a problem. The navy man told me disprin was banned in the navy and that I should not be using it. After having some beer and snacks we went back to the bus and were informed that the bus will not be going anytime soon. We were told to board another bus that stopped nearby.

 This bus reached Chennai early next morning. The navy man left for his house in Chennai. I went with the other man looking for a room but were informed that rooms would be available only at 6.30am. I then decided not to take a room since I had to continue my journey. I left the man and went to the railway station. There were no trains running towards the north. I went to the next station where electric trains were available. They were running but they do not go long distances. I took an electric train as far north as possible and then took a bus to Nellore and had my lunch there. Then I took another bus to Vijayawada. I reached Vijayawada at night and had some snacks at the bus station before boarding another bus to my place of work. Along the way there was a railway crossing and our bus was moving very slowly across the tracks because it was between a convoy of trucks. It was frightening because I have read of trains crashing into vehicles on the tracks.      

I reached my room at about 2 am, took a bath and had a cup of tea before going to bed. I had taken 3 trains and 5 buses to reach my destination. A normal journey would have required only 1 train and 1 bus.

ST. SEBASTIAN'S CHURCH

St. Sebastian's Catholic Church, Kollam

Liturgical Timings. Stations of the cross can be seen on the left.

Stations of the cross I

Stations of the cross XIV

CLOCK TOWER

Clock Tower, Kollam

RARE FLOWER

Top View: Saw this flower near my house. It is called Amorphophallus Paeoniifolius.  Found the name from the net.  It is about 14 inches in diameter.

Side View

BARENTU FALLS

Barentu is a small town in Eritrea near the Ethiopian border. I had never been to Barentu, but I knew a few Indians who were working there. At that time, I was working at another town called Segeneity in Eritrea.

During the year 2000, there was a conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The towns near the border were more affected by the war. One weekend the Indians in Barentu got together and were playing cards. While they were enjoying themselves, a jeep was moving around the town making some announcement in the local language. The Indians did not understand and thought they were announcing a meeting for the locals. 

After sometime, when they had finished playing, they went outside. To their surprise, very few people were around. When they enquired about the reason, they were told that the authorities had announced that Ethiopian forces were moving in and people should evacuate the town, which was about to fall into Ethiopian hands. 

The Indians looked desperately for any vehicle that would take them out of the town. They could not find any since all the vehicles had left carrying the locals. They then decided to walk carrying only their essential documents. They walked for hours and finally crossed the border and reached a town called Kassala in Sudan. They then got some assistance in Sudan to return to India. 

BOAT JETTY

Boat Jetty, Kollam

MOTHER IN LAW

I met her at an institute. She was newly married and had joined a course to improve her skills. Since she was highly qualified, I could not understand her need to join the course. Her husband was working abroad. Later on, I came to know that she was staying with her mother-in-law who treated her as a servant. She had to do all the household chores which included sweeping the house and the surrounding area, cooking for everybody, washing clothes and dishes etc.

To escape the torture, she had joined the course. Initially, her mother-in-law did not allow her to join the course. She talked to her husband who convinced his mother that if she does the course, she will get a good job once she joins him abroad and they will be able to send her more money. Her mother-in-law agreed but on one condition. She had to get up very early every morning and finish all the household chores before going for class. She agreed to the condition and chose a full time course so that she could spend as much time as possible away from her mother-in-law. She then prolonged the course till she got her dependent visa to join her husband.

It is surprising that this could happen in kerala, the most literate state in India.