Abi had gone on a trip to Bihar (& Jharkhand) in Apr 2005 - after we graduated from B-school and before he started work. Through my next few posts, I will share his experience as he traveled to his homeland. I prefer writing in first person, but this trip and its memories are not really mine.
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It was a hot, lazy summer day in Chennai. I sat on the couch and looked up at the rotating ceiling fan and its complete inability to alleviate the heat of the day. I continued to look at the fan in disgust (inertia had taken its toll) and actually felt like it was slowing down because I could count the blades of the fan. Suddenly the TV went off and then I realized there was a power cut. While cursing the heat and incompetence of the electricity board, I remembered my village in Bihar. It gets really hot during summers with temperatures reaching 45 degrees and our house in the village doesn’t have electricity because no one really stays there. It had been long since I visited my village. Before long, I had made up my mind to visit my village in Bihar. I shared my brilliant idea with my parents and sister. While they were happy, they were also quite concerned about the heat and my safety while traveling alone. But my excitement soon won them over.
I began planning my trip. The first thing to do was decide on which places to visit. Most certainly on the list were maternal & paternal villages and Varanasi (since it is a holy city and I had never been there before). This is what the final plan looked like.
Travel Dates: 20 Apr – 3 May 05
Travel route & mode of transport
Chennai - Ranchi (Train)
Ranchi – Chatra (Bus)
Chatra – Tatra (Paternal village) (Trekker)
Tatra – Chatra (Trekker)
Chatra – Gaya (Bus)
Gaya – Patna (Train)
Patna – Hajipur (Shared Auto)
Hajipur – Ekma (Train)
Ekma – Sitalpur (Maternal village) (Cycle)
Sitalpur – Ekma (Cycle)
Ekma – Varanasi (Train)
Varanasi – Mugalsarai (auto)
Mugalsarai – Patna (Train)
Patna – Chennai (Train)
It is a little difficult to show this long route on a map, but you can use this interactive map to find the places.
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/india-political-map.htm
Chennai – Ranchi
My first destination was Ranchi. I took the Bokaro-Alleppey Express from Chennai on 20th April. My parents and sister had come to see me off. I had been advised not to stand out from the crowd to avoid getting robbed. So I dressed down in my oldest clothes, carried a nondescript bag and left my camera at home. My mom fussed over me for a while in an attempt to convince herself that I would come back ok from the trip. Soon the train sounded its bewitching whistle to suggest that it was ready to start its 38-hour journey to Ranchi. There was a sudden activity with family & friends (who had come to see off others like me) leaving the train in a rush. I enthusiastically waved good-bye and felt a sudden thrill. It was a trip to my village after a long time (the last time I went was 7 yrs ago) and it was a long train-journey. I love train journeys because it offers splendid views of the countryside, an opportunity to meet interesting people, an excuse to get down at stations to binge on food, time to introspect and above all a train is large and comfortable unlike other modes of transport.
After my initial excitement had subsided, I looked around to identify the seasoned travelers on this route from rookies like me. There is a lot to be gained by befriending the regulars on trains. They know the train and journey like they would know their family members – good places to eat, where to buy water from, which are the stations the train halts for longer, when will the next station be arriving, is the train expected to be late and so on. An old man with thinning hair and paan stains on his teeth was looking at me curiously. In the true spirit of a train journey we started talking immediately. Like a proud parent, he said, “this train is never late”. I discovered he was going upto Ranchi as well. I asked him about Chatra. He didn’t know the place but asked others around. Soon I was sharing my travel plans with about 10-12 people who seemed sufficiently impressed at my plans and offered various pieces of useful advice – Loo chal rahi hai so its very hot, smell an onion if the heat makes you feel faint, avoid opening your wallet in front of others etc.
Soon people dozed off to sleep and the train got silent and dark. I realized the train was following the same route as Chennai-Calcutta and stared out at the familiar landscape as the train rocked me to sleep. Woke up to a rainy day next morning. This region is green (more so in the rain) and hilly with lots of tunnels in the Orissa-Jharkhand border. The train entered the Chota Nagpur plateau and I realized Ranchi was close now. After another comfortable night in the train, I reached Ranchi at 10am on 22nd morning.
Ranchi - Chatra
Ranchi station is just like any other big junction – noisy, crowded, busy. I have been to Ranchi a few times as a kid and I remember it being beautiful. I didn’t have time to stop this time since I had to reach Chatra before dark because there were no streetlights along this 150km route and it was unsafe after dark. Hence there were no buses from Ranchi to Chatra after evening. I got an auto from Ranchi station to the big busstand in Ranchi. For lunch, I ate the best Puri Bhaji at a restaurant near the bus stop. The heat was unbelievable now. During the month of May, intense hot winds called Loo sweep across northern plains of India creating a heat wave and temperatures consistently soar over 40 degrees. I covered my head with a towel since I hadn’t got a cap. I checked to make sure I was carrying onions since I hold advice given by fellow travelers in high esteem.
Finally, it was time for my bus to leave. I handed my suitcase to the conductor who loaded it on top of the bus. I looked up to see if it was securely tied and saw that other than pieces of luggage, the bus also carried vegetables and a goat, which grazed on these vegetables. The conductor assured me that since its safe even for a goat to travel on top so my suitcase was most certainly safe. During the conversation, I also learnt from him that goat was being carried to Chatra to be sacrificed. This apparently is a weekly affair with goat(s) being sacrificed every Tuesday. He didn’t seem to know the reason for the sacrifice and benefits expected from it. I wonder if anyone did. I got into the bus and heard the pathetic bleating of a few more goats. Were they all in line to be sacrificed also?
I settled myself in a window seat. A boy, probably in his late teens, sat next to me. In a few minutes, I heard thud-thud noises like rocks being dropped on top of the bus and thought robbers were attacking us. The local boy sitting next to me informed that since this is the last bus for the day, people who couldn’t get tickets were settling themselves on top of the bus between the vegetables, goat and all. The bus began to move when a man with a dog entered. Huge chaos in the bus. Someone said “kutta katega” and few others screamed. The man and his dog were fairly oblivious to these protests and the dog was seated by a window since it had a valid ticket.
Finally everyone – tribals, students, a newly wed couple, man with dog and I – settled down and the bus made its way towards Chatra. I was tired but the heat made it impossible to sleep. We were crossing a railway line when suddenly the bus stopped in the middle of the railway crossing. Some people looked at each other knowingly, said “puncture” and got down to push the bus towards a mechanic’s shop near the railway line. While waiting for the tyre to be replaced, I spoke to a few locals. The bus was now near Lohar Dagga, which is a coal mining area. Relevant piece of trivia – Jharkhand has the 3rd highest coal reserves in the country. A couple of people in a cycle spotted our bus and made their way towards the bus. With amazing efficiency, they threw the cycle on top of the bus and got onto it as well. Almost immediately, one of them wanted to know why the bus wasn’t moving. Probably he felt that the bus had been waiting for him!
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It was a hot, lazy summer day in Chennai. I sat on the couch and looked up at the rotating ceiling fan and its complete inability to alleviate the heat of the day. I continued to look at the fan in disgust (inertia had taken its toll) and actually felt like it was slowing down because I could count the blades of the fan. Suddenly the TV went off and then I realized there was a power cut. While cursing the heat and incompetence of the electricity board, I remembered my village in Bihar. It gets really hot during summers with temperatures reaching 45 degrees and our house in the village doesn’t have electricity because no one really stays there. It had been long since I visited my village. Before long, I had made up my mind to visit my village in Bihar. I shared my brilliant idea with my parents and sister. While they were happy, they were also quite concerned about the heat and my safety while traveling alone. But my excitement soon won them over.
I began planning my trip. The first thing to do was decide on which places to visit. Most certainly on the list were maternal & paternal villages and Varanasi (since it is a holy city and I had never been there before). This is what the final plan looked like.
Travel Dates: 20 Apr – 3 May 05
Travel route & mode of transport
Chennai - Ranchi (Train)
Ranchi – Chatra (Bus)
Chatra – Tatra (Paternal village) (Trekker)
Tatra – Chatra (Trekker)
Chatra – Gaya (Bus)
Gaya – Patna (Train)
Patna – Hajipur (Shared Auto)
Hajipur – Ekma (Train)
Ekma – Sitalpur (Maternal village) (Cycle)
Sitalpur – Ekma (Cycle)
Ekma – Varanasi (Train)
Varanasi – Mugalsarai (auto)
Mugalsarai – Patna (Train)
Patna – Chennai (Train)
It is a little difficult to show this long route on a map, but you can use this interactive map to find the places.
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/india-political-map.htm
Chennai – Ranchi
My first destination was Ranchi. I took the Bokaro-Alleppey Express from Chennai on 20th April. My parents and sister had come to see me off. I had been advised not to stand out from the crowd to avoid getting robbed. So I dressed down in my oldest clothes, carried a nondescript bag and left my camera at home. My mom fussed over me for a while in an attempt to convince herself that I would come back ok from the trip. Soon the train sounded its bewitching whistle to suggest that it was ready to start its 38-hour journey to Ranchi. There was a sudden activity with family & friends (who had come to see off others like me) leaving the train in a rush. I enthusiastically waved good-bye and felt a sudden thrill. It was a trip to my village after a long time (the last time I went was 7 yrs ago) and it was a long train-journey. I love train journeys because it offers splendid views of the countryside, an opportunity to meet interesting people, an excuse to get down at stations to binge on food, time to introspect and above all a train is large and comfortable unlike other modes of transport.
After my initial excitement had subsided, I looked around to identify the seasoned travelers on this route from rookies like me. There is a lot to be gained by befriending the regulars on trains. They know the train and journey like they would know their family members – good places to eat, where to buy water from, which are the stations the train halts for longer, when will the next station be arriving, is the train expected to be late and so on. An old man with thinning hair and paan stains on his teeth was looking at me curiously. In the true spirit of a train journey we started talking immediately. Like a proud parent, he said, “this train is never late”. I discovered he was going upto Ranchi as well. I asked him about Chatra. He didn’t know the place but asked others around. Soon I was sharing my travel plans with about 10-12 people who seemed sufficiently impressed at my plans and offered various pieces of useful advice – Loo chal rahi hai so its very hot, smell an onion if the heat makes you feel faint, avoid opening your wallet in front of others etc.
Soon people dozed off to sleep and the train got silent and dark. I realized the train was following the same route as Chennai-Calcutta and stared out at the familiar landscape as the train rocked me to sleep. Woke up to a rainy day next morning. This region is green (more so in the rain) and hilly with lots of tunnels in the Orissa-Jharkhand border. The train entered the Chota Nagpur plateau and I realized Ranchi was close now. After another comfortable night in the train, I reached Ranchi at 10am on 22nd morning.
Ranchi - Chatra
Ranchi station is just like any other big junction – noisy, crowded, busy. I have been to Ranchi a few times as a kid and I remember it being beautiful. I didn’t have time to stop this time since I had to reach Chatra before dark because there were no streetlights along this 150km route and it was unsafe after dark. Hence there were no buses from Ranchi to Chatra after evening. I got an auto from Ranchi station to the big busstand in Ranchi. For lunch, I ate the best Puri Bhaji at a restaurant near the bus stop. The heat was unbelievable now. During the month of May, intense hot winds called Loo sweep across northern plains of India creating a heat wave and temperatures consistently soar over 40 degrees. I covered my head with a towel since I hadn’t got a cap. I checked to make sure I was carrying onions since I hold advice given by fellow travelers in high esteem.
Finally, it was time for my bus to leave. I handed my suitcase to the conductor who loaded it on top of the bus. I looked up to see if it was securely tied and saw that other than pieces of luggage, the bus also carried vegetables and a goat, which grazed on these vegetables. The conductor assured me that since its safe even for a goat to travel on top so my suitcase was most certainly safe. During the conversation, I also learnt from him that goat was being carried to Chatra to be sacrificed. This apparently is a weekly affair with goat(s) being sacrificed every Tuesday. He didn’t seem to know the reason for the sacrifice and benefits expected from it. I wonder if anyone did. I got into the bus and heard the pathetic bleating of a few more goats. Were they all in line to be sacrificed also?
I settled myself in a window seat. A boy, probably in his late teens, sat next to me. In a few minutes, I heard thud-thud noises like rocks being dropped on top of the bus and thought robbers were attacking us. The local boy sitting next to me informed that since this is the last bus for the day, people who couldn’t get tickets were settling themselves on top of the bus between the vegetables, goat and all. The bus began to move when a man with a dog entered. Huge chaos in the bus. Someone said “kutta katega” and few others screamed. The man and his dog were fairly oblivious to these protests and the dog was seated by a window since it had a valid ticket.
Finally everyone – tribals, students, a newly wed couple, man with dog and I – settled down and the bus made its way towards Chatra. I was tired but the heat made it impossible to sleep. We were crossing a railway line when suddenly the bus stopped in the middle of the railway crossing. Some people looked at each other knowingly, said “puncture” and got down to push the bus towards a mechanic’s shop near the railway line. While waiting for the tyre to be replaced, I spoke to a few locals. The bus was now near Lohar Dagga, which is a coal mining area. Relevant piece of trivia – Jharkhand has the 3rd highest coal reserves in the country. A couple of people in a cycle spotted our bus and made their way towards the bus. With amazing efficiency, they threw the cycle on top of the bus and got onto it as well. Almost immediately, one of them wanted to know why the bus wasn’t moving. Probably he felt that the bus had been waiting for him!
We traveled for another hour before a 2nd tyre burst. This time it was fixed faster. Probably because it was getting dark and we needed to get to Chatra before sundown. People around me didn’t seem perturbed by the punctures or the stop in journey. I assumed it is quite normal for these incidents to happen. We finally reached Chatra at 6pm and the bus emptied at record speed – man, woman, child, dog, goats and vegetables included.
1 comment:
Great work.
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