My recent travel by train

Traveling by train from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar recently I had this interesting experience, which only I am blessed to brag about, as others usually sleep through these disturbances.

We were in our 2^nd AC compartment on this longish train destined for Trivandrum carrying its multitude to be deposited in various parts of the country over the next 2 nights and a fair bit of day thereafter.

The train gathered speed, if I may call it that, swaying and clattering over the rails and the passengers were lulled to sleep. A certain calm prevailed  without the constant opening and closing of the coach door and the air-con was doing its best leaving the mosquitoes in a state of anguish.

As is my wont, I was fairly alert, dozing off now and then but mostly awake as these trains tend to stop more than run. I had the advantage of being in the lower berth which enabled me to peer into the night through the scratched out portions of the shaded glass window looking for station names etc. So passed the night until we came to the interesting part of this account.

ACT 1

It was 1:30 AM when a youth entered the coach and came to stop directly in front of my berth. I sat up. A certain part of mind said that he has come to claim the upper berth which, if I forgot to mention, was  lying vacant.

Without much ado he asked me “ Which berth number is this upper berth Sir, do you know?”

I said “ that should be No.6”

He said  “ Oh! Is there anyone there you think”

I said “ I can’t be sure, but I believe it is unoccupied. But, what is your berth no. Is it 6?”

He said  “ Yes Sir, it is 6.But,  pointing to the bedroll, someone has kept something there. So, I must have the wrong berth”, he concluded with a fairly large bag hanging from his lean shoulder.

Apart from his ignorance on not knowing about the perquisites that the  Indian Rail offered its guests in 2A and 3A, I could not but sympathize with him, at this late hour, for his mind must be in turmoil thinking about bombs going off from unknown packages left in public transport.

I said  “ That is a bed roll for you. Don’t you know?” He stopped for  gathering his wits and gave me enough room to push  a question sideways. “ Which station is this?”

He said “ This is Bhadrak in Orissa”

I said “ How far is Bhubaneswar, do you know?”

He said  “Oh, it is 4-5 stations from here. It will be morning before you reach there. You can have a good sleep before that”

I let out a wry laugh and said “ Why don’t you push your luggage underneath and climb upstairs and get comfortable”

He said  “ But Sir, what shall I do with this? The damn bed-roll again!!

I contemplated on his predicament and proceeded to show him my arrangement. But it appeared he was not satisfied.

He continued to  badger “Are you sure it does not belong to someone else. What if they come back and accuse me ?”.

Renowned scientists have gazed  at oceans, played the violin or lay serenely in bath tubs for getting their inspiration to solve knotty issues. In my case I put up my little finger quickly and asked to be excused and hastened to the bathroom while he looked on in despair. When I came back, I saw that he had taken refuge in berth No.6,drawn the curtains and gone to sleep

ACT 2

When I could not lie down any longer, I looked through the scratch and sensed that the sky had brightened somewhat heralding a new day. In consideration of  what the wise man in UB had said previously, I hastened to the door and opened it to peer out more clearly. To my luck a youngster came out of the bathroom toting a toothbrush in his mouth and progressed towards the mirror, more to adjust his disheveled hair, than to complete the process of brushing.

To him I thus addressed “ Do you know where we are?”

He said  “ Glugaggaga” refusing to  spit out before speaking. Then he put up his hand, in consideration of my bald head, and after completing his toilet and looking outside to ascertain our location said

“ We are approaching Cuttack”

“ So how much longer for Bhubaneswar (BBS) ?” I asked.

“He looked at his watch, gave it a polish on his jeans and said “It is now 05:45… the train is running late…we should reach Cuttack by 06:00 and BBS by 7:00 if all goes well”

I lingered at the door for a while looking at the country side coming awake and came back to my berth.

The train stopped at Cuttack and continued its dalliance with the station beyond its allotted 5 minutes.

Suddenly from the UB two legs jutted out and my neighbor jumped down somewhat refreshed. He enquired with me about our whereabouts and hearing my reply disappeared to the bathroom for a while, returned and quickly retreated  to his berth above to continue his slumber.

Our train continued in its state of rest in Cuttack, strictly following Newton’s first law, and there was no external impressed force to change its state. I continued to stare out at a bare platform with no excitement emanating from it whatsoever. Even the vendors had gone to rest after crying hoarse traveling the length of the train many times. Everybody was in a state of  hopelessness it appeared.”

“ Sir! You said you wanted to get down in Bhubaneswar” my UB friend breaking the  calm

“ Yes”

“ Better find out which station we have come to presently, before it is too late”

“ We are still  in Cuttack”

“ How can it be? You told me that long time ago. You have been sleeping, I think” Adding insult to injury

“ You want to come down and take a look and tell me?” I prodded

He left me at that and was soon snoring away.

Some people are lucky aren’t they? They say what they like and then go to sleep as if nothing happened. And here I am staring at the lonely platform waiting for the train to begin its journey towards my destination. If only I was a Superman

ACT 3

Eventually the train moved out of Cuttack, stealthily, without much bother about having lost time, dragging its load over points and crossings towards the next station on its route. Possibly BBS, I hoped.

As I was thus ruminating about our ETA in BBS and so forth, the TC appeared from somewhere and tapped on the berth above. Receiving no response, he upped the request with a somewhat loud

“Ticket please”

 UB got up in a hurry from deep slumber, looked up the black coated official and blurted out

“ I told him that I did not want to use it…he only insisted “ pointing at me

The TC smiled at me and I smiled back as we had already known each other intimately due to an interesting exchange of words that we had had with each other when he came upon us at the commencement of the journey. Examining our E-ticket he had commented quietly that my wife was a female whereas the ticket indicated “Mr” against her name. I had regretted the minor error but he pretended to be nonplussed to see how such a major error could have come to be etc etc. I asked him to let the matter go and he had complied nodding his head dejectedly Ala Sanjeev Kr, in a major scene. He must have remembered Anna Hazare suddenly or he must have had more alluring prospects waiting.

As we were reminiscing, the TC and I, UB was raving and ranting

“ Please take it away. Here… I will roll it for you” and so on he went .He got down in a hurry and was all set to touch the feet of TC to seek his pardon. Thank God he did not touch his own wallet!

“What are you talking about. I only asked for your ticket” the TC gesticulated.

Shortly, UB calmed down as I patted his shoulder and he completed  the formality to the satisfaction of the TC.

After the departure of the TC, UB went up smiling at me coyly saying ‘Sorry, Sir! I have never traveled by a 2^nd  or 3^rd  AC class before. It is only after my recent promotion……

And then there was relative calm until we eased into BBS and as we left the train I could see UB snoring, clutching his pillow, rightfully his, for the rest of his journey.

Scottish Highlands

Royal Stewart tartan  Kilt and Bag pipe

Scotland is as incomparably beautiful and alluring as anywhere on earth.Its spectacular topography is sculpted by fiery geology,creating a palette of mountains,lochs and glens,and a jagged coastline splashed with chains of romantic islands.

In the Highlands,the past has left traces on the landscape..Ancient cairns(stone piles), and the Picts,with their mysterious carved symbol stones.The Picts were a fascinating  prehistoric/early Celtic people living in areas of Scotland.They still live there -- they've simply been assimilated by the Scots (from Ireland) who settled there and brought in their own language,Gaelic, and many of their own customs

In the north of Scotland,the Viking war galleys once roved...Gaelic place names in the west such as Shieldaig ( herring bay) or Diabaig (deep bay), and Norse names like Langwell (long field),or Whaligoe (whale inlet) or dozens more remind us of their rule here.

Then, Clan system evolved with Mackays and Sinclairs, Mackenzies and Frasers, Camerons, Macdonalds, Macdougals,MacGregors (Rob Roy) and lots more, all holding their territories by force of arms.These Gaelic speaking Highland clans not only skirmished, but gave encouragement through their chiefs to bards and storytellers, adding to the rich heritage of music and legend which has survived until today.

Though the old clan ways have vanished, the Highlands are still a place apart, enjoyed not only for their unspoilt environment but for their particular sense of the intertwining of past and present.

The Highlands allure lies amongst its Bens,Glens,Moors,Lochs and in proud Castles interspersed with tales about the clans, the culture, the whiskys, wondrous array of wild flowers such as the Yarrow and Peat and…Nessie of course

 

Our journey began in Edinburgh,the name comes from the ancient Gaelic "Dun Eidyn" which means hill fort on the sloping ridge,using the National Express coach service from Heathrow, and found ourselves in the city on a gray and wet morning. With help from the Info Center and the locals we walked along Princess Street and found our Hotel. After some rest  and recuperation we joined the Sandeman's “walking tour” beginning on  High Street. In about three hours,with a short break, we covered all the main sights of the old City.

Sandeman’s unique style of combining history with pure showmanship made the walking worthwhile and is highly recommended.

A brief description …

Royal Mile, starts at the Edinburg Castle and goes up to  Holyrood Palace.Standing high above the city, Edinburgh Castle is a magnificent sight. Not only is it a historic monument but also a working military establishment where the Scottish Division headquarters are based. 

 

St Giles’ Cathedral, the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland and is 900 years old. Its distinctive crown steeple is a prominent feature of the city skyline.

The Mercat Cross, the central meeting place where Royal proclamations and official announcements were read.

The Grassmarket, was one of Edinburgh's main markets from 1400’s to early 1900’s for horse and cattle. It was also a setting for public executions.

A popular story is that of Maggie Dickson, who was hanged in the Grassmarket in 1700’s for murdering her own baby. After the hanging, her body was taken back in a coffin. However, on the way there she was wide awake!!. Under Scots Law she had served her punishment. It was also to some extent seen as divine intervention,and so she was allowed to go free,Scot free. In later life (and legend) she was thereafter referred to as Half-Hangit Maggie.

The words "until dead" were then added to the sentence of hanging. There is now a Pub named after her at the Grassmarket.

Bobby

Greyfriars Kirkyard (cemetery) and Greyfriars Bobby- Bobby was the name of a little Skye Terrier dog owned by John Gray (Auld Jock to locals). Bobby was so loyal to his master that when Auld Jock died of tuberculosis  in 1858 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Bobby kept a daily vigil and lay over his master’s grave for 14 years until his own death in 1872.He was buried in the same graveyard as his master. Bobby's monument is on the corner of Candle makers Row and King George IV Bridge

Tron Kirk, a famous church on High street  a church on high street

Writer’s Museum-This building is crammed with pictures, etchings, busts and memorabilia including bibles, pipes and walking sticks which celebrate the lives of the three famous writers Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Robert Burns who all at one time lived in Edinburgh.

Holyrood Palace – The Queen’s official residence in Edinburg.

We ended  at the Princess Street gardens and after a Cuppa, sat in a bus and went to a Restaurant for Pizza and wine. It was a long day and we tucked in early to face the morrow.

On our 2^nd day at Edinburg ,we were on our own exploring the city. We boarded a bus to Waverly station after a handsome breakfast. Walking over the bridge we could see the station on the right and Arthur’s seat on the left. We took a leisurely walk along the Royal Mile peeping into souvenir shops and taking pictures and ended at Holyrood Palace. Another bus ride followed and we traveled through the new town up to Ocean terminal, Edinburgh's largest Mall with shops, cinema, spa, gym, cafes and restaurants and home to the Royal Yacht Britannia. On our return we had a sparse lunch and spent time around the Castle area and the Art Gallery. In the evening we went to an ancient Pub in the Hay market area and treated ourselves to fish ‘n chips, Onion rings, and Chicken Tikka Masala and wolfed it down with Beer (me) wine(she)

What is Scottish Enlightenment?

It was the period in 18th century Scotland characterized by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. Among the fields that rapidly advanced were philosophy, political economy, engineering, architecture, medicine, geology, archaeology, law, agriculture, chemistry and sociology. Among the Scottish thinkers and scientists of the period were  Alexander Campbell, David Hume, Adam Smith and Robert Burns to name a few.

The Scottish Enlightenment had effects far beyond Scotland itself, not only because of the esteem in which Scottish achievements were held in Europe and elsewhere, but also because its ideas and attitudes were carried across the Atlantic as part of the Scottish Diaspora, and by American students who studied in Scotland. As a result, a significant proportion of technological and social development in the United States, Canada and New Zealand in the 18th and 19th centuries were accomplished through Scots-Americans and Scots-Canadians.

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Day 3…We travel to the Highlands

It was not very encouraging, the grey,wet and somewhat cold morning that greeted us as we stepped out of our hotel and hailed a taxi for our travel to Torn Kirk the starting point of our trip. A twelve seater Mercedes van arrived soon with Peter as our Guide cum driver. We loaded up, listened to the preliminaries and commenced our trip. Peter gauged the gray mood prevailing amongst us due to the inclement weather and immediately launched into some history of Edinburg in his own style, exposing his sense of humor, which he kept up till the very end.

After an hour of driving, we left the city of Sterling behind and halted at the Doune castle. A medieval, made famous in the recent times from its use in the filming of Monty Python

                                                                             

With Hamish

Our next stop was the city of Callander.This town’s attraction to visitors goes back a long way. The Romans named the place Bochastle when they built a fort beside the River Teith here in 100 AD. Also it is  a key gateway to the Highlands. Here the fertile plains come to an end, and the mountains begin. The "real" Scotland starts here. We stopped for some coffee and a while later were driven  to see Hamish,the highland bull at a nearby field.He graced the occasion by posing for us.

We crossed over the fault line into the magnificent Highlands taking in the splendor of Loch Luibnaig, Loch Earn, Glen Ogle and Glen Dochart, as we traveled north over the wild and remote Rannoch Moor into Glencoe and Loch Levon.

GLENCOE

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Glencoe -This haunting glen was the scene of a great massacre in 1692 where many of the clan Macdonald was slaughtered.Thirty-eight MacDonalds from the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by the guests, who had accepted their hospitality, on the grounds that the MacDonalds had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the new monarchs William and Mary.Another forty women and children died of exposure after their homes were burned.We stopped  in this imposing mountain pass and took a leisurely walk enjoying  the spectacular views.

However,we trailed far behind the guide and lost our way to the starting point.Peter came to our rescue a while later.He stopped again for a 'Nature's call halt" and then again when a girl in the group bitterly wept stating that she had misplaced her wallet with all credit cards etc at the last stop.We were already getting late and Peter just called the office back in Edinburgh and passed on the info to enable them trace the wallet and send it to the girl later.We were now coasting towards our destination Isle of Skye and passed Fort William and saw Ben Nevis the tallest mountain in UK

We then drive towards Eilean Donan castle,the most photographed castle in the world,and for good reason.We didn't stop here;for want of time and headed towards the bridge.We shall come back and spend time at the castle later Peter says.We agree as we are all eager to get to our rooms at Portree.

Isle of Skye was accessible only by ferry until a few years ago.A toll bridge,now a free bridge, connects the Isle with the Scottish mainland.It is a beautiful 2-way concrete bridge and you get a lovely view of the bay as you drive through to the other side

isle of skye bridge

 

A winding drive along the coast and through the hills brought us to the small town of Portree, the capital city of the Isle. It lies at the end of a spectacular bay bound by basaltic cliffs. Gaelic is still spoken and used on the Isle, and most of the signs provide translations.

Portree

Peter reached us to our quaint BnB accommodation and after a brief discussion about arrangements for the next day,we retired to our room,refreshed with a shower,and had a good nights rest after all the excitement of the day.No!we didn't venture out for dinner.

 

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 Day 4...We explore the Isle

Portree in the north of the Island of Skye is the largest settlement, and main service center on the island, with a population of 2500 people.OMG!

Portree has a beautiful harbor fringed by cliffs.

Peter collected us all from the 7-8 BnB's and the day started with a drive around the shore to see the Cullin, a range of rocky mountains on the island The Cullin are also known as the Black Cullin to distinguish them from the Red Hills across Glen Sligachan. The Red Hills are lower in height.

We cut across and drove along a road leading to a medieval bridge where we stopped for walks and pictures.We could see the Cullin yonder,both the black and red hills.

We drove to Dunvegan. Dunvegan sits on the shores of the large 'Loch Dunvegan' and the Old School restaurant in the village is widely known for its freshly caught fish from the loch itself.It is famous for Dunvegan castle,seat of the chief of  Clan Macleod

Dunvegan castle

The name Dunvegan is Scottish Gaelic for "small castle". We took pictures of the castle and told Peter that we were not interested in reading the history and seeing the relics of the Macdonald clan.Peter more than made up by cranking out stories about the clans and their culture.            But to its credit,it must be said that Dunvegan will go down as the greatest and most renowned among Hebredian strongholds,and the only one which has been continuously owned and occupied by the same family for the last eight centuries!!save for the potato famine years.

A few miles past the castle,a short walk from the road brought us to Coral beach.It is not actually coral that makes up the creamy pink tinged sand but fragments of algae.

Not swimmer friendly,but the rugged beauty of the remote and unspoilt landscape more than made it up for all 16 of the party who enjoyed the walk through the grassy pastures with cattle grazing ; the energetic amongst us  went on to climb the small but prominent hill by the beach.It opened up to wonderful views over the islands in Loch Bay, and beyond.

After a wonderful and busy morning we drove back to the center of Portree for some nourishment and we found it in the form of pastry and coffee which was yummy.Not many of us wanted to sit down for a meal for fear of losing time away from wondrous Nature all over Skye!. 

Just before the northern tip of Skye is Staffin with its sweeping Bay. The Ridge returns closer to the road at this point, showing off the rock scenery of the Quiraing.We stopped here to admire the scenery and went down to view the place of pillars. Then we saw the Storr: The Storr is a rocky hill on the peninsula of the Isle of Skye The hill presents a steep rocky eastern face  contrasting with gentler grassy slopes to the west. It is a typical Trotternish landslip. By now it was dusk and we had done a lot of walking and climbing and were thirsting for some Lager.We were driven back to Portree and we regrouped later and enjoyed an evening of Whisky, Beer and Fish and listened to Scottish music at the local Pub.The evening dragged on and on until we stumbled back to our accommodation in the wee hours.     ________________________________________________________________________________         Day 5...Our last Day  on the Highlands Most reluctantly we were driving back from Portree on a cool and bright morning: I was still recovering from the effect of the heady pleasures of the previous evening when we crossed the bridge which had brought us into the Isle and were heading towards Eilean Donan castle.The setting for the castle is picturesque,to say the least, and it is a "must stop" for the tourists.Then again it has been made popular by the Sean Connery,Catherine Zeta Jones movie "Entrapment" 1999 and the movie "Highlander" earlier Eilean Donan Castle sits at the point where three Scottish Lochs meet; Scotland's Most Romantic Castle. In a superbly beautiful and idyllic setting,it possesses a dream like quality. The most photographed castle in the world? Certainly! Eilean Donan is Scotland's most recognizable.Although it has been a fortified site for at least eight hundred years, the present building dates largely from the early 20th century.Today's castle, which rose from the ruins of it's predecessor, was rebuilt between 1912 and 1932 by Lieutenant Colonel John MacRae. Eilean Donan is quite unique, the product of an incredible feat of determination and devotion to restore the Castle for the MacRae family. It is hard to believe that the present castle has yet to celebrate its 100 Th birthday, but easy to be absorbed by the atmosphere of a place which has stood witness to so much history.  Traditional gate keeper at Castle No holiday in Scotland is complete without a visit to Loch Ness. Over 20 miles long, a mile wide and 700 feet at its deepest, Loch Ness is the largest fresh water lake in Britain by volume.It contains more water than all the lakes and reservoirs in England and Wales combined.The surrounding area is filled with historic attractions, natural wonders, cozy places to stay and superb eateries. The Loch Ness Monster 'Nessie"is just one of the many myths and legends to be discovered in this particularly beautiful part of Scotland. Peter brought  us to Fort Augustus an attractive village situated near Loch Ness on the Caledonian canal.The Canal empties into Loch Ness via a flight of 5 Locks here.This was to be our lunch stop and we enjoyed fresh fish 'n chips and strolled around the village and canal locks and took pictures of  a Bag piper view of Loch Ness from the village Although Nessie is not taken seriously by skeptics and many scientists, there is some evidence that a large, unknown creature really does live in Loch Ness. There have been numerous sightings by reliable witnesses, photographs (both above and below the water's surface), film and video footage, and interesting sonar readings. Unfortunately, none of the evidence has been conclusive, and the definitive proof of Nessie's existence has been frustratingly elusive.Monster or not, the local economy is thriving on the back of the myth. A great view near Pitlochry Our journey south continued over Laggan and the Grampian mountains with a stop for *Whisky tasting which was fun.A Tippler's delight! *Scotch Whisky can only be made in  Scotland, rest are Whiskey.There have been many attempts to reproduce its unique flavor in different parts of the world,but with little success. A picture of the entire group followed and we drove to our our last stop in the Victorian resort town of Pitlochry in Perthshire,for coffee and some rest, before returning to Edinburgh over the scenic bridge. We bid farewell to our fellow  travelers  and to Peter who made the trip enjoyable.We bought some souvenirs,ate french fries and were ready to board the bus back to London. With Peter,our wonderful guide .

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