The Railway Mania

The Railway Mania

A late boomer, a deep sleeper, a lazy creeper and much more of a boy when stands upright on a cold morning with a fresh smile not fussing with the parents to sleep 5 minutes more, it would not be a day as everyday. He has to board a train that day, yes, a train.

When you ask a common man to join army, he would say i have my family to look after, if I die fighting for my country which I am not afraid of for myself but for m family. He will definitely add on a statement of getting a very less income from the army.

At the same time when you ask a person to join railways, he would say the same with the fact of death laying behind. He will feel to say the same as in case of army for the income.

Through this blog I would like to share with all the readers, my experience, my madness, my thoughts, my believes, my attitude, my concern, my relation and my affection to the railways be it any country. But the most as I live in it is my home, my motherland India. Yes, my friends, THE INDIAN RAILWAYS.....

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I woke up at 4 in the morning to board the train. The train was to depart from a nearby small station at 5 am. I prepared tea for my parents and had it myself. At 4.30 am a company van was to carry our family to the station. We were praying for our safe journey. It is a tradition in our family, in fact many families in India to pray before they do any new work or a journey.

We reached the railway station at 4.50 am and we got to know that the train was late by 15 minutes. Waiting for a train is for most of us is a very boring job to do. But, for me it was an opportunity to trouble the dogs on the platform and inquire about every bit of railways. why this happens why doesn't it happens and lablabla.

Oh!

Wait a minute, I forgot to tell you my age of which I was talking of. Otherwise you will guess me as nuts. I was at an age of 6 that time. Till the train arrived my father would worry that I and my brother don't go towards the track. But we didn't listen to him. It was a craze for me to go near the track , have a look at it and go around the platform.

When the train arrived I feared the horn of the Loco. It was frightening as if you are sitting in a sweet temple with a very quite environment and somebody blasts a bomb nearby. Well the train of questions didn't end when I boarded the train. It was a meter gauge line and a single line too. I asked my father, why the train stopped so much for another train to come and the train which came later went first. This drove me nuts. I was quite excited about everything that happened. Everyone, especially young boys like to step down on the stations wherever the train stopped. It was a great opportunity when the train meets with a problem(technical) to get down of the train nobody missed it. Even if the train had a toilet, people got down and served there call of nature in the farms.

It was always a great experience to travel in trains specially in India. You see new people, you see nature, trees running by side and a loads of noise of tracks, wheels and people. It was always pathetic as well as exciting to get down of the train at the destination station. On one hand I was to meet my relatives and on the other hand I had to leave the train. Yes! for me this was like something like leaving a very good friend of yours.

The Railway mania became more and more proficient and more intense as I grew up through the teenage. I used to read about the trains in the newspaper in the magazines, in the encyclopedia's, etc. You can know till now, how crazy I am with the Railways. The intensity as I said grew as I was 16. I had started travelling alone by this time. I used to gather more and more information about the railways from anybody I met. Most of the time it so happened that some or the other elderly started talking about railway rules and procedures when the train stopped for crossings. These were the moments of full time pass and a great source of false or true knowledge for me.

This obviously turned me on. But to my dismal whenever I spoke anything, I was sidelined and was in great embarrassment till the talk ended. During the two years of my stay at Kota, whenever I travelled to my hometown Nimach which was 200km from Kota by train, it was a good opportunity for me to discuss any railway official about the railway systems as Kota is one of the largest junctions on the Delhi-Mumbai line. I watched each train going by and saw the way its locomotive worked.

Now after going through a tough life at Kota, I was getting prepared for a college life which I got but not as I expected and most of my college buddies may think like this. But still I am loving my college life now and the enjoying part of college life is still active in 2nd year. Of course the quest of knowledge about railways is also continuous with getting some of friends like me. Now I have got Internet to get my things of Railways. Now I am in 2nd year of B.Tech(Electronics and Communication) and I am thinking of pursuing my career in Indian Railways as an Class A Engineer through IES(Indian Engineering Services) in EC department.

At this moment I am writing this blog. My first blog, which I hope who reads it fully would like and match it with passion of his or her and see the behaviour which was mine is theirs too for their passion. With this hope and guess I complete my post here. Do write comments so that I can improve upon any fact of the blogs including grammar and other aspects which are essential for essence of a good blog.

Thank You

Yours lovingly

Vaibhav Upadhyay