A trip to Mumbai (Day One)

-

Alappuzha Railway Station. *Images are taken from the Internet and are the property of their owners*


28th July 2016

This is the story of an unexpected journey to Mumbai. I rushed to the Alappuzha railway station to catch the Netravathi Express but missed the train by 2 minutes. I took a general ticket on a special train to Panvel which was to arrive in half an hour. A quick google search showed me that Panvel is part of the Mumbai city. I will be able to take the local train from Panvel to Mumbai with ease.

 I got on the train at 20 minutes past 1 in the afternoon. A group of students from Farook college joined me in the compartment from Eranakulam. These students are sleeping with their headphones on as I type this. 

5:20 pm, Shornoor- When the train pulled into the Shornoor station,  vendors came rushing with all sorts of snacks, tea, and coffee. I was starving as I had skipped my lunch in all the commotion. I bought 3 vadas with delicious chutney for Rs 24. The train started moving again and I watched the greenery and scenic beauty of Kerala from the train.

Nightfall; The true beauty of cities are seen at nights when she is all lighted up. 

6:50 pm, Kozhikode- The train reached Kozhikode and those students I mentioned above got down but a lot of other people got in. The train became really crowded.

8:00 pm, Kannur- All the people got down at Kannur and the compartment became empty. I bought a packet of Egg Biriyani and had it around 8:30 pm. 

My phone is running low on battery, I do not have any working charging ports in the compartment. I am going to switch my phone off and read something. 

 10:00 pm, Mangalore- After reading for some time, I dosed off. Woke up when the train reached Mangalore.  I bought 2 samosas and a Vada from Mangalore station. It was cold and had an uncooked taste. I had to throw away most of it. Made a mental note not to buy any of this ever again at this time of the day from the train.  

 I again fell asleep, woke a couple of times at Udupi and Kumta. Woke completely up at around 4:00 am. The train was at Karwar. It was dark outside, I watched the shadows move, sitting near the window, the cold wind gushing on my face. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Changanacherry Market

-
Image
 It was in 1805 AD, that the famed Diwan of Travancore Veluthampy Dalava made a market place at Changanacherry. The market was inaugurated by the exchange of an elephant. Now this market is one of the largest markets in Kerala and is the best attended in all of North Travancore. The chief trade is in rice, pepper, dry ginger, areca nuts and piece goods. Towards the memory of the centennial celebrations of the place in 1905, the people installed the " Anchu Vilakku" (Five Lamps) seen near the Boat Jetty at Market Road.      The lamp signifies the 'unity in diversity' of the local ethnic and religious sects - a truly fitting tribute to the ethos of Changanacherry.       Anjuvilakk                               
Read more

Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Temple

-
Image
Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Temple  was built during the reign of the second Chera Empire in 800 AD. There is a stone fortress called  Bhoodathan Kotta  around this temple. According to local legends, the fortress was built out of a single stone, overnight, by a spirit ( bhoodam ). There is also a beautiful lake in front of the temple. Devoted to Lord Vishnu, Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Kshetram, alias Adbhuta Narayanan Temple, is one of the five Pancha-Pandava temples in Kerala and among the 108 Vishnu temples in India. This 9th-century temple is located at Thrikodithanam in Changanacherry, 25 km from Kottayam. Adbhuta Narayanan is the chief deity and his idol along with consort Karpagavalli, in standing posture, is made of an unusual black stone called Aanjana-kallu. The temple also houses the idols of Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna, Ganapathi, Narasimha, Nagadevas, and Kshetrapala.The temple structure is an architectural excellence adorned with beautiful mural paintings....
Read more

Love in history; A story of how an empire fell for love.

-
Image
History is fascinating. It is filled with very interesting stories. Here is one such true story. You might have heard about an Afghan named Shahab-ud-Din Ghuri who invaded Delhi and was defeated by the king of Delhi, Prithvi Raj Chauhan. Shahab-ud-Din retired to Afghanistan and came back next year with another much powerful army. This time, he defeated Prithviraj and sat on the throne of Delhi. But what are the events that led to the defeat of the legendary king Prithviraj Chauhan? How did he become so weak in a year? The answer is love. Love is what made him weak and blind. Here is the story part; King Jaichand (Jayachandra) of Kannauj and Prithviraj Chauhan were not in good terms with each other. Both of them were very powerful kings. Jaichand's daughter Samyogita fell in love with Prithviraj after hearing about his heroic exploits and declared that she would marry only him. Jaichand arranged a swayavra (husband-selection) ceremony for his daughter but did not invite Pr...
Read more