Some observations about my recent travels in India

PrasadIyer

I had occasion to travel (solo) to Kolkata from Mumbai on the Gitanjali Express on May 12 '08. The following observations might be useful.

1. I reserved my AC 2-tier seat a week ahead of travel date using the Foreign Tourist Quota; it is really a boon for foreigners. The general quota was heavily wait-listed. I got my ticket at the Reservation Centre behind Victoria Station (upstairs - one window dedicated for this).

2. FTQ seats seem to be drawn from the compartments nearest the door. At any rate never one of the side seats (according to the clerk). Not sure why. I was hoping for a side seat!

3. I boarded the train in Kalyan which is 50 miles from the starting point. Meanwhile an enterprising family who had gotten seats all over the coach, had already managed to exchanged their seats with the original passengers assigned to this compartment. Except me of course. Well, I was made the same request. Turned out that the seat I was offered in exchange was a side seat! Was happy. But beware - always ask about the other guy's final destination! I didn't - only learnt later (when the ticket examiner showed up) that the seat was booked only upto Durg, which meant I would have to change back to my old seat when the train got to Durg. Not a big deal, but was annoyed with myself for not checking before hand.

4. The ticket examiner will freely make some extra money by seating more than 4 persons in a compartment, if the compartment isn't occupied by a family traveling together. It didn't bother me - I had plenty of room for myself - but it might bother some people.

5. If boarding at an intermediate station (not starting point), you must carefully find out exactly where your coach will come to a halt at the station, so you are able to board directly into your coach in the few minutes the train halts there. Otherwise it is a pain to walk through all the vestibules while the train is in motion, with all your luggage.

6. Carry a mobile phone - it will work almost everywhere on the route - further it will also tell you exactly where you are!

Other observations

1. The Indian Museum in Kolkata has lots of excellent Indian sculptures from the 10th to 12th century. There are no crowds (on weekdays at least), and you can spend a few hours getting lost in the past, imagining the enormous efforts that must have gone into carving each sculpture.

2. The Victoria Memorial is another such monument with excellent sculptures and paintings of Queen Victoria and prominent viceroys of British India. As someone with keen interest in Indian history, I was visualizing actually being a fly on the wall and looking at living breathing people making history. That is the only way to enjoy museums, imho.

3. I stayed at Astoria Hotel on Sudder St. For the money, it is a very decent hotel; everything works - clean sheets, running water, AC, etc. Sudder St itself is within walking distance from everywhere I wanted to go.

4. I have to mention my visit to Eden Gardens Cricket Ground to watch a Kolkata Night Riders match (IPL tournament). The cricket ground is awe-inspiring, but more so the passion of the crowds moving towards the ground, and within the ground itself.

5. I was in Kolkata only for a day/night. The next day evening, on the way to the airport (returned by flight) I gave in to my base desire to get a ride on a rickshaw. For 70 rupees, I got a 20 minute ride. It was interesting, except that Sudder St is currently horribly dug up, so only people with no back trouble are advised to ride it - at least on that street!

Regards,
Prasad