Bangalore to Dubai - April 24th 2011

I am presently located in Toranagallu village, Bellary District in Karnataka.  The once sleepy village has been transformed by the ‘House of Jindal’.  JSW Steel is the largest steel producer in the country today. From a humble 1.6 million tonnes Hot Metal production in 2005, it has grown into a 10 million tonne Plant in 2011.  Plans are already on the anvil to scale up the capacity to 16 million tonnes in 2 phases by 2014. The size and scale of the Plant can be appreciated by a fact that there are 145 kms of railway track within the Plant premises. The company has deployed 22 shunting engines of its own and will shortly be doubling their number. It is not untrue to state that many railways do not have as many shutting locomotives as JSW Steel has in Toranagallu! To be part of this historical expansion is exciting.  One can also take pride in the yeoman service of the Company to society by way of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in the spheres of community health, education, women’s empowerment and such like. The JSW Steel is served by 3 self sufficient townships, prime among them being the Vidyanagar Township. The employees number nearly 17000, both direct and indirect; the township is open to all.  The Vidyanagar township of JSW Steel is arguably the best in the country. It is understood that Shri Sajjan Jindal and Smt Sangeeta Jindal take personal care to ensure the upkeep and growth of the townships. The green environment is reputed to be the initiative of the First Lady.

Ajay, my son, had joined me in the township on the 22^nd after his examinations. We left early this morning for Bangalore via Hiriyur and NH4.  Breakfast was at the Kamat Upachar in Sira.  The Kesari Bath was delicious. The Easter lunch in Tom’s house was a majestic meal preceded by Baccardi Breezer.  The ‘Kuttanadan Duck’ preparation was difficult to tear away from.  The quick disappearance of the Appams from the serving plate, I blamed, on the excellent gravy!  Time went by very fast in the company of Maria and Lizy, the perfect hosts.

The chauffer driven pick up of Emirates Airlines arrived at the appointed hour to take me to the airport for the flight.  The airport lounge of the Bangalore International Airport was a disappointment in so far as the drinks and food were concerned.  EK 567 to Dubai took off ahead of schedule from the Bangalore International airport.  It is Shakespeare who said: “Sorrows come not single spies, but in battalions…”. The flight by EK 567 from Bangalore to Dubai proved that practical wisdom was the hallmark of the Bard of Avon.  When the opportunity came to travel to Tanzania and Dubai for tourism I had booked on Emirates Airline and got upgraded to Business Class, first to transit Dubai enroute to Dae-es-Salaam and then to return to Bangalore via Dubai.  The exceptionally poor quality of service on board EK 567 today made me feel like a stowaway.  The Airline lays a lot of stress on service and quality of food on board, it is advertised.  Whether the attitude of the staff that served me was intentional or just part of his natural ‘armor’ of customer service was difficult to tell.  But either ways, it is debilitating to the Airlines.  While taking food orders I was told that “we have only one Seafood Pie and two Chicken”!! It made me wonder if I was travelling Business Class or ‘Cattle Class’ (move over Shashi Tharoor) by Emirates Airline.  As if that was not enough, the steward took upon himself to decide how I should have my drink and brought me a drink he had mixed to the proportion of his choice.  Later when I asked for a refill of the Single Malt, Chivas Regal was produced! Such shocking attention and behavior from the Emirates Airline staff in Business Class is not what I had factored in for the journey of such immense personal importance.

At the time of booking I was told that the Airline would take care of the transit Visa and accommodation in Dubai on the 24^th.  Accordingly, arrangements were made for the Visa to visit Dubai on the return leg on the 30^th April.  At T3, on arrival in Dubai, I got the manual visa made from the Airline Help Desk proximate to the Immigration.  Then I was handed the rude shock by the Immigration that the manual Airline Visa would not be processed since the Visa for the return to Dubai on the 30^th was ‘already in the system’.  I had arranged to meet with Haism, who I knew from my days with DP World, upon arrival. The delays after arrival ensured that the entire pre-scheduled program is ‘consigned to the shredder’.  After many clarifications and unacceptable alternatives from Emirates Airline staff (such as ‘sleep in the lounge’) I was left with no option but to use the Visa that was ‘in the system’.  All through the ‘drama’ lasting over a half hour the staff at the Emirates Help Desk refused to intercede on my behalf with the Immigration citing non-existent customers to serve!  The embarrassment and the precious time lost were nobody’s concern.  I rued the decision taken to travel with Emirates Airline.

Mercifully, Avis provided a car pronto to transfer me to the Meridian Hotel (chauffeured by a guy from Kannur, Kerala).  The hotel room was comfortable to rest the weary legs and mull over the events of the day.

This time for Africa - 23rd April 2011

The railwayman is at it again. I am packing my bags for a short trip to Tanzania. I have never travelled to the African Continent before. This place, where human civilization is reputed to have begun, is still a ‘dark continent’ to many. I may be pardoned if I sound like David Livingstone, for I am all excited about the five day trip to the country of Julius Nyerere. Tanzania as we know today is an amalgam of the erstwhile States of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. While the former was a British colony the latter was under the control of the Germans till the First World War. Vasco Da Gama, during his exploration of the Orient, is said to have stumbled upon Zanzibar reputedly the center for spices, ivory and slave trades during that time. The reluctance of the Germans to let it go as a pocket of its influence after the World War is well documented.  In 1961, Tanganyika won independence from the British under the leadership of Julius Nyerere. Some history books give more credit to the financial sate of the British Empire at the time rather than to the people of Tanzania for their independence. Whatever, the role played by Julius Nyerere in lighting the sparks of independence from colonial rule in the African Continent cannot be understated. When Zanzibar won its independence in 1963 Tanganyika and Zanzibar came together to form the United Republic of Tanzania. Dodoma is the Capital, in name only.  Dar-es-Salaam is the erstwhile capital city and the major port, vital to trade in East Africa.

The objective of the railwayman’s journey this time is no different from what it was in October 2010. Adventure and education have ramped up the levels of excitement. Five days is too short to do justice to any country particularly an African country that is so rich in history, culture, art and wildlife. Nevertheless, I have five days to see and enjoy what I can. The railwayman is on the road once again. 

Today is 23^rd April, the 55th anniversary of my parent’s wedding. Achachan and Ammachi, a couple who lived almost exclusively for their children, are no longer in our midst. But the memories of their loving and caring ways, the selfless sacrifices they made and the solid foundation of values and morals they provided will keep them in our memories forever.  This journey to them.

The End

Friends,

“Walk.

You were born for the road.

Walk on.

You have someone to meet.

You do not know as yet.

Perhaps it is your own self.

Walk on,

Your footsteps will be your words.

The path ahead will be your song.

Your exhaustion will be your prayer

And the silence at last will speak to you.

Walk on,

Alone or in group,

But go out from your house.

The others you thought of as rivals will be your companions.

The ones you saw as enemies will be your brothers and sisters.

Walk on

Although you do not know

Where your feet are taking your heart.

Walk on.

You were born for the road,

The pilgrim road.

Someone else is walking towards you,

Someone who is looking for you

So that you can find Him,

In the sanctuary at the end of the road,

In the shrine of your heart.

He is your Peace.

He is your Joy.

Go.

Already God walks with you.”

The above is from the Prayer Room in Zurich Airport. I had Him for company throughout the journey and He guided me every moment during it as He has in my life. It is His intervention that took me closer to those who I knew previously and brought me close to the new friends I made during the past 124 days. He gave me good health and adequate wealth to complete the journey. I thank Him for the wonderful experience.

Before I began it I had dedicated the journey to my parents. All along the way I experienced their warm presence and blessings. My brother and his family are very dear to me. Their constant care and concern lifted my spirits and kept me in touch with ‘home’. A host of relatives provided the comfort of prayers and encouragement. 

During the journey I never felt alone, even for a moment. This was only due to the rich interface with friends, old and new. A special thanks to my railway brethren and Service colleagues, who went extra miles to ensure that I felt at home in new environments. Some of those who helped me are still only voices I recognize. Whenever I asked for assistance it was forthcoming and never once was it refused. I salute every one of them. Those who followed my blog posts were the real cheerleaders.

A Dream has been realized and I am sad, in a way, that the journey has ended. But, life’s journey goes on. And there are other dreams to travel for and more to dream. I end with another gem from Lin Yu-Tang, “A good traveler is one who does not know where he is going to, and a perfect traveler does not know where he came from.”

DAY 124 – Salem to Cochin

Friends,

Manickam worked his magic. There is nothing better than his coffee to start the day. A couple of cups of them and you can set out to dare the world. I took the NH47 for the last leg of my journey that has given me so many experiences and so many good friends. While I was happy to be getting back home I was also wistful about the journey of the past 18 weeks and a bit sad that it was coming to an end. But, as Lin Yu-Tang said, “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.”

I had targeted to reach Cochin by 5 pm. Accordingly I lined up a short diversion to the office of RLM, the manufactures of premier spinning machines, and lunch with Abraham (Abe), my cousin, and his family in Coimbatore. I had informed Abe that I would have to leave by 12.30 after lunch. The slight delay in locating the RLM office meant a further reduction in the lunch hour. However, Abe and Tresa ensured that I had enough on my plate to concentrate on than worry about the hours that sped by. The glorious soup started it all. Though I was tempted to accept a second helping the rest of the spread on the table and the alarming protuberance of my belly settled the pang.  Sausages and a salad in mayonnaise sauce chased the soup down the same path. At this stage I could not resist a second helping of the calorie filled salad and sausages. Rice, noodles, cabbage, chicken curry, etc disappeared from my plate in double quick time. Then came the juicy, sweet watermelon, yummy brownie (which did not appeal much to the baker of the said item) with ice cream and delicious black halwa. Tresa insisted on packing the rest of the halwa for the journey and that is when I decided to go down to the car as fast as the lift would bear me to the basement. There is no way in which I would have made it by the stairs. Ajay is privy to this fact.

I realized that it was quarter to two when I left Coimbatore. I almost panicked for I had to be in Cochin by 5 pm. A combination of improved roads beween Trichur and Angamaly and luck with the city traffic lights, despite a huge hold up at Vytilla, ensured my entry into the Riviera Retreat compound a little after 5 pm. Satheesh, Anju, Neeba, Paulu, Mathew and Bibu made up the welcome committee. A garland and a grand bouquet of flowers preceded the traditional welcome with a sweet burfi. In occasions such as this it is a skill to keep all present engaged with a narration of your experiences as well as a clarification of doubts. I do not possess such a skill and hence the party broke up pretty soon. Thereafter I had a couple of sessions with reporters from The Indian Express and Malayala Manorama. The journey well and truly ended with a ‘spirited’ debriefing session with Satheesh and Mathew.

DAY 123 – Chennai to Salem

Friends,

The bags were repacked once again, hopefully for the last time before touching down in Cochin tomorrow. Rose, Avirappi’s wife, returned from Kerala just in time to give us a warm send off. After discussing alternate routes I decided to take the NH45/68 to Salem. As it panned out, the road from Ulundurpet to Salem was not good as work to four-lane the stretch is still on. Ajay assumed the role of the Navigator from Chennai. His skills settled any doubts I may have had about doing the journey all alone. If I had depended on such skills I may have ended up back in the North East! Mercifully he discarded the road map and made himself useful by sleeping after a while.

The CONCOR terminal in Salem Market was a personal contribution and an immensely satisfying experience in project management. The terminal was given on a franchise to a leading client of CONCOR. The model was innovative and successful leading to it being cloned in some other terminals of CONCOR. Right from the first day of operation at Salem Market, even before the terminal was formally launched, it was Jayachandran who spearheaded the development in the location. Exceptional customer service was the watch word. The business at the terminal prospered till the model was tinkered with much after I returned to the Railways. Jayachandran insisted on taking us for lunch to the newly opened Ragas Hotel for Chicken Biriyani and Fish fry. Since the premises were new, we were the first customers in the Hotel for lunch.

Yesurathnam was a colleague in the Railways. He heads the Commercial department in the newly created Salem Division. This commercially important unit was a part of the erstwhile Palghat Division. Whenever I needed help in the area I turned to Yesurathnam and he obliged always. So was it when I wanted an ORH booking to spend this evening at Salem. I called on the Divisional Railway Manager, the Sr. DOM and Sr. DCM in their offices to understand the developments in the BU after the bifurcation of the erstwhile Division. It was wonderful to meet up with some old associates. The Division presently functions from a temporary shelter. The new Office and residences are under construction.

Jayachandran took us to the ‘Sarathy Classics’ for ‘Tiffin’. Ajay and I were yet to fully recover from the lunch and hence, settled for idlis and dosas for dinner. The idlis were soft and the dosas yummy; the ghee added a special taste to them.

I first met Manickam nearly a dozen years ago on the Salem platform. He operated a couple of stalls there. He used to give me excellent coffee and idlis whenever I visited the Station. He used to sell mangoes in one of his stalls during the Season. On special order and payment he would send consignments to Trivandrum. When we returned to the ORH from dinner Manickam was waiting for us. He came to know that I was halting the night there and visited us only to respect the relationship we enjoyed. He spent some time with us recalling the old days and giving me an update of his business and family. His was the only stall untouched by the IRCTC intervention. Manickam has been operating the stalls at Salem since 1961. Manickam has taken personal tragedies in his stride and constantly thanked God for His blessings. He is completely at peace with himself and all around him, which gives him contentment. He told Ajay many times that I was the only one who ever called him a ‘Muthalali’. I will never forget the disarming smile of Manickam and his love and respect.

DAY 122 – In Chennai

Friends,

I was on track to complete my journey in Cochin on the 28^th of January, as scheduled. The invitation from K. Allaudin IAS to attend his daughter’s wedding in Chennai changed my plans. I decided to extend the journey for 4 days and accommodate the function. Allaudin has been a dear friend from our days as probationers in the Academy in Mussoorie. Hailing from Tamil Nadu and having spent most of his student days there he had a tough time adjusting to the cold and chill of the Hill Station. I will never forget the ‘monkey cap’ which was the trademark of Allaudin in the Academy.

After reaching Chennai I called up Allaudin to tell him that I will be at the venue by 11 am. He ‘ordered’ that I be there at 10. I had come to Chennai only for this and hence I readily agreed to meet him early to chat. I landed up at the venue with Abraham and Ajay and was immediately sucked up by the vast humanity that thronged the marriage venue. With strong connections of either parties to the political and bureaucratic circles of Tamil Nadu, the marriage was like an open social function. The marriage and the reception were attended by the CM of TN and very many high officials and politicians. It took Ajay and me an hour to reach the newly wedded couple on the dais. I feared a stampede. The crowd was so large that I did not get the time to greet and chat up batch mates. I had to be content with shouting a hello to some of them from a distance.

Savio is my Uncle but is younger to me by three months. He has been in the Apollo Hospital with diabetes related illness for the past few weeks. Abraham, Ajay and I spent some time with Rani and Savio in the Hospital. We were happy to be told and note the definite progress being made.

DAY 121 – Bangalore to Chennai

Friends,

MC Tom was introduced to me by PG Thyagarajan in CONCOR. If first impressions were anything to go by I would have kept Tom as far away from me as I could have. But I am glad that I got to know this lovely human being; a bundle of energy and a storehouse of information on the Shipping and Logistics Industry. A person completely unafraid to recount his failures and losses, he has learnt his lessons from them all. Tom is a doting father and a loving husband. Tom and Lizi, the God-fearing couple, have provided an ideal home for their children. Before I started the journey Tom told me that they were moving into a new flat and wanted me to visit them when I was in Bangalore. Then he came down with a heart problem and was in a critical condition for a few weeks. I called him up on arrival in Bangalore. He suggested that I vacate the ORH and spend a night with them in the new flat. I did just that and enjoyed every minute I spend with Tom and Lizi that evening. The flat has been so tastefully done up that I have ‘contracted’ Tom to help me with my flat in Cochin. A few shots of vintage Glenlivit and home cooked Kerala food provided the background for a good night’s sleep. Before setting out for Chennai this morning I had two cups of piping hot tea.

I evaluated NH4 and 7 for the travel to Chennai and settled for the latter. For the first time during the journey I had a co-passenger. Siva Shankar was my colleague in CONCOR. He is an outstanding professional in the Logistics Industry and has recently changed jobs. His ability to connect with people and stay in touch with them is exemplary. SS can telephonically connect you to anyone you want to in this country or elsewhere. Such are his skills. His natural team building skills have fetched his cricket team numerous trophies, which are on display at his residence. What is remarkable about SS is his ‘size zero’. Bebo will have a new target if she comes across SS! As he had some business to transact in Chennai and I happened to be travelling to Chennai SS requested to accompany me. He had specifically told me that we would have breakfast en route. SS introduced me to Adyar Ananda Bhavan (A2B), which is located 7 kms after Soolagiri on the NH7. All tables are invariably occupied and I found a couple of spaces only after hanging around for some time. The sweet Kesari was the best I have ever had in my life. The Pongal and tea were superb too. SS kept a constant conversation going right through the trip. The 5 hours to Chennai went by quickly. However, I could make out that my driving made SS a bit nervous.

Johny of Mathrubhoomi, Chennai, who wanted to do a piece on my journey, contacted me and asked if I could drop by at his Office. We had a chat and took some photographs upon my arrival into Chennai. Most of the Press coverage during the journey were the initiatives of Thulasi and SCJ.