Will You Come With Me?

Dear sir,

Definitely would like to go on a train trip with you and please could you conduct a creative writing workshop for all of us?

Dear Varalotti Sir,

I guess you do not even have to ask. For after all where the master goes the disciples follow!

Regards,
Devika

Dear BF,

No probs.....My bags are packed.

Only hitch, DH read your invite & insists on joining me..He is also a what he loves to call himself : Bhojan Priya(He is from Bangalore so he relates more to your rail-Menu) says he & you will get along very well.....

He will not take no for an answer....

As for you BF, I can answer like how a famous Hindi song goes:

Tum ne pukara hum chale aaye
Jaan hateli pe le aaye re...

Until next time BF,

Take care & when you eat some spicy food, remember me & when you pop a sweet DH requests you think of him

Regards,

Lakshmi

Dear Sridhar,
You are the PIED PIPER OF IL!!!! You weave your words of magic and we all will follow. How can we not when it comes to such wonderful topics?? To date i think I always cherish my rail trips by Brindavan express from bangalore to chennai and back. This was way back in the early eighties when that train had just been introduced. The service was so good and yes as promised then the travel time was indeed 5 hrs 45 minutes or so.... All the food used to be so yummy!!

More recently i enjoyed traveling by Shatabdi and the service was great. Now am adding Vaigai to my list next....Be warned I think we will form a secret group with Indhu and a whole bunch of IL ites will spring upon you on your next train trip:

Oh and we Moderators are now used to your bold and daring titles , we know that you discuss interesting and safe topics . But we are on the look out for some seemingly innocent titles from you

V

Dear Sridhar,

I must agree with Vandhana that we moderators have become laid back when it is another provocative title from Varalotti. Well, it is only a title we say, matter will be very safe and staid, just like the gentleman that he is!

Your rayil payanam sounded very engaging indeed. Oh, I too would luv to eat all those goodies on the Indian railways. What effects I may suffer later is another matter altogether!

That there is an indoor monitor to see the journey is something very new to me! That is a bit sad indeed. I remember how I used to simply loved gazing outside the window at all those hills, rocks, woods, fires burning afar, little huts and villages...And my young brain used to spin so many lovely and romantic stories! That was a part of the pleasure of traveling by train. To shut the scenery out sounds blasphemous!

I too remember traveling from B'lore to Madras by Brindavan express and more recently, the Shatabdi.
When Brindavan came to being, it was a total relief to us, Madras seemed only a stone's throw. But Shatabdi was a great experience, the train did not stop anywhere and yes, it was a bit too cold !! But the food, I remember that even now! Where can we poor NRIs expect such a fare while traveling here...we have to appease ourselves with french fries, at the most.
Oh, our planes here do not even serve food...we have to 'buy' an uninteresting sandwich on local flights :( !

When I rule out all the romantic notions of an Indian rayil payanam, I can write pages and pages about the horrors of travelling by train in India.......

--The time we pulled the chain because I had forgotten to take the bag with my baby's bottles, diapers, babyfood etc etc. The train stopped at a Godforsaken village and we called my dad who took sometime to get there to pick us up!! A small crowd gathered around the waiting room to stare at us and all that was oh so embarrassing...its another thing that my dad blew his top ( which he rarely does) admonishing us for being stupid and getting off somewhere...we could have bought stuff for the baby at my in-law's place and he could have sent the bag with someone else......!:(

--During anther visit and another train journey from Madras to Kakinada, my husband was extremely sick with food poisoning...something we ate at the "five star" hotel and once again, had to pull the chain to ask for a doctor......Both the times, I went through double hell as mil found it hard to believe our 'stories' !!:(

--Another time, travelling from H'bad to B'lore, my sil booked a looooong slow passenger train which stopped at every little station and suddenly they said there was a typhoon storming outside. I was travelling alone with my 4 yr old daughter. My parents went berserk worrying about me....

Again, same H'bad to B'lore night express....We promised our young teenage daughter the experience of her life time, return travel to B'lore with train. We get to the station to be told that our airconditioned 'bogie' had not arrived and all those who had tickets for that could only travel in the ordinary coach without any seat reservation. Can you imagine our discomfort in the roach invested compartment and with all the men simply ogling at my daughter without batting an eyelid...It was only when the same men helped us with all our suitcases for us to shift to a sleeping berth that the ticket master kindly gave us after half the journey, that we realised they were basically very nice, only a bit uncouth......!!

Yes, these Indian railways can be a pleasure if all goes well...but with our experiences...mind you there are many more....I am very vary!!!!

L, Kamla

PS: Sorry I got carried away...but those thoughts haunt me to this day and I got an opportunity to share them here :)

Did u ask " Will You Come With Me? " ... well ofcourse I will!!!

I'm know as the Saapaattu Raami ( female for Saapattu Raman!!! ) of my family ... so we'll have a great time if we travel together! A high-five to u on that! I was while reading abt all that u ate ... n didnt eat ... except the egg stuff!!!

But I must say, I could really imagine the whole story as you went on narrating it in ur post ... amazing descriptive details ... and the comparisons were the best!

My Amma (ushakrishnan64) kept telling me of ur stories but I never bothered reading them coz I'm not the book kinda person ... I never liked sitting with a book coz of the commitment to finish it ... but ur posts r fantabulous!!! This is the first story of urs that I'm reading ... now I'm gonna dig into this forum n find other such interesting, descriptive and enjoyable posts!!!

But at the end of it, dont forget that I'm ready to join u!!!

Dear Sudha,
This time you will get a blow by blow reply.

Just wanted to know that if we ILites go with you, where will you have the time to read those books!

If you ILites are there with me, what is the need for the book? I will be a fool to be reading the book when so many wonderful ladies are around me.

And wonder if all that junk food TREAT will be hosted by you and not to mention the side effects( will you bearthe hospital charges!) he he he.....I guess after the Journey with us , you will never board a train again! ha ha

When you ILites take the time and effort to travel from the other end of the world, from several time zones away, don't you think that this mofussil accountant will not treat you with whatever you can eat? Yes, and I will bear the ticketing cost also (mind you it is just the vaigai ticket from Madurai to Chennai and not the ticket from Frankfurt to Chennai he he)

Though I am ready to bear the hospital charges, I dont want you to carry back unpleasant memories. I can advise you on what to eat, how much and when. If you go against my words and then get sick, well, then with a heavy heart I will bear the medical expenses. Heavy heart not because of the expenses but because of your pain and suffering.
Thanks for the fb, sudha.

Hello Vanaja,
Looks like in future I can delegate to you the task of writing leader posts in this forum. You write very well.
Yes, I too am fascinated more by the train than by bus or flight. In my school days one of my pastime was to watch the steam engines moving in and out of Madurai station. Then when I travelled to chennai through the main line (via Tanjore, Kumbakonam etc) and the engine was changed to electric engine at Villupuram I used to go and watch the engine change.

Yes, I saw most of the episodes in the Rail Sneham serial. And you know I have so many "rail friendships" even today.
Once in 1989 I met a beautiful lady doctor by name Vasanthi. I had a lower berth and she wanted to exchange her upper berth with me. I told her clearly I could not do that as I love lower berth.
In spite of that she was chatting up with me till the train touched Villuppuram.
I prefer the aisle seat because I still feel that there are more interesting things to watch in the train than outside. Of course if it's a night train I prefer lower berth.

The unavoidable facts that I do not like in a train journey - managing luggage, snoring of people, being wary of thieves .

You are right. Once 20 years back I lost my suitcase in the train. You won't believe that was my entire wardrobe at that time. I felt very bad. But then somebody advised me "thuniyoda piniyum pochu" . With the clothes your diseases have gone out. So don't worry.

I shall come with you provided you give me the WS

No problem, the WS is yours. I prefer the aisle. But during night time, you should give me the lower berth. Right?

regards,

Dear Usha,
You are most welcome. I will give two better alternatives than my conducting a workshop.
One, we'll call a really good writer and I'll sit with you all and listen to him talking about creative writing.
Two, why me, Usha, the train and its passengers and the events happening inside it will be our best teachers in creative writing.
I will be happy to sit with you as your fellow-student.
regards,

Originally Posted by varalotti

Hello Vanaja,
Looks like in future I can delegate to you the task of writing leader posts in this forum. You write very well.
Yes, I too am fascinated more by the train than by bus or flight. In my school days one of my pastime was to watch the steam engines moving in and out of Madurai station. Then when I travelled to chennai through the main line (via Tanjore, Kumbakonam etc) and the engine was changed to electric engine at Villupuram I used to go and watch the engine change.

Yes, I saw most of the episodes in the Rail Sneham serial. And you know I have so many "rail friendships" even today.
Once in 1989 I met a beautiful lady doctor by name Vasanthi. I had a lower berth and she wanted to exchange her upper berth with me. I told her clearly I could not do that as I love lower berth.
In spite of that she was chatting up with me till the train touched Villuppuram.
I prefer the aisle seat because I still feel that there are more interesting things to watch in the train than outside. Of course if it's a night train I prefer lower berth.


You are right. Once 20 years back I lost my suitcase in the train. You won't believe that was my entire wardrobe at that time. I felt very bad. But then somebody advised me "thuniyoda piniyum pochu" . With the clothes your diseases have gone out. So don't worry.




No problem, the WS is yours. I prefer the aisle. But during night time, you should give me the lower berth. Right?

regards,

that is too much for me. to be frank, i write well than speaking. even in tamil. may be i search for correct words and correct meaning to make my statement more precise. so, i always prefer writing and i am only comfortable with that. thanks for the compliments.

how is that? when i need a window seat it implies that i prefer lower berth. ok, it is accepted, since you are giving me WS.