On Wednesday, February 6th we awoke in Yercuad to a beautiful day. The valley was hazy but the sun would take that away soon. A few of us had a massage in the morning before our departure ... mine lasted for 1 1/4 hours. Awh...the feel of it was wonderful.
We made our way back down the twisting mountain road by bus to the railway station at Salem Station from which we had arrived only two days before. The station is a hub of activity at most times of the day, particularly when a train arrives or is about to depart. Literally throngs of people use this method of travel, finding it convenient, inexpensive, and a quick way to reach distances too far to drive by car or bus. The stations are similar to those in England -- wide open and long.
The station platform was filled with people when we arrived: vendors, a few beggars, and the railway police. A quiet female voice came over the PA system announcing the arrival of our train at about 5:00 PM. We boarded what we thought was our car only to find out a mistake in our reservations had been made. As soon as you board an Indian train, no time is wasted before it starts to trundle down the tracks. Therefore, we had to transfer through the throngs in each car back three cars to the only available seats in the economy sections. This car had only open windows covered with bars. There were emergency exit windows that could be opened in case of need. The seats were bland straight-back types with limited padding. The air conditioning was non-existent -- except for the breezes coming from all directions through the open windows.
It was exciting to say the least.
When we sat down we looked around our surroundings. The seats were mostly full with ordinary Indian people gong on their way. We lucked out as we were able to find seats together. At the ends of each car were the washrooms. One was a typical Indian one where you did your business through a slot in the floor. Another was a more western type that one could sit down on. Each contained a water tap where you could wash your hands. No soap or towels -- no matter. Inside each car was another wash station with a mirror and small faucet to simply clean up at.
The ride was a terrific experience. The wind coming in kept us cool on this sweltering day -- much better, I think, than if we had been in the A/C cars. The countryside ran past us as we rode through the farm lands of that area. We passed farmers busy in their fields -- both women and men. Small fields were the norm. No large tracts could be seen. They grow a variety of cotton, rice, coconut palms, sugar cane, papaya, and row upon row of sun flowers all with their backs to the setting sun. It was a beautiful panorama of crops and activities. Most of the toil was by hand although we saw more and more tractors being used. Roads crossed the landscape that allowed the farmers to get to market. Farm homes raged from the very primitive thatched-roof huts to solid and painted masonry buildings.
As darkness descended, lights began to appear at some homes. The light consisted of a strip of fluorescent tubes suspended from a pole. Where there was a light, there was only one to show the way for the inhabitants.
It was close to 8:30 PM when our train rolled into (now get this) "Card Party," a smaller junction town, where we disembarked to our waiting mini-bus. Ahhhh. A night's rest once again so we could recharge for tomorrow's adventure.
Tom Belton
for the SCAW 2008 Chennai Team
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