The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Passing via Kangra Railway Station en route to the Kangra Fort, it was impossible for us to simply pass by, without taking a closer look.
Ideally, we would have loved to take the train... the Kangra Valley Railway is one of the Heritage Hill Trains of India, but time was a big factor, and the train timings didn't match our schedule. We settled instead for just a peek at the railway station. The next train was due only an hour later, and our delight at the old world charm of the station provided quite some amusement to the few passengers patiently awaiting it. Here are a few scenes from the station... take a look, and I am sure you will agree that these tiny stations are truly charming, compared to the steel cages our new ones are!
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| A view of the main station from the platform.. and the manual track changing apparatus... |
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| What a pretty shop this is, isn't it? with the vines growing all over? Shankar went to take a look at what was available, and the gentleman's eyes simply followed him, while the lady in the shop stared at me. They were probably wondering why we were there, clicking photos of their local railway station! |
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| The ticket counter... quaint, isn't it? |
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| The Time Tables, painted in the old style. The idea is two-fold.. to remind you of a time when all stations had such painted boards.. and to help you if you ever plan a trip here and want to take the train! |
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| Take a look at these fares too. They are current fares, and at Rs. 20 and 25, are a steal, for journeys lasting half a day!! And the First Class Fares makes me want to go at once!! Hope I can visit Dharamsala again soon! |
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| Finally, this pretty structure stood aloof, probably a cabin used by the station master, but there was no board, so I have no idea what it is. |
Pretty and picturesque as it is, the Kangra Railway Station is not unique. We see such old railway stations across India, on the mountains as well as plains. Built in colonial times, they share a similar architecture, which today charms us by its rarity. Our new railway stations might have digital screens and latest technology to hasten and make safer our train journeys, but there is something about these which draws us again and again!
I have visited Kangra, Palampur and Dharmshala many times, but never got a chance to visit the railway station. I did few journeys on Shimla-Kalka route but this is something I have to plan in near future.
ReplyDeleteSuch a pretty station. It still exudes the old world charm. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteOld is Gold - They say. Nice observation. Thanks for sharing.
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