Musings by the Krishna

Simhadri Express is ready to leave from Platform number 5"
"Departmental Announcement, Kerala Express Guard and Driver please start your train" 
"Guwahati Bengaluru Express is running late by 2 hours."
A horde of passengers descend from the Coromandel Express heading to Howrah, the crowd comprises of the laborers who have saved up for months together to make this trip home, traveling by UR or SL, they run to the water taps to fill with the life saving elixir to quench their thirst till the next major halt of Rajamahendravaram, where the refreshing Godavari will fill there bottles. The Pantry staff step out for a breather, to stand under the fan for sometime before they climb back to prepare snacks for the passengers to enjoy, the AC Passengers are snuggled up in the cool confines of their coaches and are never seen mingling with the Hoi polloi. 

At either end of the train, the LP who broughtin the train signs off and heads for some rest before he has to take back another train, while his colleague says a silent prayer and prays that he takes his passengers safely till Rajamahendravaram. The guard also does a similar procedure and once he blows his whistle and the signal turns green, the red beast honks loudly, waiting to gallop into the distance. The train moves and thepassengers run into the train. 

The Coromandel departs and soon a humble DEMU arrives. The DEMU may not be as glamorous as the Coromandel who is undoubtedly the King of the Line, but he is the humble soldier who silently does his job, working hard, connecting people from the nearby towns of Gudivada and Repalle to the big city. The people on those trains are here in Vijayawada to sell their wares, make some money and earn their daily bread. 

Amidst all this hullabaloo, the freights arrive and depart. No one to fuss over them. The crew and the Locos wait patiently for their turn to leave and carrying about a whole lot of freight that is essential to the building of this nation. Cement bags, rice bags, cars, and what not. 

The crowds keep coming and going, the trains from various places come and go. From the snowy Himalayas to the Triveni Sangam of the oceans deep south, from the lap of the mighty Brahmaputra to the SiliconValley of India, all these trains have to pay homage to the mighty Krishna and fill up their tanks with water while the passengers fill their bottles with water and their stomachs with omelets, samosas and a whole wide variety of snacks to keep them going. 

WAG 5, WAG 7, WAG 9,WDP 4D, WAP 4, WAP 7, and WDP 1 bring in and take out the trains and the hard working shunters do their duties quietly, humming to themselves. A WAM 4 also joins in the fun and reminds the new fangled youngsters that he had been doing this job for ages and though he shall be chopped up soon, he shall not go out without showing the youngsters how it's done. 

Time ticks by, my train approaches and froman observer, I too become a passenger and board my train and move home wards.