Rails Railfanning and Gastronomy IV
Food King, Delicacy Delighter, Gastronomy Gudiya... These are but a few words used to describe the Mandovi Express. She begins her journey from the laidback and chilled out state of Goa, meanders along the coastal line that the British said was impossible to make, but came to fruition due to the vision of a certain gentleman who faced all adversities to make this line a vital link in the network of IR, and finally terminates in the bustling financial capital of India,Mumbai.
En route, she offers not only the spectacular vistas of Konkan for your eyes, but also brilliant food that shall soothe your tastebuds like no other train shall ever do so. She's like that gentle seductress who shall always want you leaving for more.
The link for our train was KYN WDG 4 12761. Our coach D1 was rather weary and worn and looked like she had seen better days.
The clock struck a half past 8 and we were off. My first trip into this lovely Konkan area. The nose pleased with the smell of breakfast from the pantry, the ears treated to the clackety clack of the steel wheels on rails, the eyes enjoying the goan countryside, the skin meanwhile was getting treated to the humidity and the bright sun!.
These Goan stations sped past and what delightful names they have. Majorda, Verna, Thivim, Pernem. At Verna, we were brought to a halt for a long time. The yard at Verna was bustling with activity, with even the pantry boys getting ready to serve breakfast to satiate our rumbling tummies.
Upma is a dish that has earned a variety of nicknames. Concrete being one of them. To those people who hate Upma, please have a bite of this. You shall truly appreciate it and stop giving this Upma those nicknames. The accompanying Sheera was as smooth as butter and had a slight pineapple zing to the taste.
An hour had passed before we left Verna and headed off to the first scheduled halt Karmali. Karmali was again a long halt, for crossing with the Patna Vasco Express. The train came at a great speed, and was promplty stopped by a chain pulling. Scores of people jumped off the train to enjoy the weekend at Goa.
And off we went further north, with a delightful cheese sandwich in our hands. Maharashtra greeted us with an ALCO and a train heading to Gods Own Country. The scenery was spectacular with the recent monsoons but the weather was an assault on the body, what with us having to wash our face every two minutes. With us in Maharashtra, it only seemed appropriate that we ought to buy the state dish of Maharashtra, the ancestor of the McDonalds Aloo Tikki Burger, Vada Pav, which had a generous amount of podi in it and delectable too.
Rajya Rani, Rocket, Konkan Kanya all crossed us and soon it was time for 3 big crossings. All prestigious super fast and the first of the lot was the Thiruvananthapuram bound Rajdhani, which zoomed past with a GOC WDP 4D, hurrying past with its passengers who were on a long long journey.
At the next station, we crossed the new boy on the block, the Tejas, who was decked out in his matching loco WDP 3A KYN today. He danced his way to Karmali, with his new fangled livery, auto shut doors and the passengers having lunch, and speaking of lunch, our lunch was delivered by now too.
The lunch on the Mandovi was one of the best lunch I've ever had, and the Kadai Panneer was worthy of a Michelin Star. Our lunch was Kadai Panneer, Vegetable Biriyani(I know people might dispute if such a dish exists, but the menu said so) and Vegetarian noodles. All brilliantly crafted like art pieces.
The final crossing of the day was with the original Speed King of Konkan, the Janshatabdi to Madgaon who zoomed past with the Vistadome coach at the end.
The meal was wrapped up with a cup of hot Gulab Jamuna and as we sped past the Panval Viaduct, we knew our journey on board the Mandovi was coming to an end. The smell of raw fish signalled Ratnagiri and we got off at Ratnagiri, headed to the Viaduct for some RF and later for a Maharashtra thali and a good night sleep for one more train trip to Chiplun.
En route, she offers not only the spectacular vistas of Konkan for your eyes, but also brilliant food that shall soothe your tastebuds like no other train shall ever do so. She's like that gentle seductress who shall always want you leaving for more.
The link for our train was KYN WDG 4 12761. Our coach D1 was rather weary and worn and looked like she had seen better days.
These Goan stations sped past and what delightful names they have. Majorda, Verna, Thivim, Pernem. At Verna, we were brought to a halt for a long time. The yard at Verna was bustling with activity, with even the pantry boys getting ready to serve breakfast to satiate our rumbling tummies.
Upma is a dish that has earned a variety of nicknames. Concrete being one of them. To those people who hate Upma, please have a bite of this. You shall truly appreciate it and stop giving this Upma those nicknames. The accompanying Sheera was as smooth as butter and had a slight pineapple zing to the taste.
An hour had passed before we left Verna and headed off to the first scheduled halt Karmali. Karmali was again a long halt, for crossing with the Patna Vasco Express. The train came at a great speed, and was promplty stopped by a chain pulling. Scores of people jumped off the train to enjoy the weekend at Goa.
And off we went further north, with a delightful cheese sandwich in our hands. Maharashtra greeted us with an ALCO and a train heading to Gods Own Country. The scenery was spectacular with the recent monsoons but the weather was an assault on the body, what with us having to wash our face every two minutes. With us in Maharashtra, it only seemed appropriate that we ought to buy the state dish of Maharashtra, the ancestor of the McDonalds Aloo Tikki Burger, Vada Pav, which had a generous amount of podi in it and delectable too.
Rajya Rani, Rocket, Konkan Kanya all crossed us and soon it was time for 3 big crossings. All prestigious super fast and the first of the lot was the Thiruvananthapuram bound Rajdhani, which zoomed past with a GOC WDP 4D, hurrying past with its passengers who were on a long long journey.
At the next station, we crossed the new boy on the block, the Tejas, who was decked out in his matching loco WDP 3A KYN today. He danced his way to Karmali, with his new fangled livery, auto shut doors and the passengers having lunch, and speaking of lunch, our lunch was delivered by now too.
The lunch on the Mandovi was one of the best lunch I've ever had, and the Kadai Panneer was worthy of a Michelin Star. Our lunch was Kadai Panneer, Vegetable Biriyani(I know people might dispute if such a dish exists, but the menu said so) and Vegetarian noodles. All brilliantly crafted like art pieces.
The final crossing of the day was with the original Speed King of Konkan, the Janshatabdi to Madgaon who zoomed past with the Vistadome coach at the end.
The meal was wrapped up with a cup of hot Gulab Jamuna and as we sped past the Panval Viaduct, we knew our journey on board the Mandovi was coming to an end. The smell of raw fish signalled Ratnagiri and we got off at Ratnagiri, headed to the Viaduct for some RF and later for a Maharashtra thali and a good night sleep for one more train trip to Chiplun.
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