Platform 1 is mine only!!

 On August 15 1975, a movie was released directed by a veteran director, with a young upcoming actor cast in the lead role. The movie was a big success in the theatres. But, what caught the eye of the audience was a dark young man, from a neighbouring city, who had come to make his living in Kollywood. That young man, made an instant mark in the cinema industry. That young man became the Superstar of Tamil Cinema, who ruled Tamil Cinema for decades, reaching unprecedented peaks in the 80's and 90's. The emergence saw his fanbase diverge, but his charisma never went away. He had some dips in the early part of the millenium, but he made a spectacular comeback over the past two years.

A decade before that young man, a new superstar broke through the timetables of Indian Railways. That star made his maiden journey in the reverse direction - From Chennai to Bengaluru, covering the 360km journey in 5 hours, with stops at only Jolarpettai and Katpadi. It too underwent several changes, getting AC Chair coaches, double decker coaches but the journey time went up to 6 hours. Like the Superstar of the Cinema, this Superstar was slowly starting to get overshadowed by newer trains. A new pretender was introduced, who aimed to mimic this Superstars heydays by having a new swanky set of yellow and red coaches. Our superstar was not swayed however. The Train Superstar slowly started to lose prestige. The AC Chaircars became 2, then none. The superb pantry car that served a delectable fare was chopped off and now this once mighty train was reduced to a minor sideact in the cinema.

Good Days were round the corner however. The mega lockdown which was imposed on our country, to beat the spread of Covid-19, brought the mammoth Indian Railway network to a screeching! Unprecedented! Who would have thought that this gigantic network which connects people, would take a long well deserved break. Slowly and gradually, trains began to run on the network, albeit, not in the way we know them. 12639/12640 became 06079/06080, Chamundi Express became a MEMU, Coromandel Express lost its iconic 12841/42 number to name a few.

The biggest welcome surprise was the introduction of 2 AC Chair Car coaches and a pantry on our superstar. She was ready to regain her glory days. Passengers who have enjoyed nary a plate of Idli Vada, Dosai, Poli, Vadai(Medu and Masala), Kaapi would get the chance to do so again. A few months later, there was even better news. Brindavan would get those lovely LHB rakes!! Huzzah!!

This worked out perfectly with my plans!! I had made an emergency trip to Chennai on 30 April on board the Sleep Killer 8 Mail and now had to make my way back to Bengaluru and what better train than the restored to glory Brindavan Express! And I would travel within the first week of it getting LHB and on Aug 15 2021, thereby keeping up with my tradition of traveling on Aug 15 every odd numbered year. Aug 15 2017, it was a trip to Rajahmundry , 2019 it was on board a swanky Ambari bus to Bangalore and in 2021, it was on a swanky new coach to Bengaluru, and after nearly 28 years, I would be traveling on it end to end from Chennai to Bengaluru!

Things appeared to go well for me that day! The auto anna came promptly to my aunts apartment, and as I left home, the south bound Tejas rushed past bidding me goodbye too! A quick hop to Central and a mandatory pic later, I made my way to the old platform. A station that has welcomed countless Gora Sahebs here as they came down south to their Madras Presidency on board trains like Beypore Mail, GT, Howrah Mail now seeing plenty of people arriving to seek their fortunes in this lovely city that so beautifully marries tradition and technology.

Anyway, back to matter on hand, the old platforms had the usual oldies like TN, GT who had made their way from the North and were waiting to head back to the pitline for a much deserved rest and care. Brindavan meanwhile was to come on Platform 11 whilst the pretender Double Decker who would be right ahead of us was on 2. Was the newbie seemingly snubbing her older counterpart? Anyway, as I entered the platform, the morning superstar to Kongunadu, Kovai Express was moving out, showcasing her new rake as she slowly crawled out.

Now, I had well over an hour to kill, so what do I do? Promptly walk to the overrated A2B stall for a fresh cup of strong filter kaapi to begin the day. A capsule dose of kaapi done, the wait begins for my rake. Time slowly passed by and with 30 min to go for departure, I hear the chug of a diesel. Surely thats my train coming in from the yard!

Indeed it was. Led by those Tondiarpet Thondans, Brindavan was brought in to PF 11, I began the mandatory inspection of the coaches from outside and hopefully glimpse at the white stallion that would pull us from Chennai to Bengaluru. As I trudged up the platform , I made a quick note of the coaches. All 2021 make, fresh from ICF. Most importantly, the red Pantry car stood out, thankfully not like a sore thumb. On PF 9, the King of the Howrah line awaited. He still had the old non LHB coaches but still in his prime as far as exterior maintenance went. The old stallion WAP 4 from Erode was all set to show his power till Visakhapatnam.

As I waited for my loco to arrive, a white beast showed up, negotiating the points slowly. It was the night runner from Coimbatore, the Cheran Express. There was still no sign of my loco , and thus began the long walk back to my coach C1 which was right at the end! The moment I stepped inside the coach, I got a friendly reminder of peak Chennai summer, in stark contrast to the weather outside! The generator was not on and without the loco, it was a veritable Spa inside. Thankfully at 0730, the loco was coupled up and the AC was cranked up to full blast.

At sharp 0740, we got the starter and the guard blew his whistle, and waved the flag. With a tiny jerk, we were off. Slowly negotiating the points, we made our way to the mainline and as we were passing the coach care center, I saw a familiar train entering the pits. It was the Kaveri Express!! A parallel run ensured. Once we crossed Basin Bridge, the LP gunned it! Notching up to MPS, we began quickly skipping the stations. Perambur, Villivakkam, Annanur, Avadi, Tiruvalangadu were all skipped at MPS and at this point, breakfast was coming in.

I opted for a plate of Podi Idlis. Soft, Fluffy and coated with a generous amount of podi. 5 pieces for 50 rupees . Paisa Vasool? Absolutely. By now, we were put on the suburban line after Tiruvallur, but that did not make any difference to me. I was busy chomping down the idlis. As we neared Puliyamangalam, I had completed the idlis and picked up a cup of steaming hot coffee and went to the door, to see if I can spot a WAM 4 or a WAP 1 at the Arakkonam Shed. No such luck, as there was a sea of WAP 4s undergoing some works before they hit the tracks again.

Arakkonam done and dusted, and we hit the mainline towards Bangalore, while I fondly thought of the trip in July 2019 I had made to Kanchipuram. As my Kacheguda Express deviated towards the Renigunta line, the Bangalore Shatabdi zoomed past towards the Silicon Valley. My reverie was disturbed by the vendors selling vadai. Now, which vadai do I choose? The crispy Medu vadai or the crunchy Masala vadai? Now, I prefer my Medu Vadai in the typical Bangalore style of Sambar Dip. Anything less than that is sacrilege to me (Hotels in other parts - note this. Sambar Dip is to be given for free. Not charged 10 rupees extra), and our resident platelist, Sridhar Joshi sir had traveled on the very same "Fast Passenger" the previous day and he recommended the Masala Vada. (Do you still consider Brinda a Fast Passenger now sir?)

The masala vada was excellent and I could get the feel of the Old Brinda back. Walajah, Sholinghur all added after the Passengerization of this once glorious train were skipped and we rushed past VIT, signalling entry into Katpadi. Another fresh cup of coffee purchased from the platform vendor, and we sped out of Katpadi. The line to my mothers hometown of Vellore went past us and we were heading to the Leather towns of Vaniambadi and Ambur. Quick halts at both places and another plate of vadai and coffee done, we reached the midpoint, Jolarpettai junction well before time. And it was time to stretch my legs and hopped out of the train. The guard was also out, enjoying some fresh air. Casual plesantries exchanged. It was time for us to leave. The train made a slow exit, turning right, ready to begin the climb in the hills.

As we steadily climbed the hills, I busied myself with what I do best. Buy another plate of food and stuff myself with it. This time, the national dish of Indian Railways - The Cutlets. The Railway cutlets are one dish that remains the same in consistency whether you are in any zone. Cutlets polished off and another cup of coffee washed down, we reached the little town of Kuppam. Now, Kuppam may seem a nondescript wayside station in the Rail Network, but this town is a superstar as far the electoral demographics go for the state of Andhra Pradesh. Google who is the incumbent MLA for this constituency!!

Anyway, we were held up at Kuppam for a long time, due to ACP and soon after we left, I began wondering if the legendary polis that was a superstar in the heydays of Brinda would make an appearance. As we entered the gateway to the KGF, Bangarpete aka Bowringpet the delicious polis came in. I promptly bought a plate and started savouring the taste. Just the right amount of sweet, hot and fresh. As a certain food blogger would make that trademark review sound of his "Hmmmmm...", I too went "Hmmmmm..", licking my lips. As we left Bangarpete, we were now almost closing in on the suburbs of Bengaluru and within no time at all, we had pulled into Whitefield. The new rakes of Karnataka Sampark Kranti was stabled there, ready to be pressed into service. The now mandatory halt of KJM done, Metro work progressing well, we steadily chipped away the stations towards Bengaluru.

As we made a brief halt at Bengaluru and screeched our way into Platform 1, the pretender was lying lonely and forlorn in Platform 6, away from the limelight and into the shadows. Whilst the Queen loudly announced her arrival, seemingly telling the newbie "You may have Platform 2 at Chennai, but in Bengaluru, Platform 1 is mine only"!

Thanks for joining me in the travel folks!!