The Pink City Express

Art gang- Faiz Sundar Late Hazari

Post summer back at ISM we got into the famed Old Hostel. A magnificent brick coloured building. Blocks with quadrangles, high ceilings, colonial style construction, proximate to Mess and Ramdhani chai dukaan. Two to a room, I had Atul Tyagi as my room mate. Jungle book had come that time and Atul was our fond Col Haati, He could rally forces was passionate and outspoken. I had decided to learn violin under Guru Balaganesa Iyer at Coimbatore, would pick lessons when home for holidays and Atul bore the brunt of the cacophony every day as I practised violin but graciously encouraged. Atul was from Meerut but his parents were in Mughalsarai and would frequent them and return with goodies the most anticipated were the home made ladoos. 

The routine of classes and games continued. I kept trying my bit to get into the cricket team which had a long waiting list as the senior batches had excellent cricketers. Both Faiz and I were leg spinners but Faiz was much better and the only reason I guess I got into the sixteen was because I could also field well.

2nd year I guess made me explore arts. Faiz, late Pabitra Hazari and I would team up often to manage decoration for the festivals. The common room got a colour television where Friday evening Hot tracks and the world this week were a rage. It was this year that I got initiated to playing drums by Vijayan and would join the music group led by Chandan Pathak, Kujur and Sanjay Sreenivasan. I was probably the only one who participated in classical, Hindi, regional and western genres in competitions. Ek duje ke liye was a hit and I think I never got pronouncing Bandhan right in the song Therey Mere beech mein, but it entertained many.

Picnic at Maithon

Also got inducted to managing the mess in turns and managing the cook Manik and trying to teach him to make some south Indian dishes was fun. But Atul got great comic relief when I would in my still broken Hindi and his Bengali reply question him on mess expenses and reprimand him. We used to have a annual mess picnic and the one to Maithon Dam was fun.

Vijayan also from TN and a few years senior had asked me to check the TN govt's DOTE ( Directorate of Technical Education) for scholarship and surely so there were 2 scholarships sponsored by DOTE @ 175/- per month and what a luxury it was given the monthly expenses ran for about 250-300. Then there were the local guardians. Sanjiv our batchmate was a day scholar and lived in Sail colony and periodically would have us home for that ka khana and would indulge me with a call home. There were no

PCOs then and this was a luxury as the only other option was to manage a incoming call at the school Tel exchange by making the operator call out first. Prof. Chabbra, known to my cousin Kumar was my official local guardian and I was tasked to teach his daughter maths which she loathed. At the end of class there was always Punjabi delicacies to feast. And Unnis local Guardian was from Palghat and we would enjoy South Indian meals once a quarter at his place. 

Training Cert HZL Zawar

At the end of year 2 we were to go for a underground metal mine and we chose Hindustan Zinc's Zawar mines near Udaipur. Sanjiv, Unni, Navnit and Sanjeev landed there and we had a strict manager who put us through the grind. It was scorching heat and the walk back to the dorm at 2 in peak heat was a feat. Home remedies of Sattu was available. One of the days when underground, the power went out and we climbed up some ~1000 feet or so- don't exactly remember but is the longest vertical climb I've ever done by stairs wearing miners boots, with a helmet and headlamp. 

Sam Unni Sanjeev Sundar @ Jaigarh cannon

We got into the managers good books and got a weekend break to go to Mount Abu. From udaipur to Abu while taxi was an option but shoe string budgets made the group take a rattling overnight bus journey, but all that was worth it to see the Dilwara temple and mount Abu with its lake, great food and sunset- a pleasant break in summer. Then on the way back was a tourist trip in peak summer where we saw Udaipur, Chittaurgarh & Jaipur. Had to buy tickets in black to see Sharaabi in the famous  Rajvilas - theatre of the Royals in Jaipur. After all that took the Pink City Express to Delhi and as students, no reservations and paid porters to get us seats in the u reserved coach. To our dismay once the train started the TTE arrived  to say the entire train is only for reserved travel and we were in some luggage/ vendor coach and had to cough up fine and get off loaded in the next stop or be in RPF detention. We coughed up got thrown out at next stop and then tottered to Delhi in another passenger train. The pink city journey can never be forgotten as we literally got taken for a ride and were care of platform in the middle of the night.The biggest saving grace in the entire trip was Western Railways. One had heard of it being the best run division then and it turned out to be so as the stations and facilities were maintained and accessible for us students.

Sanjeev Unni Sundar at the Taj

The tourist in us still made us take a morning to midnight trip to Mathura, Agra , Fatehpur Sikri etc. In peak May heat in a non AC coach. Looking back wonder if we will do it ever again. The summer internship required by the system and coupled with a tour of Rajasthan was great experience. Another unique aspect of these internships was that in most places the managers were Alumni of the institute and while they can at times get serious / strict they also hosted and entertained us as students - most often with a dinner at home, extended the entry to officers clubs in these places that made the hardships palatable.