My Train Journeys in 50's and 60's
My childhood was spent in Bareilly in North, far away from Shimoga, in Karnataka and Parvatipuram in Andhra where my grandparents lived. So travelling southwards during our school vacations in summer was an annual ritual which we keenly looked forward to. Travel was invariably by Indian Railways. Bus or air travel was ruled out due to the distances and the cost factor. Of course, in my case we could avail of free travel by Indian Railways since my father was a medical officer in the Railways. It used to be rather a long journey. Our schedule of typical journey by Rail from Bareilly (UP) to Shimoga (then Mysore State) used to be like this:- Day 1- Start from Bareilly in the night. Day 2 Reach Delhi the next morning. Take train to Chennai (then Madras) in the evening called Grand Trunk Express. Day 3- Spent in the train. Meals usually from Railway Catering Day 4 - Reach Madras in the Evening. Take Bangalore Mail in the night. Day 5- Reach Ban