Staying a Night at Nagpur Railway Station! An Incredible Journey of a mother 2

It is the second part of the travelogue of a journey I accompanied with my son to Delhi via Hyderabad via Mysore. In the first part (kindly click here to read the first part: (An Incredible Journey of a Mother to the Heart of India), I was telling what happened to the ticket and why we booked the ticket first to Nagpur. When the train paused in Nagpur, the sun had already sunk in the Arabian Sea. The strange and fearful atmosphere stared at me. I could not realize anything, everywhere an alien language script laughed at me, strange people gazed and the whole railway system threatened me. My son was in a deep silent but he was pretending that a smile was there on his face always. I got down in to the platform with praising Allah. We travelled the half way to Delhi.

Nagpur, a land of Orange! The story of Nagpur also related to Delhi, Delhi sultanate and of course, Hyderabad Nizams.  Bhakt Buland initiated Nagpur city after he visited Delhi in the early 18th century and declared it as his capital. He was the Gond prince of the kingdom of Deogad in the Chhindwara district.  His successor Chand Sultan continued the work. As happened everywhere after the Chand Sultan in 1739, the princes fought each other for the throne and Raghuji Bhonsle, the Maratha governor of Berar, helped to restore the elder son to the throne. Raghuji Bhonsle camped there and intervened in 1743, and the control of Nagpur slowly passed on from the Gonds to the Marathas. 

It became the capital of the Bhonsles. With the Bhonsle dynasty came the vast class of cultivators in Vidarbha. Raghuji's successors lost some territories to the Peshwas of Pune and the Nizam of Hyderabad. In 1803, Bhonsles (along with their allies Scindias [Shinde] of Gwalior) at Assaye and Argaon (Argaum). In 1811 Pindaris attacked Nagpur. Bhonsles again lost to the British in 1817 and Nagpur came under British influence. In 1853 Raghuji III died without an heir to his kingdom. As a result, the city lapsed into British control under Lord Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse. In 1861, Nagpur became the capital of the Central Provinces. The advent of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIP) in 1867 spurred its development as a trade centre. After Indian independence, Nagpur became the capital of Madhya Bharat state (C.P. and Berar). In 1960, the marathi majority Vidarbha region was merged with the new state of Maharashtra and Nagpur was designated the second capital of Maharashtra state, alternating with Bombay as the seat of the Maharashtra state legislature.

However, my mind was troubling with the image of Nagpur I was getting from the newspaper reports that it is the head office of some extremist organizations. I was compelled to stay there a night! I did not know where my hotel room was booked. When I asked the room, his smiling turned a big laugh and it took two minutes to slow down, when he finished laughing, in a very low voice, he said, ‘we are luck, today we booked a huge room  with 24 hours electricity’. Therefore, I was happy, but scared, if I stayed that big room, the amount must be very high. . After few minutes, he turned me again and said,

‘Mom! Don’t be worry if say anything’

No. Not at all.

‘That huge room I booked is here, with these people!’

He pointed to the sleeper class waiting room.

The room was clean, the cleanest place I have ever seen. However, a huge number of people have already booked each place in that ‘huge room’ with 24-hour electricity.  A man was sitting before the room with a register to check whether we were upper class ticket owners. Moreover, outside of the room, there were flood of people staying here and there.

‘Now, we need to keep our luggage in the clock room’, saying this, he went in searching of a clock room.  The security was very strict, they checked the luggage carefully and gave us token and we kept the luggage in the clock room. When the heavy luggage from our shoulder removed, we felt very relieved without any burden.  ‘Now we can have something for dinner’.  We went outside. There the crowd was moving aimlessly as if they were paral fish in a stream. Everywhere people packed largely. I was thinking about myself, ‘A woman who came from a faraway place, here in a very strange place with her tongue tightened and feet trembling. Her only proof to believe she is in a Hindi speaking belt was her hand grabbing her son’s hand’! That thought tightened my hold his hand further. When he felt it, he turned and asked,

What happened?

Nothing’ I was thinking a story I learnt in school in my fourth standard about four poor animal friends’

‘Which story?’

‘Four animals, a cow, a mouse, a deer and tortoise, they were good friends, but all were very much dependents each other, they did not want to miss anybody, and being helpless and small animals they were scared about everything’

‘I know that story but why you think the story this time?’

‘Missing is painful’

‘Don’t worry, mom!, you know there are millions of people live in our India, and we are just two drops in this great ocean, I will stay with you always, and there is no question of missing. Hey mom, he is selling oranges, so we can have some oranges from him’

We did not think about the price of orange, because there is saying that if you want to eat apple from Kashmir, do not go to the shop but go to an apple tree and collect scattered apples underneath the tree. 

We went and asked that man the price of orange, the price was double of what I usually got from any shop in Kondotty! ‘What a world!’

We saw a restaurant there. When I saw the menu, I whispered in his ears,

‘Choru kittumo?, (Can I have rice?)

However, my sound was little high, then all people seemed to stare at me, I was afraid and looked at my son’s face.

He smiled and explained me.

Mom! You know we are far far away from our land, nothing will help us now here, our culture, food, language, dress, bed, house, nothing’

I agreed, ya, my dress has changed, look! I have never worn a churidaar for past many many years in my life, but now my dress is churidaar, my Malayalam, my house, everything I had given up in Kerala!

‘Therefore, when we were what we were not, then all our meaningful words will produce some other meaningful words’

He looked as if a philosophy teacher and I could not understand his words.

‘You know the word; choru in Hindi means thief, that’s why the hotel cashier looked at us! You might know the story of two Malyalees who went to a hotel in Delhi’

‘No, I don’t know’

Once Two Malayalees went to Delhi to participate in a party conference. When they were hungry, they went to a restaurant as we did now. They ordered two plates of poratta, and they did not get curry for sometimes, so one of the person shouted, chaar (curry in Malayalam), then the next moment, the waiter brought him four poratta, when seeing this, the other guy signed and said loudly, ‘che!’ (a sighing sound). The waiter again came with six poratta, when they got six more poratta, one friend, lost his temper and clamoured to the other friend, ‘Kazhutha! ivianeyokke ivideunnu aaattanam’  (Donkey! He should be ousted out from here) this time, with their surprise the waiter came with eight poratta! Again the other Malayalee was about to say something, then the other guy, pressed his mouth with his full force and said, don’t say anything, if you say any word, the waiter will bring you more and more poratta..’

I enjoyed that joke and kept in silent. He ordered something, and then I realized I was losing even my rice for at least two weeks.  The food was nice and tasty. Night was darkening more and more, and I saw more people were coming to get a space in each corner of the street, we walked back to the station, station was packed with the people, and anyhow I got a seat to sit there. Everywhere people spread their cloths and started to sleep. he asked me what I usually pray before going to sleep, I briefed up the prayers I usually do before going to the sleep, then he said to add one more thing to the prayer,

‘What?’

‘To not come TTR or checker to the station’

‘But, why we already have the tickets?

‘We have the ticket, but we are not allowed to enter the platform before four hours of the journey, our journey starts at 9.30 tomorrow morning!’, 

he continued, but don’t worry, our journey is not any ordinary trip, we are going to know the pulse of India, so everything should be welcomed in the journey. Each event will be an added experience in our journey. This journey is not for any destination, but it it’s destination is wherever we are led’

I looked at the people, they are very happy, and everybody has dreams, hopes, happy, so I also should be part of the sleeping mass beside me’ when a lot of thoughts flooded in mind, sleep visited my eyes gradually.

(English translation of a travelogue written by Maimoona Rahman KP )

In Memory of ‘the Brightest Night of the Year’

Now I am writing about the brightest night of the year (der Klügsten Nacht des Jahres), which is a whole night devoted for science and, of course, for arts in Berlin and Potsdam. The programme begins late at night and goes without ending until dawn! That day different universities and institutes come together to show what miracles they have in their hands. For the twelfth time scientific institutions in Berlin and Potsdam together organized the "Brightest Night of the Year", in which a total of 73 universities, colleges, research institutes and technology-oriented companies opened its doors in June 2012. The comprehensive program included an almost endless range of topics. There were also events for urban development, economy, social issues and much more. Embarked on a journey of discovery through the scientific community, where one could experience firsthand what being researched in these two regions.

Small researchers had in the numerous activities for kids get a first impression. This year's theme of the night of science was, a "fireworks in the brain." This was an incentive program and at the same time, this year's Long Night offered a firework of ideas and knowledge, and we enjoyed the "brightest night of the year." The idea was wonderful!

A full day to celebrate! A celebration which directly pierces to our brain and mind. The first day we reached the university, Prof. Dirk Wiemann asked us to participate in a seminar presentation he would do in this day. The topic was interesting; it was about the Indian graphic novels. I have not read any graphic novel before, but ya, definitely I did read all most all amarchitrakatha published in Malayalam.

It was a very cold day; even our bones broke with the chilling climate!  I could opt to either wear my usual red coloured sweater or wear a blue coloured t-shirt and show the people our team jersey. Actually, the t-shirt and the badge were two marks to recognize us when we were in the presentation room. 

We went to Golm campus early morning, and we saw there were a long queue and a ticket counter. When we knew, the ticket price was 13 euro (Rs.910!) we thought to drop the plan to go in and we  decided to participate in the seminar in which we were a part. We went to the gate to ask about the programme, and we saw a very few students wore the same blue coloured t-shirts and badges. Moreover, they smiled at us. The security before the gate greeted us. We were thinking some magic of the shirt. We went to a door, where a blue coloured t-shirt dressed woman kept just before it to check the ticket. We pretended to ask something, but she smiled and greeted us. We entered the hall. Then we realized the badge was an entry ticket which permitted us to see the entire programme.

The first door led us to a chemistry experiment hall.  People thought we were science students; they were creating different substances and making experiments. I suddenly remembered my Pre-Degree Classroom. I was scared all the acids and experiments. (That is why I ended up in an art subject for my Degree!) For my final exam, there was a question to recognize some acids; I think, it was phenyl acid. The only thing I knew about that acid was that phenyl burns our skin. Therefore, instead of making any experiment, I poured two drops of phenyl into my palm using a scale, nothing happened, so I confirmed that it was carbohydrate or some other stuff, and started to answer it. I completely forgot the scale, which I used to take the acid. When my exam passed the first hour, accidently I put my hand on the scale, I heard a shii sound and smelled a burning skin. My left hand made a black mark of burning acid, the neighbouring girl was shocked, and she was about to faint but I winked at her and said, it is ok, I got seven marks freely, I corrected the answer and thanked the phenol for giving me a mark on my left hand a 7 marks in my paper.

When the research scholars realized we were not science students, they said that all were for children, and there were already a bunch of school-going children surrounded them.

‘Could we participate in your experiments? Vivek asked them.

‘We are sorry; it is only for school going children’

‘Oho! But we are university-going children!’

‘Ok, then you are welcome’.

First was a DNA forming experiment from a banana. One should come forward to help the researcher to do the experiment. I was thinking all the experiments I did my Pre Degree and took two steps back. So Aparna went for it. The guy explained us how a DNA is formed from banana. He said to do different processes. To our wonder, we got a DNA in a test tube. Oho, the term test tube also forced me to remember my PDC chemistry lab, once in the lab, with my hand, I broke the tip of a pipette (burette?), that day  just got over.  However, when I went there to get my transfer certificate I got a due certificate of breaking the tip of the pipette, it was some 350 rupees!)

After the experiment, they presented that DNA as a gift  for completing the job successfully. Next was an experiment to create thermo-coal-balls. This time Vivek was ready to be the scientists, it seemed he also was thinking his +2 science class. It took too much time to complete the process. At last, he also got the gift. The least dangerous experiments were blowing a balloon with ice. This ice was very different. It became the evaporated stage directly from ice without a liquid stage! They filled the balloon with this ice, and the balloon, then started to puff with air. That was amazing. I got that balloon as a gift! We came out from the chemistry laboratory. 

Then it was the time of music. We heard a very beautiful music from the courtyard of the Golm campus.

Our presentation time was around 10 pm at night. We were asked to read four graphic novels, these were:

Delhi Calm by Vishwajyothi Ghosh. This is a picturesque description of what happened in Delhi (India) during Emergency. It explains the whole issue through a journalist’s eye. I am sure it will please those who witnessed the sleepless nights of Emergency and those who know the short cut routs of Delhi.

Tinker. Solder. Tap by Bhagwati Prasad and Amitab Kumar. It is a very sataristic story of how piracy is well worked in India. The transformation of film piracy through Cassettes to DVD is simply described in the book. Again, it explains the India’s big piracy market, Palika Bazar. As the authors know that, any of the creative products is not free from piracy in India in this globalized time, so they have given the permission to ‘pirate’ the book. It is available in this website, www. sarai.net. In the cover page, the authors have written: ‘Any part of this book maybe reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the publishers for educational and non-commercial use’.

 

Indian by Choice by Amit Dasgupta. This is specially written for NRI citizen who live in hi-fi metro cities. It is a journey of a Punjabi rooted Manddep Singh who thinks India as a very unproductive, densely populated, uncivilized country, but his visit to India for a marriage function changes all his notions on India and its people.  When Mandeep feels India after a tour to different places of India, he starts to love India.

LIE: A Traditional Tale of Modern India by Gautam Bhatia. It is a very satirical and strongly criticise today’s politics. Among all these four novels I like reading of this graphic novel most.

In his presentation, Prof. Wiemann was focussing the reproduction of mythical past of India through the amarchitrakatha. The amarchitrakatha started and developed using the mythical stories and it generated a golden past notion of ancient India.