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My travels by First Class on Indian Railways

When I caught the train I had missed.

Year – 1983. I had a confirmed reservation from Delhi Jn to Kiratpur by Himachal Express, departing Delhi at 8.40 pm. I was caught in a traffic jam close to the train station, which meant that I was a minute late for my train. I could see the tail lamp of the Himachal Express going away from me as I was climbing down the stairs to the platform!

As my good luck would have it, Delhi – Jammu Mail was to depart soon from an adjacent platform. I got in the first-class coach and stood near the door with my luggage. When the train ticket examiner (TTE) asked, I explained my situation to him. He asked me to take an upper berth and assured me that he would wake me up at Ambala Junction.

He did. I got down at Ambala at about 2.30 am and had a cup of hot tea on the platform. Presently, ‘my’ Himachal Express (which I had missed at Delhi) arrived from the Saharanpur side. As I boarded ‘my’ first-class coach, the TTE enquired, “where have you been all this while?”

He laughed aloud when I shared my story, and said, “this is unbelievable!”

As a rail enthusiast, I knew that Himachal Express took the longer Delhi – Ghaziabad – Saharanpur – Ambala route, while the Jammu Mail took the direct Delhi – Panipat – Ambala route, thus reaching Ambala much quicker. Being diesel-hauled, Jammu Mail was also faster than the steam-hauled Himachal Express.

Of course, all this was possible thanks to the kind-hearted TTE on Jammu Mail, who allowed me to travel without an appropriate ticket, and without imposing any penalties on me!

Looking back, I consider myself lucky that I got many opportunities to travel by first class on Indian Railways. Sadly, one cannot enjoy this experience any more.

I am speaking about the non-airconditioned first-class. With the advent and popularity of air-conditioned travel, the only non-airconditioned first-class travel I can undertake now is on Mumbai suburban EMU locals.

Early travels

I recall my first journey by first-class was in late 1960s, when my dad got promoted from the rank of Sergeant to Flight Sergeant in the Indian Air Force. One of the perks of this new rank was to be able to use first class during our annual holiday travel – from dad’s base station to Itarsi and Nagpur, my grandparents’ places. The ‘services’ allow totally free travel, once every year.

Our initial trips were from New Delhi to Itarsi / Nagpur by 16 Up Grand Trunk Express going south, and 57 Down Pathankot Express (Dadar – Amritsar Express) on the return from Itarsi to New Delhi. I was fascinated by things such as the metallic 3-position regulator-cum-switch for the fans in the compartment, the blue night-light, the intermediate ‘stoppers’ for the two sets of windows – the outer metallic window and the inner glass window. I vividly recall the oblong IR logo on the rexine of the broad berths, the folding table and the mirror in every compartment. The back rest would drop down to become a very broad and spacious berth. Sometimes it was a 4-berth ‘cabin’, while sometimes it would be a 2-berth ‘coupe’. An attendant in the first-class coach took care of passengers’ need, such as ordering meals.  He had an ‘attendant seat’ near the door.

We had to carry our own bedding though, which wasn’t too much during our summer holiday travels. During these years, Grand Trunk Express had already been ‘dieselized’ while the ‘Pathankot Express’ operated with steam loco between Itarsi and Delhi.

Meter Gauge first class

Dad’s next posting was at Jodhpur, after which he was transferred to Bareilly. This move presented me with my first opportunity of travelling by first-class on a meter gauge train. We took the Jodhpur – Delhi Mail, departing Jodhpur at mid-day, arriving at Delhi Jn (old Delhi) the next morning, all behind a steam locomotive.

The travels from Bareilly to Itarsi and Nagpur between December 1970 and May 1974 offered me many different opportunities to travel by first class, by both meter and broad gauge. We would always take the Kathgodam – Agra Fort Kumaon Express from Bareilly to Mathura, where we would change to Firozpur – Bombay Punjab Mail. The detail of one such journey is captured in my piece “A journey by Indian Railways in 1972”. This was one of the only two occasions when I experienced the classic non-corridor wooden construction first class coach.

Our next IAF station was Gandhinagar, which in 1974 was the newly formed capital of Gujarat state. All our travels used Ahmedabad station (not Gandhinagar Capital). An Indian Air Force truck would come from Gandhinagar to Ahmedabad every afternoon, and return at 8 pm, after the arrival of the meter gauge Delhi Ahmedabad Mail.

To reach Ahmedabad from Itarsi at the end of the summer vacation, I recall taking the 58 Up Amritsar – Dadar Express from Itarsi to Bhusawal, then change to a Bhusawal – Surat Passenger which brought us to Surat before sunrise the next morning. We then took the Gujarat Queen (Express) from Surat to Ahmedabad, leaving Surat at about 5.30 am. It was a conventional corridor-type first-class coach. We were the only occupants of a 4-berth compartment as the train headed north.

What I remember most was the silent acceleration of our train, thanks to a WAM4B electric loco leading our train (the Valsad-Ahmedabad section had been electrified recently). I also remember sighting mango trees laden with so much fruit that one could easily reach the fruit without climbing the tree. The other aspect which struck me was that each level crossing had a frame on either side of the tracks – something I had not seen on IR till then – as I had never travelled on an electrified section till then! These frames protect any tall vehicles from the live electric catenary wire, and vice-versa.

On a separate occasion, I have travelled between Baroda and Ahmedabad by Gujarat Queen, when we were in a first-class Chair Car, which used to run between Baroda and Ahmedabad, and attached to the very rear of the train at Baroda for the north-bound run.

Variety:

The summer vacation journeys from Ahmedabad to Itarsi were interesting. We took the then new 165 Down Sabarmati Express from Ahmedabad to Bhopal, and then either the Grand Trunk (if we reached Bhopal on time) or the Dakshin Express to Itarsi. I call it ‘interesting’ because:

  • part 1 – Ahmedabad to Baroda was a fast 2 hour run behind an electric loco (2 pm to 4 pm)
  • part 2 – Baroda to Bhopal was a very slow ‘passenger’ run behind a steam loco (4 pm to 6 am)
  • part 3 – Bhopal to Itarsi was another fast run behind a WDM2 diesel locomotive!

Through and Sectional carriage service:

It was while we were at Gandhinagar that I got the opportunity to experience another unique aspect of Indian Railways – through and sectional carriage service, also called a ‘slip coach’.

We were travelling from Nagpur to Ahmedabad, and there was no direct connection on the day we wanted. (134 Up Howrah – Ahmedabad Express was a twice-weekly service then). So, we reserved our journey by the Howrah – Viramgam slip coaches. I still recall the very fast run of 2 Up Howrah – Bombay Mail behind a WDM2 diesel between Nagpur and Bhusawal. At Bhusawal, our first-class coach and another 3-tier sleeper coach were attached to a Bhusawal – Surat passenger, which made the overnight journey on the single line section behind a steam loco. At Surat, our slip coaches were then attached to Saurashtra Express – headed by an electric loco – which eventually deposited us at about 8 pm at Ahmedabad, where we got down. (the slip coaches would continue their travel by the same train to Viramgam).

During my stay at Bhopal (1977-82) for my engineering studies, I noticed that the newer versions of the first-class coach had windows which were significantly wider than before. The Grand Trunk express was one of the first trains where I saw these coaches, which certainly looked better than the older square-windowed coaches.

During these Uni years, I was fortunate enough to experience another incredible journey by first class. My parents and I travelled from Suratgarh to Howrah, owing to my dad’s transfer to IAF station, Barrackpore.

The first part was completed using Suratgarh – Delhi ‘slip coaches’, which were attached to Chandigarh Express from Suratgarh till Bhatinda, from where Firozpur – Bombay Punjab Mail carried them overnight to Delhi Jn., with an early morning arrival at Delhi.

Our next train was 12 Up Delhi – Howrah Express, which took 2 nights and a day for the journey. After doing steam between Suratgarh and Bhatinda, and diesel between Bhatinda and Delhi, it was now the turn of a venerable WAM1 AC electric locomotive to carry us up to Mughalserai.

We were fortunate enough to get a non-corridor 4-berth coach on this train, and the 4th berth was vacant all the way. These non-corridor coaches were extremely spacious and comfortable. They had doors opening on both sides – directly on to platform (i.e. no corridor) and a private shower & toilet facility, which occupied the entire width of the coach. It was like a private room for a family.

This was also my longest journey under electric traction till then.

After leaving Delhi at about 10 pm, I remember an early morning arrival at Kanpur, then an impressive Allahabad mid-morning, a tasteless meal served at Mirzapur, before arriving at a non-impressive Mughalserai station (the goods yard is huge and impressive). From here, a diesel loco hauled us on the ‘Main line’ – with Patna arrival at about 9 pm, to finally reach Howrah on the 3rd morning at about 8 am.

The famous Kalka Mail, which left Delhi at 8 am (10 hours after us) overtook us between Burdwan and Howrah. However, we were not in a hurry, and this journey provided a unique end-to-end luxurious travel experience by the non-corridor first-class coach, my 2nd and last such journey.

This one journey had so much variety – 2 types of first-class coaches, 3 types of traction (steam, diesel and electric), an end-to-end travel between two metro cities and a slip-coach service between a small border town and the national capital.

When my dad retired, we enjoyed one last first-class journey together as a family on IAF expense – from Howrah to Itarsi by 3 Up Bombay Mail via Allahabad.

My journeys with Indian Railways on first class continued after I started my first job at Bombay. The reasons were:

  • My work role did require me to travel all over India.
  • IR still operated first class on many trains.
  • AC2T (2-tier airconditioned sleeper) coaches had started operating, but not AC3T (3-tier airconditioned sleeper) yet – in 1982.

One journey, two classes

One of the interesting experiences for me was a journey in 1983 from Bombay to Bangalore, well before Udyan Express provided a daily connection between two cities. The first leg of the journey was by the Bombay – Kolhapur Mahalaxmi express by AC2T, which deposited me at Miraj junction early the next morning. Upon alighting at Miraj, we were asked to board the first-class carriage of the connecting Miraj – Bangalore express, which stood across the platform on meter gauge tracks. This train – the meter gauge Mahalaxmi express – was steam-hauled all the way to Bangalore, arriving at about 10.30 pm that night. This journey was a unique example of one ticket and one reservation, but spread across two travel classes on two trains operating on two different gauges – but with one name!

Bed rolls:

In late 1980s, I recall taking the 5 Down Bombay – Firozpur Punjab Mail from Bombay VT to Itarsi. Back then, the departure time of this train was 4.30 pm, arriving at Itarsi at 5.30 am the next morning. While making the reservation, we had requested for bed-rolls, due to this journey being in winter. They cost Rupees 5 each, and we had paid the charges while making our travel reservations.

As we approached our coach at VT station, a railway staff member was waiting for us near the coach with our bed rolls. This is the only time I remember using this wonderful facility extended by Indian Railways for the benefit of travellers, which allowed them to travel light.

I finish this writeup with another memorable first-class journey.

A colleague and I were travelling to Ballarshah from Bombay. We took the 29 Down Bombay Howrah express to Wardha East, where we changed trains to 16 Up Grand Trunk express. Before retiring to bed after leaving VT at 9.30 pm, we had ordered 2 breakfast servings for each one of us – one vegetarian (cutlets and toast) and one ‘non-vegetarian’ (omelette and toast) – because we were unsure whether we will have an opportunity for lunch.

Our breakfast was served when the train arrived at Akola, in what is one of the most pleasantly memorable ways I can remember. It wasn’t an aluminum foil / casserole type of service. Each breakfast was elegantly set up in individual stainless steel ‘thaalis’ (large circular dishes), with the food served on brilliant white porcelain plates, together with shiny stainless cutlery. All this was covered with clean and elegant  white doily with beautiful lace pattern, and beads around its rim.

The tea was served in the ‘English-style’ with the black brew in a tea-pot covered with a nice ‘Tea-cozy’, accompanied by milk in a cute little beaker, and sugar in a covered bowl. All this crockery, and the cup-saucers were of superb white porcelain, which was a hallmark of Indian Railways’ catering services in those days.

We watched in awe and delight as the bearer at Akola presented our four breakfasts and the two tea-sets. We first relished the entire set-up with our eyes, before enjoying the delicious hot breakfast items to our total satisfaction. If there is one breakfast service on Indian Railways which is unforgettable, it is this service on the 29 Down at Akola by Central Railways’ departmental catering unit.

I wonder if it is a blessing in disguise that we didn’t have cameras of any kind with us in those years, so all we have is these pleasant memories in our minds – which I share with you.

Photo of the First Class coach on Saurashtra Express, taken by me at Bombay Central.
Photo of the First Class coach on Saurashtra Express, taken by me at Bombay Central.
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Thank you, Star Alliance

Why would someone take an Ethiopian Airlines flight between an airport in Brazil and another in Argentina – both far away from Ethiopia, and indeed the African continent?

….

Or travel from New Zealand to Brazil via Singapore and South Africa, crossing the Indian and Atlantic oceans, when a shorter route over the Pacific was a possibility?

The reason for both these is ‘the affiliation to Star Alliance’.

Wind back to early 2000s. I would leave the choice of my flights and travel schedules to my travel agent.

As my travels increased, I gradually learnt about global airline alliances such as Star Alliance, One World, Sky Team. Each of these alliances have ‘member airlines’, and offer benefits & privileges to their frequent flyers. The most important aspect being there benefits & privileges are available across the entire alliance network, no matter which airline’s frequent flyer one might be.

This discovery led me to become a Star Alliance frequent flyer, rising gradually from an ‘ordinary member’ to silver and then gold status.

Being a gold member, for example, allowed:

  • Access to any of the 1000+ Star Alliance airport lounges worldwide – for relaxation, a meal, a shower – before or between flights.
  • Additional baggage allowance
  • Priority check-in and boarding at airports
  • Priority baggage handling, and so on.

Thanks to my travels, I have been lucky to have been a Star Alliance / Singapore Airlines Elite Gold member for over 15 years (since 2008). This privilege ended recently.

Truth be told, this should have ended when we all went into lockdown in 2020 and (my) international travel stopped. But Singapore Airlines very kindly kept extending my ‘gold’ membership annually, till June 2023. Thanks to this generosity by Singapore Airlines, I could continue to enjoy the golden benefits between 2020 and 2023, although my travels were significantly lesser than required for this level of membership.

Thanks to this Gold tier status, I have visited an enjoyed scores of Star Alliance lounges all over the world, perhaps too many to count. While it is impossible to remember each of them, some I do remember are:

  • An excellent lounge at Hongkong airport, where every single food item served was vegetarian. Totally unexpected!
  • Similarly, the impressive large lounge at Los Angeles (LAX) airport had almost everything vegetarian.
  • An excellent lounge at Buenos Aires’ EZE airport which allowed me to use the lounge from about 5 am (after arrival from Bogota) to just before midnight, when my Air New Zealand flight to Auckland was departing. I met 3 sets of lounge-crew during my day-long stay at this lounge, which served excellent food.
  • The lounges at Terminals 2 and 3 of Singapore Changi airport, which would be my ‘most-visited lounges’ overseas.

As my “golden run” comes to an end, I present some interesting aspects about my travels over the Star Alliance network.

  1. I have flown a Star Alliance flight 418 times, covering a total of 1.6 million km.
  2. Using the vast Star Alliance network, I have visited over 60 airports in 38 countries.
  3. The longest flight I have done is 12266 km long non-stop service between Buenos Aires and Istanbul airports, by Turkish Airlines.
  4. The longest journey I have taken – with intermediate stops – is between Christchurch and Sao Paulo via Auckland, Singapore and Johannesburg. This totalled 25248 km, spread over Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and South African Airways. Air New Zealand‘s Auckland – Buenos Aires service had not started back then.
  5. The other 20000+ km journeys are:
    1. Buenos Aires – Johannesburg – Singapore – Christchurch.
    1. Sao Paulo – Chicago – Vancouver – Auckland – Christchurch.
    1. Christchurch – Auckland – San Francisco – Washington Dulles – Sao Paulo.
    1. Christchurch – Singapore – Istanbul – Dushanbe.
    1. One may notice that journeys a-b-c above start and end in the southern hemisphere but are via an airport in the northern hemisphere.
  6. The 712 km flight between Bogota, Colombia and Quito, Ecuador is my shortest journey from northern to southern hemisphere. The 744 km flight between Guayaquil, Ecuador and Cali, Colombia is my shortest journey from southern to northern hemisphere.
  7. Other than Air New Zealand (195 flights, 60 of them international), the airline I have used most is Singapore Airlines – 125 flights, all international (obviously!).
  8. Christchurch – Singapore – Christchurch is my most travelled international sector with 55 flights; followed by Singapore – Mumbai – Singapore sector with 26 flights. Domestically, nothing comes close to Christchurch – Auckland sector with 82 flights.
  9. I got the opportunity to travel by 16 of Star Alliance’s member airlines – namely Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, Avianca, COPA, Ethiopian, Eva Air, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, TAM, Turkish Airlines, United, US Airways. Additionally, I have used German Wings (Lufthansa subsidiary), Silk Air (Singapore Airlines group), Virgin Australia (code share with Air New Zealand) and Vistara (TATA – Singapore Airlines joint venture).
  10. It is difficult to describe in words, but the expressions on the face of the Avianca check in agent were simply priceless – when her printer spat out these 4 boarding passes one after another. She asked me to explain to her my routing and the final destination, and then said it was the first time she was meeting a passenger travelling to New Zealand!

My run with Star Alliance has been a good one, allowing me to enjoy the many benefits of being a Star Alliance Gold member.

Thank you, Star Alliance and its member airlines for the positive experience.

Shirish Paranjape, July 2023 [E: shirishparanjape1@gmail.com]

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My memories of Delhi

Delhi 1.0 (1966-69)

My earliest memory of Indian Air Force life is from Chandni Nagar, a very small base, 60 km from Delhi and 30 km from Meerut, located in the Baghpat district in western UP.

Before getting the official IAF accommodation, we rented a place in a village just outside the Air Force station, by name “Laliyaanaa”. There was no electricity, no running tap water, no tiles in the house. It was a very basic rural dwelling. Our family vehicle was a Philips pedal-bike – my mum would sit on the back seat / carrier, while I had a “child-seat” on the front bar. I remember walking to the local farm-fields and tasting freshly made “gur / jaggery”, as well as learning the then methods of irrigation by using bullocks as the motive power to draw water from wells and distributing in the fields.

I remember the annual “Nauchandi” fair at Meerut   and have vague memories of visiting the holy towns of Haridwar and Rishikesh by bus. The places I remember visiting there include Lakshman Jhoola and a Hindu vegetarian restaurant named “Chotiwala”, which had very distinctive advertisements / banners. 

While at this base, my dad bought a Rajdoot motor cycle, a big upgrade from the pedal-bike. We would often come to Delhi on this Rajdoot, I being seated at the front – ON the petrol tank. The rail-cum-road bridge (Iron bridge / Lohe-ka-pul) at Shahdara was then the only way to cross the Yamuna river in Delhi area. We would often see a steam-hauled train on the level above us on the Yamuna Bridge, just east of Old Delhi railway station.

PC: Internet

PC. IRFCA (Harsh Vardhan)

PC. IRFCA (Harsh Vardhan)

I remember visiting the main bus station at Kashmiri Gate, and being impressed by it. It had ‘platforms’, one behind another. The current Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) was yet to be built.

The domestic airport was at Safdarjung, while Palam was used by the Indian Air Force and international flights.

In Delhi, we would visit Khaari Bawli and buy groceries such as rice, dal as well as dry fruits. A unique Delhi speciality was ‘motor-cycle rickshaws’, called phatphatias. These had a Harley Davidson engine, and operated in the old Delhi area, but could operate up to Connaught Place. Most drivers were from the Sikh community.

Delhi was not very multi-cultural back then. One of the few places to get an authentic South Indian meal in Delhi was the Madras Coffee House at Connaught Place.

PC: Internet

As part of Delhi sightseeing, I remember visiting places such as the Birla Mandir (temple), Teen Murti Bhavan, Rajghat, India Gate, Red Fort, Delhi Zoo, Shankar’s Doll Museum, Qutab Minar etc. In those days, we could climb up to the 1st floor of the Qutub Minar, although my dad had previously climbed up to the 5th floor too. The access to upper floors was stopped due to suicide attempts, and later the access to even the 1st floor was stopped due to crowd safety reasons.

Gol Market (round market) and Gol Dak Ghar (round post office) were the other places I saw but never visited inside. These functional buildings also doubled up as traffic roundabouts.

Palika Bazar, ITO Bridge, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Ring Railway etc. were yet to be born.

During our stay at this base, I remember visiting Agra with my parents for a day trip, travelling by New Delhi – Agra Cantt Taj Express both ways. The officials of UP State Tourism did our bookings for the local Agra sightseeing buses on the train itself, while the train was speeding towards Agra. At Agra, the buses were parked right outside the platform on which the train arrived, allowing an easy transfer from the train coaches to buses. In those days, one could visit the actual tombs at the Taj Mahal, which are located one level down from where one can go now. The entry to the tombs was closed off in later years.

We would listen to All India Radio every day. “The news by Lotika Ratnam” at 9 pm still rings in my ears. At 9.30 pm every Saturday, we would tune in to the National Programme of Music, which would feature Hindustani and Carnatic classical artists. One artist every Saturday, 90 minutes’ duration.

To visit my grandparents at Itarsi and Nagpur during the annual summer vacation, we generally took New Delhi – Madras Grand Trunk Express, which was then the premier train on the route. 

I also remember taking, more than once, the Delhi – Madras Janata Express, which had a mid-day departure and a 4 am arrival at Itarsi the next morning, behind a steam locomotive. There was a third south-bound train, namely Dakshin Express to Hyderabad; plus 2 trains which went to Bombay via Itarsi, namely Firozpur – Bombay Punjab Mail and Pathankot / Amritsar – Dadar Express.

PC. IRFCA (Harsh Vardhan)

This time we spent at Delhi would become the first of many more to come. For one reason or another, Delhi became a “link-city” for us.

Delhi 2.0 (1978)

In 1970, I transited through Delhi Junction on the way from Jodhpur to Bareilly. Our train to Delhi was Metre-Gauge Jodhpur Mail, and we travelled by the Broad-Gauge Delhi – Bareilly Passenger to Bareilly.

My next visit to Delhi was in the summer of 1978, when my father was posted at Air Force station, Hindon, near Ghaziabad. Indian Air Force had shifted the base to Hindon and Palam was now Delhi’s domestic and international airport; with Safdarjung airport was now used only by flying clubs.

On a weekend, we came to Karol Bagh for shopping by a IAF bus. The route we took was not the old route I knew – via Shahdara / Old Yamuna Bridge – but via the ‘ITO Bridge’, which was something new for me.

[Reader comment: ITO bridge was opened before 1973]

While the old route via Shahdara was narrow and congested, the new route was practically empty. After Mohan Nagar near Hindon, the only building of note was the Dabur factory, and absolutely nothing all the way to ITO bridge!

(In 2022, this entire area is chock-a-block, with different sectors of what is called NOIDA now.)

An airconditioned market called ‘Palika Bazar’ (Municipal Market) had started in the circular space at Connaught Place. This underground market provided me my first experience of shopping in an airconditioned atmosphere – a far cry from the crowded markets in Chandni Chowk or Karol Bagh.

PC: Wikipedia

In that visit, I remember Delhi-ites mentioning DTC’s (Delhi Transport Corporation) new ‘Mudrika’ bus service, which operated on the Ring Road in clockwise (+) and anti-clockwise (-) directions.

[Reader comment: there was a ‘Tivr Mudrika’ (Rapid) service too, which did not stop at all stops]

A sprawling complex of Pragati Maidan (exhibition grounds) had come up to the north of Purana Quila (Old Fort) complex, sandwiched between the Agra-Delhi railway lines on the east and Mathura Road on the west.

PC: Internet

A new Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) had replaced the older bus-stand (bus addaa) at Kashmiri Gate.

New Delhi train station had become much busier than I knew in 1969. There were now many more long-distance trains operating from New Delhi train station, including Rajdhani Expresses to Howrah and Bombay Central. To help with decongestion, a new train station – Hazrat Nizamuddin – had been commissioned south of New Delhi. This new station was already serving many trains such as Jayanti Janata Express to Mangalore / Ernakulam, Chhattisgarh Express to Bilaspur and Kalinga / Utkal Expresses to Puri. Passenger EMU (Electric Multiple Units) now ran between Delhi – New Delhi and Ghaziabad. There was now also a ‘Parikrama Rail Seva” (circular train service) in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions connecting Delhi Junction, New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Safdarjung, Delhi Cantt, and Delhi Sarai Rohilla stations.

A second train route now connected New Delhi with Ghaziabad, totally avoiding Delhi Junction (Old Delhi railway station) and Shahdara. This route used the ‘New Yamuna Bridge’.

Delhi 3.0

Since then, I have visited the Indian Capital umpteen times and seen many changes, some of which are:

  • The immense growth of Delhi airport – now called IGI (India Gandhi International) airport, and in the process overtaking Bombay as the number 1 airport in India. There are now many terminals serving a multitude of domestic and international airlines.
PC: Internet
  • The start, and continued expansion of Delhi Metro, which has made commuting so much better.
  • The expansion of trans-Yamuna Delhi, leaving no gap between Delhi and Ghaziabad now. Together with this, there are now many more bridges to cross river Yamuna, such as the Nizamuddin bridge, Ashram Bridge and even one called DND (Delhi NOIDA Direct) bridge! The double decker iron bridge at Shahdara is now closed, with a modern bridge substituting it.
  • The west-ward expansion of Delhi beyond Karol Bagh / Punjabi Bagh to Paschim Vihar, Rohini and beyond.
  • Modern edifices such as the Lotus Temple and Akshardham Temple have joined historic monuments such as the Red Fort and Qutab Minar.
PC: Akshardham.com
  • The erstwhile Meter Gauge route from Ahmedabad / Jaipur / Jodhpur / Bikaner to Delhi is now all converted to Broad Gauge. All routes to Delhi are now fully electrified. From 2 Rajdhani expresses I knew in 1978, there are now scores of Rajdhani, Duranto, Shatabdi, Sampark Kranti, and other superfast expresses – with Vande Bharat trains too joining in recently.
  • Delhi has also grown a lot in terms of the variety of cuisines one can enjoy – both regional and international. The National Capital Region (NCR) – which now encompasses Delhi and its surrounding satellite cities Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon (now Gurugram) and NOIDA is now the 2nd largest Metropolitan area in the world, next only to Tokyo!
  • National War Memorial and Paramveer Memorial now give company to India Gate, while recently Raj Path has been renamed Kartavya Path.

While Delhi is not my personal favourite city, the changes to Delhi are endless and impressive. My life and journeys have been entwined with Delhi for over 50 years, hence penning my memories.

Shirish Paranjape, February 2023

Shirishparanjape1@gmail.com

Reader comments:

The National Capital Region is progressing but what I miss is the environment. In those days we used to have blue skies, Yamuna was full of clean water. Rains were plenty. Quite often during rainy season, Yamuna used to cross the danger level. Now a days we don’t see clear sky and rains are also scanty.

The new progress and development have taken away the fresh air and the nights with full of stars on the sky. Of course, we have to sacrifice with our environment to harness the benefits of development in terms of industry, connectivity, fast transportation etc.

Having lived 4/5 of my early years near Gole Market and Gole Dak Khana (both over 100-year-old octagonal/circular structures, doubling up as traffic round-abouts, with 4/5 radial roads). Gole Market housed butcheries, grocers and fish sellers even till some years back but MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) was trying to shut down the market and move the occupants to another newly constructed market nearby. Gole Dak Khana still able to function as a post office, though I can’t imagine how, with very limited parking space.

Birla Mandir (now Laxminarayan Mandir) was another iconic spot in the vicinity of our residence. Made of white marble with expansive verandas, it was a popular destination for families, particularly on weekends, since children looked forward to being treated to a kulfi, chuski, and some other candies of those years.

Ride in ‘phatphatias’, those monsters crafted from massive Harley Davidson bikes, was another experience I can recall. These mainly operated between Connaught Place and Old Delhi side. They are extinct now.

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My memories of radio

I learnt that 13 February is World Radio Day. I have penned the following to share my personal connection with radio.

My connection with radio started early, perhaps in 1965-66, when we were in Delhi area. My parents and I would regularly listen to All India Radio every day. “The news by Lotika Ratnam” at 9 pm still rings in my ears. At 9.30 pm every Saturday, we would tune in to the National Programme of Music, which would feature Hindustani and Carnatic classical artists. One artist every Saturday, 90 minutes’ duration. I remember Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt. Vijay Raghav Rao, Pt. Ravishankar, Pt. V G Jog, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Kumar Gandharva, Kishori Amonkar, Prabha Atre, MS Subbalakshmi, and so on.

In early 70s, I recall listening to Vividh Bharti at Bareilly – in addition to All India Radio. Those were the days on listening to 30-minute film introduction programmes, complete with clips of dialogs and songs. There were many Hindi films which I never watched, but ‘knew’ – because of these radio programmes. This was also the era which introduced me to Radio Ceylon, more specifically, to Binaca Geetmala hosted by Ameen Sayani. This was also the era when the song on Vividh Bharti at 7.55 everyday – yes, every day – would be a K L Sehgal song. The listeners got to listen to “khush hai zamana aaj pehli taareekh hai” on the 1st of every month. Another radio station I got introduced in 1971 was the BBC Radio service, which supposedly gave a more balanced news on the India – Pakistan conflict than what was aired by the state-owned AIR.

I got familiar with the full suite of programmes on Vividh Bharti during 1974-77, while at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The day often started with Sangeet Sarita, while programmes such as Swar Sudha, Anuranjini, Jaymala, Hawa Mahal entertained and educated us during the day, which ended with Chhayageet broadcast at 10 pm.

While leaving Gandhinagar to start my engineering studies at Bhopal, I felt sad that I will be parting company with what had by then become part of my routine – the Vividh Bharti.

Imagine my pleasant surprise at Bhopal when I realized Vividh Bharti existed there too! It was here that I learnt the basics of Hindustani classical music through Sangeet Sarita, Anuranjani and Swar Sudha – and made notes about various ‘ragaas’ in my note-book, which gives me company even to this date. These were also the years when we followed cricket thanks to the running commentary in Hindi, English and Marathi by the likes of Sushil Doshi, Balu Alagnand and Bal Pandit, to name a few. The incredible Jasdev Singh’s Hindi hockey commentary was as delightful as the dribbling by the Indian team – he would not miss a single move or pass.

The days always began with the same old AIR tune, then the shehnai by Ustad Bismillah, the shubhashit in Sanskrit, and so on. It always ended with Chhayageet, unless it was a Saturday night – in which case – it would be the National Programme of Music.

After moving to Bombay in 1982 to start my career at L&T, I realized that unlike the rest of the country, Vividh Bharti does not finish at 10.30 pm with Chhaayaageet. Bombay Vividh Bharti has an additional programme at 10.30 pm – named “Bela ke Phool”.

All this while, ‘radio’ meant All India Radio, Vividh Bharti, the Urdu Service and Radio Ceylon – with BBC World Service thrown in occasionally. Then came FM radio and private radio stations. Also, private TV channels such as Zee, Star and others joined the previously solitary Doordarshan. All this, coupled with the busy lifestyle at Bombay meant that radio got relegated to a 2nd place, sadly.

Now in New Zealand, radio is very much part of my daily commute. There are private FM channels, but my favourite is Radio New Zealand, which is not too dissimilar to All India Radio. The number of TV channels I watch here is limited to two – called TV 1 and occasionally TV 2. Internet has made it possible for us to listen to All India Radio while remaining in New Zealand.

The time radio had in my life has certainly reduced drastically. However, it is thanks to my early exposure to radio in India that I learnt many things – film music, classical music, place names, and much more!

Shirish; 13 Feb 2023

shirishparanjape1@gmail.com

P.S. Through this piece, I pay tribute to my late mother-in-law Prabhavati Kale, who was an announcer at All India Radio, Nagpur for over 25 years, till her retirement.

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Memories of a Military Special Train (1974)

This article is based on inputs gathered recently (2010) from my father – Retired Indian Air Force Officer – Bhaskar, and my mother Prabha Paranjape.

Indian Railways and military have an inseparable relationship. This special relationship goes back to the very formation of Indian Railways. One of the key reasons for establishing the railway network was to provide an efficient and dependable method of transporting large amount of troops from one part of the country to another, which enabled the government of the day to maintain control over the land it governed.

Indian Railways operate Military Special trains all the time. These trains move in peace time and in times of conflict. Some of these trains are freighters only, while others have accommodation for personnel as well. Some of these specials carry men from the armed forces for non-military activities, such as earthquake or flood-relief work. Some Military Special trains have rakes formed totally by special “Military” coaches in their own distinctive green livery (pun unintentional), while others have rakes formed by ‘normal’ IR coaches. Some movements get decided suddenly (for example due to natural or man-made disasters), while other movements are planned well in advance – as per the strategic relocations of operational units of Indian armed forces.

I describe one such experience of travel by a Military Special, way back in 1974.

Our Signal Unit (“SU” in Indian Air Force parlance) – which was then at Bihta (near Arrah and Danapur in Bihar) was to be relocated hundreds of miles away – at Gandhinagar, the newly formed capital of Gujarat state. One single Military Special train was to undertake the task of moving staff, equipment, families and their belongings from Bihta to Gandhinagar.

The rake, comprising of First Class and III class Military coaches as well as different types of freight cars was made available well in advance at a siding near Air Force Station, Bihta.

In the week leading to the departure, all families were asked to hand-over their “checked-in” luggage, and only keep the minimum “carry-on luggage” with them. 2 closed freight cars were allocated exclusively for carrying the personal belongings (“checked-in luggage”) of airmen and their families.

Simultaneously, the flat-bed freight cars were gradually being loaded with all the technical and support equipment. The technical equipment included the radar sets (in partially dismantled form), generator vans (to power the radars, not the train) and so on. The support equipment included tools and tackles, and vehicles such as 3-ton TATA trucks, 1-Ton trucks, Jeeps etc.

Everything was going to plan with the usual military precision. All the staff and families were excited about the departure, and were doing everything they could to assist one another.

In spite of all the advance planning and preparations, the Military Special did not depart on time!

Just before the planned departure of the special, the workers of Indian Railways called a nation-wide strike, which was led by All India Railwaymen’s Federation (George Fernandes).

The departure of the special was rescheduled by 4 days. This caused a problem. All the families had packed their belongings (and deposited them in the freight cars) and finished off the essential consumables (such as cooking oil). This meant that about 300 people had to be fed till the train departed a few days later.

To overcome this problem, IAF authorities decided to cook for everyone in the Unit’s “mess”. Airmen and families could either eat their meals at the “mess” or carry them home in a “Tiffin box”. The cooking was, of course, done by IAF cooks who are attached to the “mess”. At IAF stations, there are usually 3 “messes” – one for Commissioned Officers, the second for Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and the third for Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs). But right now, only one common “mess” was run – for everyone.

In these 4 days, IR authorities somehow made the arrangements to run the special as per the revised schedule (which itself is quite creditable, considering that IR was facing the biggest strike in its history).

Finally, the day of departure arrived.

The rake formation included:

  • Loco (steam)
  • Open flat cars with technical equipment
  • Closed freight cars with technical equipment
  • Closed freight cars for cooking and ration supplies. Let’s call these “kitchen cars”.
  • Passenger accommodation coaches
  • Closed freight cars carrying the private belongings of staff and families (checked-in luggage)
  • IR Guard’s carriage (SLR)

Remember that, in those days, the closed freight cars (C-type?) were half the length/size of the current BCNA cars. These cars had 2 axles. These cars are not found on broad gauge any more.

The “kitchen cars” too were standard closed freight cars, as described above. Yes, the same ones which are also used for transporting banana, or cattle!

The accommodation provided on the military special train was as per the normal travel entitlements, corresponding to each rank.

The total train composition was as follows.

  • First, the passenger coaches. These were to carry 250 airmen & families, plus 50 DSC & families; a total of about 300 persons.
  • 1 x FC, corridor-type coach, for Officers and/or their families, plus MI room plus IAF administrative office (more on this later). MI room = Medical Inspection room = Unit Dispensary.
  • 1 x FC, corridor-type coach, for JCOs and/or their families
  • 3 x III class, 2-tier/3-tier sleeper coaches. Two of these were for airmen with families and one for bachelors/ airmen living single (called “Living-in” in IAF parlance. “Living-out” is with families. Another way to look at this is “people who normally eat at the mess = Living-in”, while “people who normally eat at home = Living out”).
  • 2 x III class, 2-tier/3-tier sleeper coaches for DSC staff and their families. DSC = Defence Security Corps. DSC unit is in-charge of the security at any IAF station. These coaches also carried DSC’ apparatus, such as rifles, torches, tents.

Next, the freight cars.

  • 3 or 4 x open flat bed cars, for IAF signalling equipment, associated generator van and vehicles
  • 7 x closed C-type(?) cars for other IAF equipment
  • 2 x closed cars for “checked-in” luggage
  • 2 x closed cars as kitchen cars, for cooking and storage of ration and food supplies
  • 1 x SLR

As you can see, it was a fairly long rake formation.

A Military Special is an Operational Unit – on wheels. All ‘ground rules’ remain unchanged, with adjustments to suit the needs.

The Unit Adjutant, who is the administrative head of a Unit, had his office in the one of the coupes of the 1st FC coach. The MI room (Medical room) was in another coupe of the same coach. This was manned during the day-hours by the Medical personnel of the Unit. All the IAF staff (officers and airmen) continued to be on regular duty.

Two airmen were stationed in every passenger coach for basic security/ watch & ward. These were unarmed airmen, working in 4 shifts of 6 hours each, to provide round-the-clock security. The formal/visible security was provided by DSC personnel, equipped with rifles. DSC personnel also manned each open flat bed cars. The rest of the DSC staff travelled in one of the two cars allocated to them, one at each end of the train.

Some airmen were assigned to the “mess on wheels”, to help with purchasing food items as needed en-route, and to give a hand with preparation etc. There was only one “mess” for the whole train, not 3 as is the case in a regular unit – a great equalizer!

NCEs (Non-combatant enrolled staff) did the job of cooking, helping with the food-service (at each berth/ location), cleaning up etc. These were about 15 in number.

My dad, who was a Warrant Officer at that time, was made in-charge of the “mess” for the entire duration of travel. He spent most of his day-time travelling in the kitchen cars, with a handkerchief to cover his head. His job included supervision as well as the first tasting. As per IAF rule, the food prepared in any “mess” is always tasted by the “Orderly Officer” on duty, before it can be served in the “mess” to everyone. In a normal unit, this “Orderly Officer” duty changes daily by rotation, between officers. The “mess-on-wheels” served 4 meals a day – breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Each passenger coach had one IAF staff in-charge of the coach, assisted by 2 airmen. These three managed the collection (from the kitchen car) and distribution of meals in their respective coach. These duties changed by rotation.

The actual cooking (using wood or coal fire) was done only when the train had stopped. Preparatory work would continue while the train was in motion. At some stations, even ladies would go out to the local market, outside the station, to get fresh items like cucumber, tomato etc.

The route assigned to the special Bihta > Mughalserai > Allahabad > Katni > Bina > Bhopal > Ratlam > Godhra > Dakor > Anand > Ahmedabad > Kalol. Gandhinagar Capital railway station did not exist then.

This journey from Bihta to Gandhinagar took 5 days. There were no inordinately long halts, and the Railways handled the Special very efficiently. At all stops, the train got admitted to regular platforms. All the stops for lunch and dinner preparation were at relatively major stations, where water filling was also done. After dinner halts, the train had long overnight runs.

The actual movement between stations, as well as the halts, was well planned and coordinated. At each major halt, IR staff (guard) would communicate the departure time to the Unit Adjutant. The information would get passed down to every passenger via the staff in-charge for the coach. This information helped people to plan their activities, including bathing, washing clothes, grocery shopping etc. At each and every stop, IR did maintain the schedule which was announced. There were no significant delays.

On arrival at Kalol, the Military Special was received by an IAF “advance party” who had already reached Gandhinagar ahead of the special train. Staff and families were transported directly to their allocated quarters with their “carry-on luggage”. The “checked-in luggage” was ferried later.

This was a most enjoyable and memorable travel experience, as narrated by my parents – who are both 80 now. There was no boring moment, in spite of the long travel. As for me, I missed it totally because I was sent to my grandparents place at Itarsi for the summer holidays!

Nevertheless, it has given me immense pleasure to seek the details of this journey from my parents, and to narrate them to you. I too learnt a lot through the process. I can only thank Shashank Nanda (IRFCA) for bringing up this topic when I met him at Delhi the other day.

Shirish Paranjape, 2010

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Interview at Bombay, early 1982

A somewhat nervous meeting at Gate 5 which defined my life.

Two 6’ tall gentlemen walked down the curved stairs of the PPO (Powai Personnel Office) at Gate 5, Powai (East), L&T.

One by one, we were called to go in the small room. Upon his return, someone reported, “they seem to know more about ‘my’ project than ‘I’ do!

Soon, it was my turn. I took my seat across the two towering gentlemen. Between us was a table, about 18 inches deep. Both of them leaned forward with their palms clasped together. Due to this, they appeared to be dauntingly close, and ‘above’ me.

The first person asked many technical questions about my project, about integrated circuits, electrical schematics etc. The second person did not ask any technical questions. All his questions were related to sports & games, teamwork etc. After about 30 minutes, they shook hands and asked me to leave.

About 3 weeks later – in mid-February 1982, the HR notice board at my college – Maulana Azad College of Technology (MACT), Bhopal displayed the typewritten notice by Professor N K Mittal, in-charge of HR. The A5 piece of paper said I had been selected as a Graduate Engineer Trainee (GET) at Larsen & Toubro, Bombay.

It was a defining moment in my life.

I was one of the four final year students who had got a job at L&T through the placement interview process. We (four) were the first ones in our entire batch of 200 to get a job. I had got this job ahead of the final year examination, soon after which I was asked to report for “GET orientation scheme” at L&T, Powai.

The ‘meeting’ with the two tall gentlemen was nothing else but my personal interview, which was held in the afternoon.

Earlier in the day, I had been amazed by the bright shiny yellow L&T buses bringing staff to Powai. After that we were welcomed by Kadam and RP Singh of PPO – who administered the “aptitude test”.

Lunch at the East Supervisory canteen (I still remember the superb cake-swirl dessert they served that day) was sumptuous and tasty.After lunch, all of us were paid – in cash – the second sleeper class Mail / Express train fare, as reimbursement. I recall I received the exact amount of Rupees 42.50 for the travel from Bhopal to Bombay VT by 6 Up Punjab Mail. I recall being impressed that L&T PPO had calculated the exact amounts for the different students coming from different colleges / cities, such as Bhopal (MACT), Varanasi (BHU IT) and others.

The two towering gentlemen who interviewed me are VS – V Srinivasan (1st in my interview) and VND – Vijay Dravid (2nd person).

Do you remember your own interview? Who were the interviewers, where was it held, and so on. Please share…..

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BEST day. 7 August 2020

DSC00720 - BEST buses

We may have had better days, but today is BEST Day.

My love with BEST – then Bombay Electric Supply & Transport – started in 1974. Route no. 90 Limited – Deonar Depot to Flora Fountain, operated by articulated / tractor-trailer double decker buses. I rode the bus from Diamond Garden Chembur to Roxy Theatre, Girgaon and back.

It was a great way to understand and see Bombay. The stretch in Worli on Dr. Annie Besant Road, from Worli Naka up to Haji Ali roundabout was simply magical.

Also, the straight stretch from Sion to Khodadad Circle was awesome. Those were the days of very few private cars. The roads were ruled by BEST buses and Fiat taxis. I have experienced 3 double deckers running abreast in the southbound direction.

Speaking of which, Bombay was a city with a huge number of double decker buses / routes. Both articulated type and ‘integral type’. Routes such as 1 Ltd (Colaba to Mahim), 4 Ltd. (Flora Fountain to Andheri Station West), 5 Ltd. (Chunabhatti), 6 Ltd. (Refineries / Chembur Colony), 7 Ltd. (Vikroli), 8 Ltd. (Chembur) were all double decker routes connecting the city (South Bombay) to the suburbs.

When I started working at L&T Powai from 1982, I was staying at Chembur. Routes 362 (to Kurla Station East) and 381 (to Ghatkopar Station East) became my friends – both operated by integral double decker buses.

I wonder how many of you recall some routes starting from Dadar – just north of Khodadad Circle. The terminus was between the north-bound and south-bound lanes of Ambedkar Road. Routes such as 385 (Ghatkopar East), 351 (Refineries) originated from Khodadad Circle.

In the city, routes like 123, 137, 138 allowed one to see the beautiful historic buildings of south Bombay.

On the other hand, suburbs like Andheri West were full of double-deckers. Routes 251 (Four Bungalows/ Seven Bungalows / Versova), 254 (Veera Desai Road), 259 (Lokhandwala Complex), 263 / 266 (Shree Swami Samarth Nagar), 257 (ESIC Nagar) all originated from Andheri Station West, while 201, 203 passed through.

Andheri East was served by double decker routes 332 (Kurla West), 416 (SEEPZ); and single decker routes 396 (Mulund Check Naka), 336 / 337 (Circular routes going through Powai, Vikroli, Ghatkopar), 184 (Vihar Lake), 331 (Sahar), 333 (Holy Spirit Hospital)

Then, there were cross-city routes such as 374 Ltd (Anushakti Nagar to Goregaon Depot), 255 Ltd (Versova to Wadala), 312 (Sion to SEEPZ).

Are there any routes you identify with?
Shirish

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Making new “L&T-friends” 20 years after leaving L&T

I worked at L&T from 1982 to 2000. When I left L&T, my association with L&T did not end.

In 2005, I signed a distributor agreement with L&T for my New Zealand employer AuCom.

My employment with AuCom ended in June 2020.

But in June / July 2020, I made new “L&T-friends”……

I had seen a few of them.
I had met very few of them.
Many were new to me.
I was new to many of them.
Some had left L&T before I joined.

Most of them were from L&T Switchgear.
I was in Control & Automation.
Most of them live in India.
I live in New Zealand.
I don’t have a business connection with them.
I have an emotional connection with them.

Like them, I am an L&T-ite, an erstwhile employee of the then Group III (which had Switchgear, Electronics, Petrol Pumps and Instruments SBUs).

I learnt many new things from these new friends.
Someone draws and paints very well.
Someone writes excellent poems.
Someone writes articles, blogs, and books.

A few sing well. Old Hindi film songs are a common theme in these virtual meetings.

I heard the first-hand account of a personal experience of the 1947 partition from one of them – SPG (Sat Parkash Goel), now 89.

I learnt that a few of us are members of Rotary Clubs – another common thread for me.

I learnt some ‘first names’ for the very first time. At L&T, I only knew their initials – thanks to the time-honoured L&T tradition of using initials.

Despite miles of physical separation, the lockdown brought us together.
One person who set up these meetings, week after week, brought us together.

We are in different cities, indeed a few different countries – New Zealand, Australia, India, Bahrain, USA – but we are together.

A special thread binds us together.
The song of L&T still sings in our hearts.

These virtual meetings have made my life richer.
Keeping myself awake till midnight to be with them is well worth it.
This has been a positive spin-off of the Covid-10 lockdown.

I made, and am still making, new L&T friends…………
……….20 years after leaving L&T!

Thanks to everyone who made this possible.
Shirish Paranjape

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18 reasons to thank AuCom

I was an employee of AuCom for 960 weeks (or 18 year and some months). AuCom has been a huge part of my life. There are numerous reasons for me to thank AuCom for this time, but let me pick 18 reasons for you.

1.Welcome and stability: In January 2002, I was a new migrant to New Zealand looking for a job, to start work and begin earning in a new country. AuCom not only gave me with a job, it provided me the foundation over which my family and me could build the next 18 years.

2.“AuCom is personal”: During my long stint at AuCom, I met innumerable people, most of who started as a new business acquaintance and went on to become very close friends. Simply too many to list (and I do not want to risk leaving anyone out). Thanks to AuCom for giving me the opportunity to build these relationships. “AuCom is personal” was the tag line used by AuCom. Perhaps I took it too literally and to the next level – Milind Medhekar, then a senior manager at one of AuCom’s close customers became my daughter Shreya’s father-in-law. Need I say more!

3. Lunch with Ray is perhaps the most talked about tradition at AuCom. Founder Ray Archer would take a group of about 10 staff members for the much anticipated ‘lunch with Ray’. Every employee would get this opportunity once every year. The group was chosen at random which made it a special and memorable experience for everyone.

4. Flags: AuCom practices the unique tradition of flying 3 flags daily – New Zealand and 2 others. It was an honour to have the Indian Tricolour flying on occasions such as Indian Independence and Republic Days; as well as to welcome guests from different nationalities by flying their country’s flag.

5. Hanmer weekend: For many years, staff and families enjoyed a weekend at Hanmer Springs as a pre-Christmas company celebration. We were all lodged at the upmarket Heritage Hanmer and treated to a variety of activities including a formal ‘Christmas dinner’ and the famous AuCom ‘egg-throwing’ competition. My daughter Neha and I won it once! [It is more an ‘egg-catching’ competition].

6. A ride on a locomotive: Knowing my love for trains, AuCom gave me a unique gift of a “pass” to ride on a locomotive from Christchurch to Kaikoura! The entire train was chartered for AuCom. Way back in 2002, AuCom booked 3 full carriages on the TranzAlpine to take all staff and families on a weekend trip to the West coast of New Zealand.

7. Multiculturalism: AuCom has customers all over the world, as well as staff from all over the world. AuCom practices multiculturalism in many simple and real ways. Migrant Times recognized AuCom as “enlightened company” due to this. It was a delightful honour for me to lead the annual ‘Diwali’ celebrations at AuCom for many years.

8. L&T, India: I consider myself fortunate that I was at the right place at the right time. When AuCom considered expanding to India, I could connect AuCom with my Indian employer L&T. It was a privilege to sign the distributor agreement between AuCom and L&T, for AuCom. After all, how many folks get to sign a deal with their own ex-managers?

9. Encouragement and flexibility: In the recent years, AuCom allowed me the flexibility I needed to attend weekly Community Board meetings as an elected representative, monthly meeting as a trustee of the Riccarton Bush Trust, quarterly meeting as a trustee of Plains FM 96.9.

10. Growth: I played many roles at AuCom to support the business growth. Each of these roles added new learnings and increased my basket of skills. I got to interact with staff from renowned global companies such as ABB, Control Techniques, Danfoss, Emerson, General Electric, Leroy Somer, Toshiba, TMEIC, Siemens – to name just a few.

11. International sales: I learnt ‘international sales’ at AuCom. Together with doing business, I got to visit some amazing places all over the world, but more importantly, learn about many different cultures. I am lucky to have visited countries such as Ecuador, Israel, Lebanon and Paraguay – among a total of 56 countries.

12. Overseas projects: As a Project Manager, it was an amazing experience to lead an innumerable number of custom-designed projects for AuCom, both overseas and domestically. As part of a small close-knit team, I got to travel to some unique sites in countries which include Tajikistan, Slovakia, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Saudi Arabia, and many more.

13. My role as product manager took me to places which are as diverse as Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Ukraine.

14. International trade shows offer a unique experience to showcase your offerings but also see what the world has to offer. I was lucky to have represented AuCom at important trade shows such as Hannover Messe, SPS Nuremberg, Middle East Electricity exhibition at Dubai, Exponor at Antofagasta, Chile and Elecrama, India.

15. Distributor conferences allowed sharing among distributors and an opportunity to learn from each other. It was a privilege to be part of AuCom distributor conference held at Christchurch to mark 40-year anniversary, as well as to lead and organize conferences at Santiago, Chile and Dubai.

16. Medium voltage switchgear: AuCom gave me the fantastic opportunity to not only learn Medium voltage switchgear but also put my learning into practice as business changed gears, both in technical and sales areas.

17. Choice of airlines: Although all staff including the CEO travelled economy class, AuCom allowed staff to choose the airline. I was fortunate that Emirates rewarded me with complimentary upgrade to business class – sometimes on the A 380 aircraft. In my opinion, a business class experience on an A380 flying at 36000 ~ 42000 feet above mean sea level is literally the closest one can get to the heavens.

18. Amazing places and experiences: During my travels, I have visited a variety of places and enjoyed varied experiences. Some examples:

  • Pietermaritzburg (Mahatma Gandhi connection). I visited this place on his birthday!
  • Isfahan, Shiraz and Yazd cities in Iran – each better than the other!
  • Byblos / Jubayl, Lebanon – believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world!
  • Historic Roman sites at Lyon and Rome
  • The Great Wall of China
  • A winery in Ukraine which displays wine from circa. 1775
  • Standing with one foot in each hemisphere at Quito, Ecuador
  • Café at minus 180 m below ground level (Zipaquira, Colombia)
  • A gold mine site 4000 m above mean sea level (Yanacocha, Peru)
  • The Grand Mosque at Muscat
  • Avenue ‘9th of July’ – the widest street in the world, Buenos Aires
  • The Panama Canal
  • Oresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden
  • Miniature world at Hamburg
  • Flying over 50+ airlines on numerous flights, including two back-to-back 20-hour flights from Santiago Chile to Christchurch, via Dubai. At the other end of the spectrum, I was on world’s shortest flight by an A 380 aircraft – from Dubai World Central (DWC) to Dubai International (DXB), 8 minutes journey time!

I seek the next challenge in my career, but these memories and experiences at AuCom will always be with me. I finish this post by sharing the photos with the ‘front office team’ and ‘team AuCom’ in 2002.

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35 years of flying

This write-up uses examples from Indian domestic aviation scene over the years, where I got initiated into flying – as a passenger, of course. I invite you to share memories from your part of the world.

santacruz airport in 1994
Photo courtesy: Yvon from Ottawa (https://www.flickr.com/photos/19787482@N04/5018763097)

While returning on my flight from Dubai to Christchurch in 2018, I realized that it is 35 years since I have been flying and that too with over 50 different airlines.

As the air-hostess served drinks, I was thinking about the many changes which have happened in this area. I decided to jot them down to share with friends and ask theirs too.

My first flight was in 1983; Bombay to Nagpur by Indian Airlines IC129 operated by a Boeing 737 aircraft.

Those were the days of paper ticket. There was one leaf for each sector, and the last leaf for passenger. The ticket was on a thin “self-carbon” paper. All the passenger and journey specific details were handwritten. The check-in staff tore the top leaf and instead gave me a “boarding pass”. I was told it doesn’t matter now if I misplace the counterfoil of my ticket, but I must not lose the boarding pass. The boarding pass was the thing which allowed you to travel!

Till then, I was used to travelling by trains or buses, where the concept of a boarding pass was non-existent. I had learnt something new about travel.

Unlike today, the boarding pass was not printed in front of you by the check-in agent. She had a wad of pre-printed boarding passes with her. If a passenger requested a rear window, she would search through her wad, and if available, give the boarding pass of an A or F seat.

Credit: https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/290834088416164218/

I recall checking in my only bag, which had some clothes and documents. There were no personal computers / laptops or cellphones then. Therefore, the only thing I was clutching to was the all-important boarding pass (the ticket counterfoil was in my pocket). Of course, I didn’t have any digital media or headphones etc. too. Simply, empty handed!

In those days, security was a breeze, compared to what we have now.At that time, Nagpur airport was a 2 flight affair; one to Bombay and one to Delhi. For several years IC129/130 operated as Bombay-Nagpur-Delhi service.

Nagpur airport arrival / departure area was a long hall. Once we arrived, a luggage trolley would bring the bags, which would then be individually kept on the floor. There were no conveyors back then. After you picked your bag, before exiting, you were required to present the counterfoil of the baggage tag to a staff member prior to exiting. The staff member would check this counterfoil with the tag attached to the baggage.

There were two choices for a return ticket. One, with a specific return journey flight; the other “return open”. I often travelled with “return open” tickets.If the passenger had a specific return journey ticket, the most important task was to get it “reconfirmed”. Without this step, the return journey booking was not guaranteed! This process of reconfirmation could not be done at source or destination airport. The only place to do this was Indian Airlines’ city office at the ‘destination’. For example, if I had Bombay-Nagpur-Bombay ticket, the first thing I had to do at Nagpur was to physically visit Indian Airlines’ city office, and get the ticket “reconfirmed”. They would put a small sticker on the Nagpur-Bombay folio, stamp it, and also note the same in the airline computer.

If I recall correctly, the check-in counters at the airport did not have a computer or even a ‘computer terminal’ which linked to the main computer of the airline. Therefore, the city office had a very important role, because that is where the connectivity was! This process of reconfirmation also meant that you could not go directly, for example, from Nagpur airport to Raipur city by car and come directly from Raipur city to Nagpur airport for the return journey. You “had” to compulsorily visit Indian Airlines Nagpur City office at least once, even you had no business in Nagpur city itself! Moreover, this activity had to be done during 10 am ~ 5 pm working hours.

Return journeys with an open ticket were also easy. You could simply turn up at the airport and get your name in the “standby” list, which was always a handwritten list. Once all the reserved passengers had checked in and the counter had ‘closed’, the check-in staff would call out names from the list, take the ticket counterfoil from you, give you a boarding pass, and off you went! This was easily possible because all tickets had a fixed price; the price did not change depending on the demand-supply equation. There was no concept of different tiers of pricing – super-saver, saver, non-flex, flex, dynamic pricing etc. Either seat was available or it was not! It was that simple.

If you had a confirmed ticket for a specific flight, but you finished work early and wanted to take a previous flight, you could simply turn up to the airport and get yourself on the standby list, then follow the same process as with an open ticket.

In later years, and I cannot remember what triggered it, there came “increased security” for the baggage. No, it was not 9/11, which happened much later. After checking in the bag, we had to pass through security (which was still a breeze), and identify our bags kept in a ‘holding area’ before boarding the aircraft. Unidentified baggage would not be loaded on the aircraft, the announcements kept reminding the passengers!

Boarding was always using ladder(s) connected to the front and/or rear of the aircraft. Aero-bridges were yet to appear at Indian airports.In the aircraft, there were smoking and non-smoking zones, but of course there was no partition or segregation between them!

Upon boarding you were given the all-important small white packet with cotton wool inside. The idea was you use cotton in each ear – it was somehow supposed to make the flight more comfortable.

At many locations, it was possible to use the Indian Airlines staff bus from city to airport, either for free or a nominal charge. This bus would bring Indian Airlines staff to airport, where the staff would open the check in counters, manage check in and boarding, receive the incoming flight before locking up everything to return to city.In major cities, Ex-servicemen Airlink Transport Service (EATS) ran bus service from airport to several prominent hotels in the city.

On-board Indian Airlines aircrafts, everyone got the same service, the only choice being a vegetarian meal or a non-vegetarian one.

In late 90s, private airlines were allowed in Indian skies. With this, things changed dramatically.For one, there was a choice of which airline to fly, at least on trunk routes to start with.

Private airlines also offered better meals and service than the state-run Indian Airlines (of course this is my personal opinion). Another differentiation was that private airlines offered complimentary liquor on the flight. Sometimes, one could see people asking for “some more” till minutes before touchdown! To me, this ‘privilege’ was abused by passengers, due to which alcohol was later banned from Indian domestic flights.

However competition also meant that only the fittest could last – and today (2019) – Jet Airways is the only operator which has survived all these years of competition. All other operators which sprang in back then are part of history now – some major names such as East West, Damania Airlines, Modiluft, Continental etc. included! [Post script: On 17th April 2019, Jet Airways shut down its operation, becoming the latest addition to this list.]

Jet Airways offered facilities such as Tele check-in, City check-in, Return check-in to their customers.The concept of “airline membership” with special privileges such as lounge access, priority boarding and wait list, gained momentum with the onset of private airlines.

Jet Airways ran the Jet Privilege frequent flier program. A passenger could not “buy” this membership, it was complimentary. But the passenger needed to have flown at least 13 flights in a 90 day period to become eligible for this program. Once enrolled, the rewards were endless. In 2001, they sent me 5 upgrade coupons, for upgrades from economy to business class. But every time I wanted to use the coupon, they would upgrade me for free. After several months, I still had all 5 coupons unused! Another good thing was that these coupons were transferable to anyone. I know that some of my colleagues were able to use my unused upgrade coupons even after I migrated to New Zealand. So nice!

In case of inordinate delays of the booked flight for any reason, it was possible for one airline to “endorse” the ticket to another airline – thus allowing the passenger to fly. The staff of the two airlines would handle it between themselves and the passenger would get a boarding pass of a ‘new’ airline.

Things have changed a lot: 9/11 made life more complex with paranoia for security. Airlines now face fierce price wars from competition offering varying levels of service, from no frills to premium. While choices have increased – for example there are at least 7 flights between Mumbai and Nagpur; and Nagpur is connected to many more cities – the charm of air travel back then has perhaps diminished or vanished completely. Air travel has become just another way of travel. Many like me still cherish those memories.

Do you also miss them? What are your memories from that bygone era of air travel? Shirish Paranjape

Shirishparanjape1@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

Credit: https://tinyurl.com/y9nwbnbk