Travel

Philosophically, life is nothing but a travel and we are all travelers. Travel can be either a long or a short one. We do not know when and where it would end. We do not know which is our next destination is. This world is only a resort on our way. We move from one place to another due to one or another reason . It may be a business trip, it may be visiting a relative or a friend who is sick, it may be for undertaking a job or it may be for higher studies and so on.We may be compelled by one or more reasons to move from place to place.That is what we mean by a travel. A travel may be even a pleasure trip for those who cannot remain idle at a place. They want to move from place to place, study a place or places and know more and more about them. It is their hobby. According to some people travel is a pastime. It all depends upon a person. Travel could be undertaken anywhere according to one's whims and fancies . It may be within or outside a country, or within a place itself. A travel may be undertaken by any mode of transport or even by a walk. Travel is a tool for developing knowledge and having experience. No other tool is as excellent as a travel for developing knowledge and having experience. Our elders rightly opine that one must travel country after country and read books after books in their life. If one travels more that does not mean that he or she is a vagabond. A travel influences a personality. A person who travels more is generally more broad minded and all petty qualities would abandon him or her. A travel can be adventurous too. Its advantages are numerous but disadvantages are a few only.When we travel from place to place, we come across different types of weather. We become thick skinned and get accustomed to various types of weather. Similarly, we become accustomed to several of types of food too. We learn to adapt ourselves to various atmosphere and circumstances on account of travel only.There are people called gypsies who move from place to place. They never stay permanently at a place. Of course, there are people who are confined to places where they are born. They do not move beyond their municipal limits. Their nature is such. In olden days travel had to be undertaken by walk. People were traveling on the back of animals like camels, elephants, horses. Palanquins carried by human beings were also used to undertake travels .There were no modes of transport like, cart, bicycle, motorcycle, car, bus, train or aero plane. There were no proper roads. People were crossing rivers by means of country boats. People were undertaking journeys by means of ships. Travel was adventurous and was fraught with danger. Vasco De Gama discovered India. Columbus discovered America.

Travel is always with some purpose or for pleasure. Now a day’s tourism is an industry.Some countries like Nepal, Switzerland etc depend upon tourism only for their income. It has given jobs to lakhs of people. Travel agencies are spread all over the world. Travel broadens the mind, expands one's horizons and allows the traveler to see both the uniqueness and similarities of various cultures. It changes our life styles. It brings us in contact with people speaking different languages, having different food habits following different religions. Travel gives scope for many changes. Day by day travel is made easy. Inventions are making travel more and more comfortable and full of pleasure. Now-a-days technology has so much developed that it is easy to travel at supersonic speed. Travel in jets, rockets; aero plane etc has become common. Human beings travel from planet to planet. There are now cosmonauts and astronauts Man has reached moon. Indian woman Kalpana Chawla was in U.S. space crew and died a heroic death due to failure of cryogenic engine.Travel enriches one’s experience. A widely traveled person is widely experienced person.Travels and accidents are closely linked. Generally, accidents take place when we are on the move. If we go through newspapers everyday, we find headlines carrying news that bus has colluded with car, car has colluded with lorry, car has hit a tree, and bus has fallen into a river so on and so many people have died or hospitalized. Or it may be even air crash or train accident. Poor people who die in such accidents are travelers. The result of accident may not be death only. Sometimes it may be permanent disability and sometimes serious injuries .That does not mean we should not travel. Now-a-days insurance cover against accidents is available . Death always needs a cause and accident is one of the causes only. The person who has died in an accident,would have died even if he had not undertaken travel with some other reason. Even during accidents many have miraculous escapes.

I would like to share some of my travel experiences with you. In 1960, I was in Bombay; electrical trains were running between Church gate, Marine lines Grant Road, Bombay-Central, Lower Parel, Elphinstone Road, Dadar, Matunga, Mahim, Bandra, Khar, Santa Cruz, Andheri, and Virar called Western Railway. Similarly electrical trains were running between V. T., Bombay -Central, Dadar, Sion, Mulund, Kalyan etc called Central Railway. They are suburban trains. Subarban trains consist of what is called slow trains stopping at all stations and fast trains stopping at certain stations only. In peak hours, it is very difficult to get into these trains. They are always overcrowded.In every station there are numerous platforms. It is difficult to move from platform to platform. Platforms are connected by over bridge. But one has to run, climb stairs etc to board a train in anyone of these platforms. One has to be beware of pickpocketeers, thieves etc while traveling on these trains. All sorts of undesired or unwanted activities take place on these trains. All types of people travel in these trains. We can see people traveling on foot boards, clinging at the entrance. Some people try to get into moving trains. While doing so people fall from the train and lose their lives, limbs etc. One should have patience, knack to get into these trains. No doubt even today they are one of the cheapest modes of travel in Bombay but they are very dangerous in many respects. If we approach commuters, we come across different stories each different from the other regarding travel experience in these trains. It is a thrill to travel in these trains. Again in 1990, I was in Bombay. The rush in subarban trains had not diminshed . Instead it had increased manifold than it was in 1960. Of course, number of trains plying, bogies frequency, everything had increased many a times. Nothing would match the mad rush. The rush had increased so much that if we were on platform, we would be pushed into the train by the jostling crowd. Trains contain first class second class compartments, and separate compartments for ladies only. Everybody is in hurry. It is getting late for everyone to attend to their work or duties. Nobody is bothered about the other person. Tickets less passengers are numerous on these trains. We find people from all walks of life and all parts of India on these trains. A group or groups traveling from Virar to Churchgate or from some other remote place may be there in the train, they occupy major chunk of a compartment and start playing cards. As one reaches his destination, other would be ready to join them. Many travel daily on these trains, they meet everyday, gradually become friends. That is why it seems the saying “Birds of same feather fly together” Even during return journey understanding exists between the members of such groups. Seat would be kept ready for the members of group unfailingly.Those who could not sleep well at home could be seen dozing comfortably in the busy heavily crowded train. We find chatting groups. We find people engrossed in reading novels, books, and newspaper .It is a mini India on the move. Everybody cannot afford taxi nor have their own vehicle. Once one travels by these fast suburban trains, he or she cannot forget the travel at all. It is a unique experience.

Similarly travel in Bangalore. Traffic has increased so much that we come across everywhere traffic jam and we would be fed up with it. In India a city is not planned and developed. Instead when a city expands, we think of planning. The concepts freeways, highways, exits etc are slowly creeping up. Bangalore was a small city in 1950, having population of a few lakhs. To-day, its population exceeds sixty lakhs. It is a growing city. The day is not far when its population would cross one crore. It is capital of Karnataka. It is known as Silicon Valley of India. Unlike Bombay, Calcutta, there are no metro trains in Bangalore. Here cheapest modes of travel are B.M T. C. buses. They are overcrowded too. Overloading of passengers is quite common in them. Sometimes the bus bears twice the permissible capacity of passengers. How to get in is the only question? Nobody is generally allowed stranded. Sometime tickets are issued. Sometimes only money is collected. Some do not purchase tickets. Seepage of government revenue takes place.We cannot breathe properly in these buses. There is every probability of our co passengers having infectious diseases. We must be immune to all diseases, if we have to travel by these buses. The reason is people throng into cities for one or another reason. I am sixty five plus years old yet I like travel. I have traveled length and breadth of India. I have traveled through rural India as well as urban India. I have seen paddy fields, sugarcane fields, maize plants, cotton fields, coffee gardens, tea gardens, thick forests, barren lands. I have seen huts, bungalows, slums, streets, lanes. Travels have acquainted me with life of every kind of people rich ,poor, villagers, urban people, laborers, officials, politicians, educated and uneducated. I have interacted with all these kind of people.

The other day, it was evening time. I thought of visiting Majestic by B.M.T. C. bus. I waited for the bus on Bellary Road which is situated on National High way. The spot where I waited for the bus is known as Kodigehalli Gate. Numerous buses ply on this route. Every five minutes there is a bus to Majestic on this route. With great difficulty, I got into a bus. I was just trying to stand properly inside. I noticed that my pockets are empty. Three hundred rupee notes had disappeared from my pockets. I realized that one or more among the people whom I jostled to make headway had done this job. So, I shouted at the conductor and driver to stop the bus at Hebbal police station and not to allow anybody to get out of the bus. Despite all this, I could not catch the culprits because there is nexus between police and culprits. Majestic area is one of the busiest places in Bangalore. It is a sea of humanity. Everywhere jostling crowds in that area. Kempe Gowda Road is full of vehicles and people. Shopping complexes, hotels, cinema theatres, occupy both the sides of that road. We have to visit this place to know what busy hum of city life is. Those who visit Bangalore, generally visit this place without fail. Both railway terminus and bus terminus are situated at this place only. It is just like V.T., Church gate, Bombay Central areas of Bombay. If we visit such places, we come across all types of people wearing different types of costumes; we would not know the passage of time. It is my habit to plunge into sea of humanity where we rarely come across known faces and. each face is different from the other we come across. It is here there is no class creed etc. If we are confined to four walls of a house, we would not know what life is. We would not know where we will get what, which is situated where. Traveling makes us bold .Traveling infuses confidence into us. Recreation and travel go hand in glove. Traveling gives us new new ideas and provides us sometimes opportunities too. It is left to us to make the best use of a travel .We cannot make out the beauty of a place sitting at home. We must visit the place personally to know the real beauty and enjoy it. Travel is essential. Of course, many rules are to be followed while traveling.

While returning from Majestic. The bus was brimming with people. People do not follow any discipline while getting into the bus or getting out of bus. People get into the bus by pushing one another. Even inside the bus though seats are earmarked for ladies, senior citizens, physically handicapped etc, nobody allow the respective people to occupy those seats. Two youths were occupying a seat behind. They may be of twenty and odd years of age. Without any hesitation one of them was loudly bragging his heroics. He was explaining to other about his love affair. It seems he had 14 photographs with his fiancée. His consuming alcohol at 9 a.m. itself when there was no positive response from her parents. That their friend was losing money in video games and cheating others to have money for further gambling. These are some of the topics that they were discussing. Those youths represent a part of younger generation who are not brought up properly.

Marco Polo‘s, travel, Gulliver’s travel etc are worth reading and are included in text books. If we recollect travels which we had undertaken in our earlier life that bring back to us many happy memories. I was studying in ninth standard at Board High School, Kundapura. It was summer vacation for us. I was eagerly waiting for it in order to visit my sister at far away Hassan. I had to undertake bus journey as well as train journey to reach Hassan. It involved day and night travel. It was a tedious journey. These days number of buses ply whereas only one or two buses used to ply on that route then. Buses were moving at snail’s pace stopping at every junction. Proper roads were not there in those days. Roads were kutcha roads. They were not either tarred or made up of concrete. Luxury buses were not available during that time. It was all heavily crowded bus. We had to pass through either Hulikal Ghat/ Balebere Ghat or Agumbe Ghat in Western Ghats, and reach Shimoga where we had to board train for Hassan. Ghat roads were narrow and not well developed. I remembered to have gone through places named Koteshwar Haladi, Shankaranarayana, Hosangadi, Nagara, Hosanagara, Ripponpet, and Ayanur before reaching Shimoga. If we start in the morning, we used to reach Shimoga in the evening only. Bus used to take over six hours to cover a distance of hundred and odd miles. At Shimoga, we had to board Bangalore bound train starting fromTalaguppa. Only one bogie in that train was for Mysore. If we were fortunate to get a seat in same, it was well and good; otherwise we should have got into some other bogie and should get into Mysore bogie at Arsikere at least. Normally, that train was always overcrowded. Every inch of space was occupied in the compartments. The compartments were no at all hygienic. Toilets were not at all clean. Nasty smell used to come from them .In those days night buses were not plying between cities. Those were the days when there were number of people in Dakshina Kannada district who had not seen even train. There were no sleeper coaches. When there is no space to sit even how we can sleep in such trains. When whole world was sleeping, we were awake as a result. Moreover, If we had failed to change the compartments, we would have landed in Bangalore instead of Hassan. The train used to reach Arsikere after 12 in the night. Though it is one of the most prominent railway junctions in the State, even to-day it has no basic infrastructural facilities to the passengers. There commuters had to wait for Mysore bound train for an hour and odd. It was a steam engine driven train. Coal, firewood were used to generate steam. Whenever steam was let out we used to receive rain of coal bits. Sometimes these coal bits used to spoil our clothes, and sometimes used to enter our eyes. Hassan is at distance of 25 miles from Arsikere. Train used to reach Hassan at 4 a.m. If we had failed to disembark there and had slept, then we would have reached Mysore. This is what happens many a times when we travel by train during night times. Those who travel by Malabar Express train from Mangalore to Ernakulam, meet similar situation. If they fail to disembark at Ernakulam, they would reach Kottayam. The railway station was far away from Hassan Town in those days. The only conveyance available was horse driven carts. Sometimes, it was also not available. I had to carry my luggage on my head and walk a mile and odd. Despite all these shortcomings I used to enjoy traveling. This helped me during my tenure in Audit Division of Corporation Bank.

I traveled for more than five and half years across the length and breadth of India on audit work.My account of travels would certainly remain incomplete, if I do not narrate my boat journeys in Dakshina Kannada district. We find rivers between places all along the coast in Dakshina Kannada.Those rivers were not having bridges over them and the travel was staggering in those days. In between we had to cross the ferries and boat journeys were unavoidable. To-day the journey between Kundapura and Udupi takes us less than 45 minutes whereas we had to cross two ferries in those days and the time required was more than two hours. Among those boat travels, my travel across Panchagangavali river is memorable. I cannot forget, my travel by boat between Kundapur and Gangulli. Kundapur is the headquarters town of the taluk. The name Kundapura can be traced to the Kundeshvara temple built by Kundavarma there. The boat journey which I referred was really thrilling. It was adventurous too. It was dangerous to cross also. The river Panchagangavali merges with Arabian Sea near Gangulli.The scene of Panchagangavali merging to sea is really beautiful. We find ebb and flows in this river. I used to pay less than a rupee for crossing that river by boat. There was no bridge across this mighty river in those days. When the river was in full tide, I used to see waves in it. Waves used to splash water into boats and boats used to tilt and move forward dangerously increasing our heart beat. The view of roaring Arabian Sea welcoming the river was at sight. Huge bamboo poles were used as oar by strong and sturdy Kharvis to cross the river. As we move closer and closer to Gangulli, the water was so deep that oar was of no avail. Only rowing was possible. The boat journey was more precarious in rainy season. When it was ebb, it was more time consuming journey. The effort that a boatman had to put in to drive the boat was inexplicable. It was Herculean task.Even after retirement, I have traveled extensively . I have travelled across Pacific.I have a clear picture of our country as well as what life is .