Last of the Narrow Gauge

The Indian Railways decided that from 1 November 2015  the Narrow Gauge trains will be a thing of the past (like all things the shutting down was delayed to December). The places where people will be privileged to travel on these choo-choo trains will be in Darjeeling, Shimla and Ooty. The Narrow Gauge is collateral damage to the chug of progress - Broad Gauge Conversion.

Getting to the Narrow Gauge  platform in Nagpur is similar to getting to the 9 ¾ platform from which the Hogswart Express leaves. Walking on Platform 1 of the Nagpur station one comes to a pillar that separates this platform from the path to the narrow gauge platform. On this pillar is a little board that announces 'To Narrow Gauge'. You could easily miss it. Walking past the board, one gets a view of the Narrow Gauge track. There is a soon to be extinct Narrow Gauge train on the platform, it is heading to Nainpur in Madhya Pradesh.

The Narrow Gauge line in Central India began in the 1900s. The Gondia – Nainpur line was opened on the 13th of April 1903, there was the Chindwara-Pench Coalfield line that began in 1906-07. The 2ft 6 in (762mm) gauge line extended to just over 1000 km.

In this railway division the conversion to broad gauge began in the December 1992.When I heard that the remnants of the Narrow Gauge line was being finally shut down I decided book myself on a rain travelling between Nagpur and Nainpur.  This being the longest route, I hoped it would  give me a full experience of travelling on this line.

I booked my tickets on-line and chose a sleeper class seat, the idea being that I would be able sleep and also walk to the general compartments between stations. The sleeper bogie on the Narrow Gauge line is very different from what the passengers of the Broad Gauge line are used to. Here the bogie seats 38, there are 10 sleepers that hang above the benches.

This means that only 10 of the 38 onboard this compartment can buy the privilege of lying down. The only difference between the general compartment and the sleeper is the absence of these overhead berths.

The train left on time – 12.45 pm. As the train headed out of Nagpur, we passed through shanties that were at arms reach from my window. The tracks are part of peoples courtyards suggesting that people had encroached on railway land or the railways had usurped land from the people. One of the first things one appreciates on travelling by the Narrow Gauge is that speed of the train does not match its sound and fury.

The Narrow Gauge connects the less developed areas of this region. This fact was brought home by the stations we stopped at. Many were just signposts, others had a little concrete shed which also served as ticket counters. Being  a single line, there were a few  stations that were a little more elaborate to ensure oncoming trains could pass each other on parallel tracks and then get back on the single track.

As these tracks were built to connect the hinterland there isnt much distance between stations. The train stopped every few minutes, my fellow passengers were all of the short haul variety. As I was travelling before Dushhera many were headed back to their villages/towns.  

 There is not much to eat at these stations. Any lone snack stall at these halts does quick business. Many villagers sell fruits and vegetables here and Sitaphal seemed to be the fruit of the season. While sharing a piece of this fruit with a student headed home he told me that the best of these fruits are found here and that the tastiest Alu Bondas are found at the Karaili station on the Beena line.

When I asked one of the passengers what he would do once this line was shut he replied that journeys would become a luxury undertaken on family emergencies and to answer government notices. The fare of a bus ticket is double that of a Narrow Gauge train ticket.

Before becoming part of the Indian Railways behemoth, this Narrow Gauge line was known as the Satpuda Railway which was developed by the Bengal Nagpur Railway. Nainpur was the hub of this section. The train passes through the Maikal ranges of Satpuda hills and we covered some densely forested areas. Once in the hinterland, the train chugged past mud houses surrounded by green fields bordered by jungle. In the forested areas  there was a lot of gauge conversion work in progress. Stones dumped in huge piles, cleared areas deep in the forest, concrete sections that would soon become part of a station or a bridge popped up at frequent intervals on this journey.

Some railway gangmen got on board a few hours later. They said that even though this line would soon be shutting down the Railways would ensure that they worked for their money. 
 We reached Nainpur on time – 2.30 am the next day. The Nainpur station was lit and there was activity. Like in other stations people were sleeping on the platform, porters carried the trunks of guards and drivers to rest areas. However, there was a sense that this place had seen a far greater rush in earlier times. I walked into town to find a place to stay but at this early hour the hotels/lodges were shut and their attendants fast asleep. I returned to the station to chat to the owner of a tea stall there. Just then a near empty passenger train rolled in. While pouring me a warm cuppa chai, Babloo Kushwa, the owner told me that the station used to be packed at all times of the day. He reminisced that this train that had just rolled in used to give him a business of more than Rs 600/-. But with hardly any people using it, it was difficult to make even fifty rupees. He said that as train operations had been slowly whittled down people were forced to use buses.

He said that Nainpur was a railway town and its economy revolved around the presence of the railways. When I asked him what he would do once the station shut he said he had not thought of it as yet. My question was answered by another passenger who said that in all probability the tea stall owners would take their business to the bus station.

After a snooze I hired a cycle rickshaw to see the town. The importance of Nainpur as a rail hub could be gauged by the many British styled large railway offices and residences that were shut. 

The ordinariness of these trains could not  take away from the important role they played in the socio-economy of this region. Students, migrating families, regular passengers, vegetable sellers, tea stall owners  were all linked to these  Narrow Gauge tracks.  

The essence of time is  change, gauge conversion is an example of this. In this transformation many are going to be left out. What's going to happen to those little stops that had no station building to their name?  Would people collecting wood in the forest be able to hop on and hop off at the next station?  Or are they going to be swept aside as the Broad Gauge  trains thunder past?

Read about train journeys in my book '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People' available on Amazon, flipkart and book stores.

On the streets of Nagpur 25 June 2015

Review of 1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People

Review of '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'

‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension.

Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.

It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.

Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.

Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.

We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.

Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when

mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?

‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.

The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.

Published in Free Press Journal

(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)

‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. 

- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.xNqxWRJC.dpuf

Old and boring…

— By SAMIR NAZARETH | Apr 26, 2015 07:15 am

SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.

‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. 

Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.

It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.

Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.

Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.

We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.

Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?

‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.

The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.

(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)

- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.IsANOKnb.dpuf

Old and boring…

— By SAMIR NAZARETH | Apr 26, 2015 07:15 am

SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.

‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. 

Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.

It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.

Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.

Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.

We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.

Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?

‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.

The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.

(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)

- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.IsANOKnb.dpuf

Old and boring…

— By SAMIR NAZARETH | Apr 26, 2015 07:15 am

SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.

‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. 

Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.

It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.

Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.

Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.

We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.

Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?

‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.

The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.

(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)

- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.IsANOKnb.dpuf

Old and boring…

— By SAMIR NAZARETH | Apr 26, 2015 07:15 am

SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.

‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. 

Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.

It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.

Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.

Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.

We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.

Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?

‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.

The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.

(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)

- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.IsANOKnb.dpuf

Old and boring…

— By SAMIR NAZARETH | Apr 26, 2015 07:15 am

SAMIR NAZARETH says that increasingly being old means being boring and redundant in today’s youth oriented society.

‘Old and Boring!’ one gets to hear this very often, not from the lips of the old nor those in their teens but from those in their mid-thirties. The manner in which it is said is very matter of fact but in it there is a tinge of palpable apprehension. 

Shakespeare has written about the seven stages of man, Hindu texts have kept it simpler and deigned them to be only four.  But, whichever version one looks at, there is an understanding of what each age brings to the table. There is a to-do list, there are inherent goals which society recognises and which the individual works towards. Each stage prepares the individual for the next.

It would seem that past a particular age group getting ‘old’ has become profane because it suggests an inability to be what one was. There was a time when the young wanted to grow up because accumulating the years meant freedom, independence and shouldering responsibility for the self. When someone brands a particular age as ‘old and boring’ and is unable to see the two as separate then there is a problem.

Those who are newly middle-aged are at a threshold of two very disparate ages. They bridge the ages of youthful daredevilry of the young adult with the more serious pragmatic, responsible age of the just pensioned and elderly.  The future looks uncertain but the past, which was known, sure looks rosy.  For many, after a point, age is no longer just a number; it suggests less options, a slowdown caused by the shackles of health, lack of earning capacity and seemingly less opportunities to, for want of a better term, have a good time.

Though one would like to come across as experienced and worldly wise there is now need to hide the rigours of the process which brings it. Many speak of the ‘child in me’, there is constant research on the ‘Peter Pan Complex’, while a billion dollar industry has risen from the desire to look, if not remain, young.  This façade gives people an option of straddling two very disparate worlds.

We try to look younger, behave younger and find opportunities to do so in our attempt to retain the things we derived happiness from in our younger days.   Evolution is a natural phenomenon that feeds of the surrounding environment. This phenomena is not only biological, but cultural, social and psychological.  So, the idea that the manner in which we attain happiness and the form of our happiness will remain unchanged over time is juvenile to say the least. It not only ignores our progress as individuals but the advance of society.

Even as we middle aged work with our turmoil of finding ways to remain young, what of the young who see us? Are we encroaching on a space that is theirs? What goes on in their mind when they see us at a pub screaming along with Bryan Adams as he swears ’18 till I die’? What do children feel when their mothers look young like them or their father’s become a ‘dude’? Do youth feel claustrophobic and xenophobic with the presence of the new young? Is the fear of getting ‘old and boring’ passed on to an even younger generation who will define middle aged as old?

‘Old and boring’ is a desire to not accept what experience brings – maturity. Isn’t wanting to remain young disregarding and even disrespecting the self’s progress on all level’s? Would an engineer choose to use his skills to solve second grade mathematics?  The need to remain and even act young is something similar to a child’s first day at school- he clings to his parents, afraid of what is out there. We, the middle-aged are comfortable acting young because we have been there. Also, now that we have the money, can rationalise morality and have no one to answer to we are trying to make up for what we believe are the lost opportunities of our youth.

The fact remains that we could be boring at any age. There seems to be a lack of faith in oneself when one assumes that with age one becomes boring.  Why should we choose not to build on a life time of experience and instead opt to regress? Why should an interesting life become dull when one grows older? When we find an answer to this question, we will realise that ‘old and boring’ have a dissonance to them that only maturity understands.

(Samir Nazareth is the author of ‘1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People’)

- See more at: http://www.freepressjournal.in/old-and-boring/#sthash.IsANOKnb.dpuf

Getting into a train in India - An excerpt from 1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People

A para on journeying in trains taken from '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'. Book available on Amazon, www.uread.com

Hair Today..........

Hair is more than a growth on the skin. There is a science, art, philosophy and economics to it. Newspapers covered Salman Khan's attempts to cover his balding head with hair weaving. People shave their heads as a symbol of bereavement, religious/caste identification and even of protest and style. Some Catholic monks have specific hair styles. Temples in India make a lot of money from the proceeds of devotees tonsuring their heads. Advertisers suggest every colour except grey for hair while others wax eloquent on .....ahem waxing. Waxing is no longer the bastion of the stronger sex, men do it too.

Hair being combed at Rameshwaram

Like the food business the hair business is perennial. In Veeraval, one of the #76towns I visited on my 6 month journey, I saw 3 barber shops side-by-side. The clip in these salons was not only a sound of the scissors at work but also an indication of the pace of business.

Scalps being tonsured on Puri Beach

Beards or hair-on-the-face can be understood to be a sign of laziness or style or a political statement. Infact it is what weaves all religions together (okay most). It is supposed to be a sign of having reached a certain level of 'Being'. Hindu Sants, Maulvi's, Sikh Granthi's, Christian priests (some) all have the beard. 

Roadside salons in Mumbai or Bombay

And so we have the Hirsute Principles!

Busy barber with a shop by the side at a bus stand in Gujarat

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Samir Nazareth is the author of '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'. Read an excerpt of the book here. Read more about the book here. The book is currently available as an Ebook on Amazon here, Scribd here,  GooglePlay here & itunes here The hard copy will be out in February 2015.

Sleep

Sleep is a form of time travel. You close your eyes and you are transported into the past, potential future or into the next moment or maybe an alternate reality.

Sleeping in Mumbai

 I slept in various holes in the wall during my 6 month #76town trip through the Indian coast. However, I never had to rough it out like so.....

Sleepers in Paradeep

 Though my hotel rooms were dirty, small and inhabited by all god's creatures I was better off than this-

Sleeping under a boat

 Being tired at the end of the day absolved all ills of the room and the bed. They say a clear conscience is the best pillow, I say tiredness makes for a lovely mattress.

Cat nap.

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Samir Nazareth is the author of '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'. Read an excerpt of the book here. Read more about the book here. The book is currently available as an Ebook on Amazon here, Scribd here,  GooglePlay here & itunes here The hard copy will be out in February 2015.

The Tale of Two Parathas

When one hears mention of  #Paratha's a visual that immediately comes to mind is that of a strapping north Indian eating these greasy shallow fried unleavened bread with a dollop of unclarified butter and a glass of whipped yoghurt (lassi).

But Paratha's are not as simple as the afore mentioned visual. They tend to be complex and not confined to one particular Indian region or cuisine. For one, this bread can be stuffed with just about anything and it can sure stuff one's stomach. Parathas are stuffed with minced meat, finely shredded cauliflower or radish or mashed potatoes, egg and what have you. They are delicious on their own but can be relished with a side of yoghurt and pickle. More importantly this shallow fried unleavened bread can be made from a variety of flour everything from corn to wheat.

The southern parts of India too have their Parathas. These are not stuffed and are made of refined wheat flour. There is the Kerala Paratha, the Ceylonese Paratha to name a few. These retain their shapes when they reach your table.

The Pithai Paratha, before it is broken and bruised

But there is Koothu Paratha of Tamil Nadu and the Pithai Paratha of West Bengal that lose their shape as part of the final dish.

The Koothu paratha is actually a paratha or two noisily minced with iron spatulas over a large hot iron griddle to which is added a variety of spices. As per the order an egg could be cracked over it, vegetables could be added or pieces of shredded chicken thrown in.

The Pithai Paratha, is something different. It is a large thin paratha that is beaten black and blue by the cook with his bare hands. This broken shapeless mass is put on a plate and served with a side of chickpeas or anything else. Mind you the paratha is not torn asunder, just beaten.

There is no one particular definition of a Paratha, just as there is no one definition to what makes an Indian.

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Samir Nazareth is the author of '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'. Read an excerpt of the book here. Read more about the book here. The book is currently available as an Ebook on Amazon here, Scribd here  and on GooglePlay here . The hard copy will be out in February 2015.

Thoughts on Bangaluru/Bangalore

Bangalore/Bangaluru, I am sure is unhappy as it compares its staid name with those of its townships and apartment complexes. These are grabbing large chunks of its varicosed veined land which are then rechristened with trippy names and names that drip with exclusivity and achievement. Such islands of exclusivity, where everything is perfect and just right, is a complete antithesis to the route one has to take to reach there – I am speaking both literally and figuratively.

A newbie entering Bangalore/ Bangaluru would naturally assume that s/he is in the wrong city. This technological hub of India, where the brightest minds (okay engineers and their ilk) come to toil and so grow rich has very few hoardings advertising the many software/technology/e-commerce companies that have made this city their home.

Infact, on the drive from MG Road to the Airport, I noticed only one hoarding being used by a technology company. All space had been grabbed by reality firms selling dreams, views, recognition, status everything that they allege money can buy.

The success of the IT industry should not be gauged by the number of IT millionaires or the number of IT companies in Bangalore/Bangaluru. Instead, this success should be measured by the growth of the reality industry and the price of space (including in terms of money) that one has to pay.

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Samir Nazareth is the author of '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'. Read an excerpt of the book here. Read more about the book here. The book is currently available as an Ebook on Amazon here, Scribd here  and on GooglePlay here . The hard copy will be out in February 2015.

Some forms of fishing in India - I

To all fish lovers, is your catch colour blind? If not, why do fishing nets differ in colour? Is it because of different refractive indices of water in different parts of the sea? And is the differences dependent on salinity and water temperature? I dont know, but I do know that there are different nets used.

I realised this on my 6 month journey through 76 towns.  Fishing did not only differ according to quantum of water, but also on the types of nets used. Nets changed in size, gauge, length, shape and even colour. In some regions the nest were white, in another nets were red and in other places they were blue. In one of the coastal villages i visited fishermen were dyeing their nets green.

Red fishing nets being prepared at the fishing pier in Malpe

The length of the nets can be seen in this snap of fishermen bundling a fishing net in Poompuhar

Tidal nets that are strung across the tidal plan to prevent fish from swimming back to the sea as the tide ebbs. Dahanu

Fisherman scooping fishing from puddles in the rocky tidal plain in Dahanu

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Samir Nazareth is the author of '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'. Read an excerpt of the book here. Read more about the book here. The book is currently available as an Ebook on Amazon here, Scribd here  and on GooglePlay here . The hard copy will be out in February 2015.

Children in small town India

Children have the ability to entertain themselves. They are still immune to the diktats of social mores. This quality allows them to remain still, create something from scrap and find joy in things that older people have discarded.

On my 6 month trip through 76 towns I had many opportunities to see children.

A boy watching the waves with a crow for company in Bhimunipatinam

This was before the time of the cell phone, where the world was still their oyster. Where their skills to build had to do with creating pieces of value instead of reaching the next level of some game on their (or their parent's) phone.

A scooter without wheels and a seat is still a thing of interest.

A young boy and girl sitting amongst fishing boats in Tranquebar

Children body surfing with planks of wood in Tranquebar

Children with flotation devices built by them in Byet Dwarka.

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Samir Nazareth is the author of '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'. Read an excerpt of the book here. Read more about the book here. The book is currently available as an Ebook on Amazon here, Scribd here  and on GooglePlay here . The hard copy will be out in February 2015.

Rameshwaram

The holy town of Rameshwaram is an island. The significance of the railway bridge that connects the island to the mainland can be seen inside the Ramanathaswamy temple. This was one of the 76 towns  that I visited on my 6 month trip through the Indian coast. 

A street scene with the temple in the background.

In Rameshwaram, I found a place to stay near the Ramanathaswamy temple. I did not know that it was also close to the fishing pier too. The realisation first hit my nostrils. It was here that I met some kar sevaks and also got to know of a Gurudwara here where a family member of Guru Gobind Singh is interred.

The tide is very low here and one can walk quite far into sea.

One of the peculiarities of this place is the low tidal plain which allows people to walk quite far into sea. This also allows pilgrims to bathe in the sea without the worry of drowning. That is the reason why this place has bathing ghats. The stairs that lead to sea also become places where priests sit waiting for devotees to ask them to perform rituals

An old priest waiting under the umbrella.

The Ramanathaswamy temple houses one of the 12 Jyotirlingas and is therefore a very important pilgrimage spot. The temple also has 22 wells at which the faithful bathe. For those who have been to the Ramanathaswamy temple did you look at the ceiling? For those going to this holy temple please look at the ceiling and for those not planning to go to this temple my book '1400 Bananas, 76 towns &1 Million people' gives you the reason why the ceilings are a must.


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Samir Nazareth is the author of '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People'. Read an excerpt of the book here. Read more about the book here. The book is currently available as an Ebook on Amazon here, Scribd here  and on GooglePlay here . The hard copy will be out in February 2015.

Streets of small town India

On my 6 month journey through  #76towns I spent all my time on the streets of these towns. I would wake up grab a snack and a bunch of bananas and head out. Through the day I would walk, stopping to speak to people, spending time on life altering decisions like whether I should  turn right or left.  Streets take on the identity of their surroundings - they can become shopping areas, they can become places of rest. Sometimes the streets are so large in small town India that people are not too sure what to do with the space. One sign of progress of a town is when hoardings begin to appear on streets.

A street in Malvan. This small town is known for its cuisine.

For some reason when I see these trucks I am reminded of elephants

A street in Karwar, on the west coast of India

A street in Thirussur, in front of the basilica

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Samir Nazareth is the author of the book '1400 Bananas, 76 Towns & 1 Million People' The book is currently available as an Ebook on Amazon here, Scribd here  and on GooglePlay here . The hard copy will be out in February 2015.