*** RUKE NA TU, JHUKE NA TU!! ***
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Ruke Na Tu, Thake Na Tu!
Jhuke Na Tu, Thame Na Tu!
Sada Chale, Thake Na Tu!
Ruke...
more... Na Tu, Jhuke Na Tu!
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The above verses of the famous poem by Shri Harivanshrai Bachchan do rejuvenate someone who always aspires for more. The verses are apt in today’s context to all trains that serve the nation. But there are a few SPECIAL ones who are the CYNOSURE OF ATTENTION of everyone’s eyes. One such train is DECCAN QUEEN.
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As is the tradition every year, a swarm of railfans, rail officials, passengers, general public, political leaders, film stars and notable residents of the city all gathered at PUNE station at around 6 am onwards. The reason? No marks for guessing, the date is June 1, the birthday of the legendary BLUE EYED BABE of Central Railway. Her Royal Highness Deccan Queen turns 85, along with her elder sister, PUNJAB MAIL who turns 103.
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Brimming with excitement since yesterday night, I got up early and after getting ready for office, I set out towards station. The time was 5.45 am, birds were chirping and cool breeze soothed the body and the mind. Paltry traffic on the street meant that I was able to reach station in 20 minutes, a distance that is a good 10 km from my residence. Found a vacant parking spot near the exit, collected the receipt from the parking guy and made a dash for the station building. My heart thudded with eager anticipation. After purchasing PF ticket, entered through the main concourse hall and turned left towards SMs office towards Mumbai end.
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I saw that a somewhat decent amount of crowd gathered surrounding a huge table, on which were kept four delectable cakes, to celebrate the occasion. First, for the Queen herself. Second, for her elder sister Punjab Mail. Third (and an unexpected) for the humble MSRTC, which renders a yeoman service in every nook and corner of Maharashtra and the Fourth, to celebrate the occasion of re-introduction of Dining Car in DQ.
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The SHUTTERBUGS, most of them who were passengers of other trains, were clicking pics on their smartphones. The rest who had descended specially for the occasion were equipped with cameras off all sizes and shapes, from the handy point and shoot to the mighty DSLRs. To add to this were the news channel correspondents and their cameramen with monstrous video cameras!!
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Wasting no time, I joined the party and clicked pics of the festivities. Soon, our friends from IRI arrived on the scene and we met and greeted each other, the likes of Amol, Amit Pathak Ji followed by fellow Punekar admins Himanshu Sharma & Piyush. Our IRI Pune members Mr. Jitesh Iyer & Pranav Phadke also met us and it was nice meeting them in person, having interacted on numerous occasions on IRI. Serveral other RFs, both independent as well as affiliated to IRFCA were also present in large numbers from both Mumbai and Pune to savour the occasion. One notable thing this year was that the 99808 “LIFELINE 06.30 LOCAL” to Lonavala was placed on PF-1 till its departure (this departs from PF-1 daily, but an exception is made on June 1 every year where a different platform is allocated) which meant that the rake of DQ could be placed only after 06.30. Usually every year on her Birthday, she gets placed on PF as early as 06.00 am. A little girl innocently asked her dad whether the local was celebrating her 85th Birthday to which everyone present had a hearty laugh!!
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The members of the Pune-Mumbai Pravasi Sangh (PMPS) ascertained the quorum (by now the surroundings around SMs office all the way to Mumbai end were packed with RFs and passengers) when the celebrations began and called the chief guests for today’s function – Shri Girish Bapat, Minister Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Govt. of Maharashtra along with the entire cast of a new Marathi Film “Murder Mystery” to be released soon. Mr. SM, ASM along with LP, ALP and other rail officials were also present on the spot. The cake was cut, the song was sung to a huge round of applause. In the meanwhile, the 06.30 Local left.
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The stage now being set for the queen to arrive, everyone turned their attention towards the horizon on the Mumbai end. Many RFs were already on the Mumbai end and there was a scuffle to grab the best “VANTAGE POINTS” which were on offer. Nevertheless, everyone made themselves comfortable wherever they could, a majority on the edge of the PF while some downstairs on the tracks. Soon, a PUNE shunter brought the gleaming rake onto the PF, much to the delight of everyone. It was indeed a REGAL sight when the Queen gracefully entered the PF. First DARSHAN of the BIRTHDAY GIRL made sure everyone was ON THEIR TOES!!
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With the rake placed, all attention towards ETS now, as a couple of E-locos were making their way out, one of course for the modest Sahyadri Express on PF-6 and the other for the Queen. The one in charge of the Queen was a 21889 KYN WCAM-3, which was a huge let off for RFs, since it looked dirty and a tad rusty at places with skin peeled off and badly needed a BATH and a FACIAL with some COSMETIC TREATMENT :)
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The Daily Passengers got down on the tracks with their own version of the cake. A Banner and some garlands were put. Soon a pooja was performed and coconut was broken to ward off evils. The cake was cut to another round of applause.
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The clock was ticking, it was already 07.05 when the DPs headed back to their respective coaches. It was just a matter of a few minutes before the clock struck 07.15. In the meanwhile, many RFs took position to capture the Departure.
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The clock finally showed 07.15 when the ALP waved the Green Flag and instead of the usual lacklustre horn, a rhythmic and a special series of honks were let out continuously, signifying the special moment, much to the glee of everyone. Our trio of admins had already placed ourselves way beyond the crossovers. Piyush used his negotiating skills to his best and hopped on to a caboose of a BCNA. Within no time, the loco let out a snort and began accelerating, the LP & ALP waving to everyone enthusiastically. The Queen departed as gracefully as it has entered and yet another day had begun in the office!!
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Pics will be posted in the night. Thanks for patient reading :-)
