Sri Jagannath Express is as good as Abada Prasad - Brandon Buffard

It was yet another exhilarating RF session at HWH yesterday. While the nitty gritty of the meet has already been elaborated by the other participants. I am a late comer to the blog, thanks to a hitherto non-functional BB connection. And this notwithstanding the fact that I was the first to reach the venue sharp at 5 pm by virtue of having nothing much to do unlike the other participants.
The CHIEF GUEST OF THE EVENING was Ganesh Tiwari, who is perhaps IRI's sole NRI railfan. Ganesh and I have been striving to meet each other for long but somehow our hopes did not materialize until yesterday due to overlapping travel plans. But finally we realized our ambition and for company...
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to boot we also had the privilege of the presence of 4 more railfans from Kolkata.
Time flew as we enjoyed each other's presence to the hilt discussing IR, IRI and various other issues. Ganesh gave us an insight into the railways in Australia and explained to us that unlike in India, the railway network there was not the lifeline of the transport system, with the airlines occupying the pride of place. Not surprising as he explained that a train journey from Perth, his hometown there, to Sydney involved a travel time of 7 DAYS and cost 700 Aus $. However one could easily traverse that distance in 4 hours time by air at a cost of 250 Aus $. There was so much to learn interacting with Ganesh and all the others and the three hours we spent were over in a jiffy.
It was a REVERSAL OF ROLES as the GUEST of the evening suddenly decided to turn into a GRACIOUS HOST treating us to a superb feast at the FOOD PLAZA. Not to be outdone Dipyaman and Sabyasachi in turn sponsored the dessert consisting of an INTOXICATING INDRANI and a ROYAL RAJBHOG.
At the end of it all let me raise the customary TOAST to IRI for making this meeting of minds possible Hope you enjoyed reading this account as much as we enjoyed each other's company as well as the spread.