A small write-up, hope you all like it:
RAILWAY STATIONS-WHY,HOW AND WHEN?
When we talk about railways in any part of the world, we obviously also have in mind railway stations for they are not only a part of the railway network but an important place from where our journey’s start or end(they can probably be termed as divine places for us railfans as they interest us more than anything for pics, knowledge, chat with crew etc).The very fact is unbeatable that they have been standing in all glory and many are probably...
more... older by thrice our age, must have witnessed the passage of millions of people and bustling with activity from decades.
Secunderabad Railway station as many might have already known was constructed by the nizam of Hyderabad to act as the hub for the nizam’s guaranteed state railways and the Nizam’s Godavari River valley railway. This station had a mix of BG and MG tracks while the other two major stations had been only BG(Hyderabad Deccan-Nampally) and only MG(Kacheguda). During my childhood this has been just another station for me or a place which provides shelter right after I disembark a train or about to board one from sun and rain.
This particular station in Andhra Pradesh is a unique mix of Telugu,Kannada and Marathi speaking people thanks to the State of Nizam which extended in all these three states.One can find a typical Hyderabadi Irani chai/Biryani joint(Alpha) right opposite this station which hosts almost every old Marathi person to a cup of tea after their journey and a couple of Udipi kannada style hotels right down while walkng towards clock tower/patny/paradise.
After years of railfanning however I look at this station with the utmost reverence as it has been standing proudly serving passengers with a smile from decades, witnessing people bid farewell to loved ones, hugging friends/family once they reach back home, abandoned kids, cheats trying to milk money from people speaking their language.Over the years this station has upgraded itself into a unique,clean,lovable and pleasant station and I can almost hear a “Hey, am good,wassup! Where are you headed to this time?” everytime I pass this station when I initially imaginarily enqire”Hello SC,How u doing today?”. This station has always been unique for me and always will, one of the best places in Hyderabad for railfanning.
However there is another element to stations in IR, there are hundreds of stations in IR which had once been very busy(Pre-Independence) and either witness a relatively low traffic today or no traffic at all(totally ruined) like hussainsagar in the heart of Hyderabad for instance. Stations like Chamarajanagara,Chikballapur,Kolar etc seem to be lost in a world of their own waiting to be revived and dwelt by passengers again.
This blog is dedicated to the erstwhile NG line of Kolar-Chikballapur hoping to see it in BG soon.
Cheers to Indian Railways!!
