#banglagolpo series
A garland of strings.....
The Howrah to Bazarsaw passenger train left in the morning of MahaShashthi. This train will reach Kalna in about four hours. I learned from my father that this train will stop at one or two stations before Bandel. The engine will be changed in Bandel. Now, the train is being pulled by a diesel engine, and after Bandel, it will be pulled by a coal steam engine. I had been on trains a few times before, but it was always an electric train. The diesel engine roars. It sped past one station after another. What strength! Compared to this, the electric train is much quieter and more subtle. But when the train started its journey after connecting the steam engine at Bandel, it was a strange experience.
It took a long time to change the engine. So, my father took us to the platform to show us how the steam engine works. Four or five railway workers opened the coupling of the diesel engine. That engine, like me, "boomed" with joy of liberation and left. Then, after a while, the steam engine came, blowing its whistle – "Kuu-uu-uu-uu". Black smoke above, white smoke below, it puffed and puffed. Slowly, it arrived and bumped into the train with a thud, then stopped. The railway workers tied the engine to the train. While it was standing, it hissed loudly, like an angry sheep. The coupling was strengthened. The steam engine blew its whistle - "Kuu-uu-uu-uu". Black smoke billowed out, and with it, the engine puffed out long breaths of steam. My father held my hand, and we ran up to the train. As we boarded, the train started moving. My mother was anxious! Now she said, relieved, "Why were you so late? What if the train had left?"
After crossing Bandel, the scenery on both sides of the track also began to change. The song we sang at the school function a few days ago, its form began to emerge in front of my eyes. The boundless expanse of blue sky, scattered white patches of clouds. On the other side of the train, the vast green fields running towards the horizon. countless water lilies blooming in the canals and wetlands. Before the tribelly's knock, the Saraswati river crossed over the winter with a rumble. Small boats tied at the ghat of the water-filled river. On the banks of the river, there were mounds of dry soil, like the white hair of an old woman, swaying in the wind. That day, I first understood the true beauty of the autumn.
I was eagerly sticking my head out of the window, my father stopped me. He said, coal dust from the smoke of the coal engine is often there, it can be very painful if it gets into your eyes. Seeing the autumn scenery through the window. The electric train is too efficient, lifeless, and wooden. The diesel train we came in the morning had a lot of power, I felt scared, thinking that if something fell in front, it would push it away with a thump, like a grumpy elephant. But this steam engine is so fun. There's no rush. It's like it doesn't want to move when it stops at a station. It's like me! I am growing up, brother, why the hurry? Seeing and hearing everything on both sides, not bothering people, quiet and well-behaved. People are getting on and off. People are buying tea from the shop. Someone is calling and drinking water. This train drinks a lot of water. At a larger station, it gulps water through a long, thin pipe like a giraffe, filling its belly. What a drinker! After drinking its fill, it sweetly calls "Kuu-uu-uu". As if to say, "Now get on, we have to reach our destination".
You can read the rest of the story by buying the book 😜
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