Indian Railways is very rightfully called the lifeline of the nation. Almost every Indian person has been on an Indian Railways train sometime or the other. I was also recently on one, and little did I know I was in for a pleasant surprise. A part of this journey was across the western ghats in Maharashtra, and that was when it all happened.
The journey started from Jabalpur aboard the JBP-CSMT Garibrath Express. As it was an overnight journey, there was nothing to see outside the window on the same day....
more... When I woke up the next morning, unaware of what was about to come, that was when it all began. The very first glance out of the window took me in awe. Huge and lush green mountains soaring up high to the white clouds above. It was genuinely a sight to behold. As I was taking it all in, it suddenly went pitch dark. We were inside a tunnel, and the tunnels kept coming our way as it was a hilly region. It almost felt surreal how we were cruising through all this on a train.
I had to know where I was. When I researched later, I discovered that these were the western ghats. Precisely, the Konkan region of Maharashtra within them. The Western Ghats or Sahyadri is a mountain range that runs parallel to the west coast of India, across the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The Indian Railways offers many such scenic routes. Some of the most popular ones are the Himalayan Queen (Kalka to Shimla), Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling) and Vasco Da Gama in Goa to Londa in Karnataka. Hop on one such train for a truly enthralling experience.
please wait...Translate to HindiIndian Railways bahut sahi taur par jaisa ki humne desh ka lifeline kaha jata hai. Lagbhag har Indian vyakti ne kabhi na kabhi ek Indian Railways ki train par safar kiya hai. Main bhi haal hi mein ek par tha, aur mujhe pata bhi nahi tha ki mujhe ek khushkhabri ka samna karna hai. Ye safar Maharashtra ke pashchimi ghaton ke beech ka hissa tha, aur vo tab hua.
Safar Jabalpur se JBP-CSMT Garibrath Express mein shuru hua. Kyunki ye raat ko safar tha, uss din kuch nazar nahi aa raha tha train ke bahar. Jab main agle din subah utha, unsun hokar ki mujhe kya hone wala hai, tab vo sab shuru hua. Pehli jhalak hi dekhte hi mujhe behad prabhavit kar diya. Bade aur hari-bhari pahadonne uppar tak uchhal diya aur uspar thode badal bhi the. Yeh sach mein dekhne layak tha. Jab main sab ko samajh raha tha, tab achank andhera ho gaya. Hum ek tunnel ke andar the, aur kyunki yahan pahaadi kshetra thi, tunnels ka baar-baar aana jana tha. Train par yeh saari cheezein dekhkar mujhe maujood hona bilkul asal jaisa lag raha tha.
Mujhe pata karna tha ki main kahan par tha. Jab main baad mein research kiya, tab mujhe pata chala ki yeh pashchimi ghat hain. Vishesh roop se, Maharashtra ke Konkan kshetra mein hain. Pashchimi ghat ya Sahyadri ek pahadon ka shreni hai jo Bharat ke pashchimi saundarya tat par Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala aur Tamil Nadu rajyon mein faila hua hai.
Indian Railways bahut se aise tasvirik route bhi pradān karta hai. Inme se kuch prasiddh hai, jaise Himalayan Queen (Kalka se Shimla tak), Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (Jalpaiguri se Darjeeling tak) aur Vasco Da Gama, Goa se Londa, Karnataka tak. Ek aisi train par sawar ho jao aur hai toh asli anand ka anubhav.