journey to the land of Ganes

Train journey to the land of the Ganges.


We decided to go to central India to enjoy the climatic conditions in the holy land of the Ganges. Allahabad is one of the important cities in Uttar Pradesh and is a pious place for Hindus. A dip in the river Ganga is considered holy as it washes all your sins and a visit to the place is a must on every India’s calendar in a lifetime.

We boarded the train from New Delhi in the wee hours of the morning. My nephew Bharat was happy as in six days time he had traveled the length and breadth of the capital city. He knew that it was time to get back to base camp and enjoy life in his hometown. He was also excited about catching up with his relatives especially his great grandmother who was waiting impatiently to meet him after six days.

We waited at the station on platform no 7 as the train was late. The train departed from New Delhi station 20 minutes late. Within minutes of boarding the train the little czar was caught up in enjoying the site of the outside world with his mother by his side. He did explain with his expressive thoughts and his nascent understanding the unhygienic conditions on the platform and on the train. He was also tired that his uncle (the host) was constantly observing him and did not miss an opportunity to capture any of the moments.

He was so tired being under scrutiny and soon managed to even scores with his uncle. He got hold of the camera, and did show his photography skills.

We all decided to catch up on our sleep and got up in time to enjoy the freshly home made lunch from our Bhabhi’s home in Kanpur. Some puris soaked in ghee, aloo Kachoris with some pickles, some lovely vegetables, kichdi and sweets made our lunch.
The train arrived in Allahabad and the little dude was excited as his father (rohit) was there to receive him. A warm embrace and some silence between the father-son did tell stories that elders may might hours to narrate.

He was happy to be back home and our drive back home was like a walk down memory lane for the little champion. He looked at every street in his hometown with awe. Rohit did stop the car outside our ice-cream parlour on Civil Lines and the little champion took time out to sit on the bonnet of the car. Relatives and well wishers say a politician in the making but for the little champ his idea to declare to his friends and family that he is back and ready for some mischief.

On entering the porch, the little czar rushed to say namaste to the guard of our house (Thakoo in reality his name is thakur). He rushed and embraced the guard and then rushed home to meet his great grandmother and then got into the groove of getting into the act of Light Camera Action. I am back with a bang.