What if I ask you, what is the most stupid thing you've done to retrieve your slippers? I made a sprint through a tiger reserve. This is the story of my journey through one of the last mainline MG routes of India.

On one fine July morning, I was feeling too overwhelmed by the things going on in my life and work. So, I did what any sane person would do, I headed out for the first location I saw on Instagram. I wanted to mysteriously disappear for a few days,...
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but I needed someone to drop me off to the bus stop. So much for disappearing mysteriously.

It was a good day, people didn't seem to be unhealthy. So, I utilized my time researching the route and booked a ticket in current availability. The only reservation I did, or so I thought. I headed out for the expressway in night, somehow boarded a UPSRTC, which seemed like punch it and it would fall apart. But somehow, it made it till Lucknow, from where I had to board my train.

My train was the ANVT-GKP weekly, in which I was going to travel till Gonda. With side lower allotted to me in the empty coach, it was going to be a beautiful nonstop run. I woke up somewhere around Colonelganj, and the surroundings were something out of a movie. It was a misty morning, wrapped in a blue hue, with our train racing through the magestic plains of Uttar Pradesh in a fine drizzle.

I deboarded at Gonda, and while I couldn't get the snaps I had planned, I was amazed by the rustic beauty of the erstwhile MG station. I went out to buy a ticket for the Gonda-Bahraich DEMU and, while at it, captured the beautiful IZN YDM-4 stabled outside, looking for the first time at an MG loco in the real world. I boarded the last vendor coach of the train, and it turned out to be a good decision because it was basically empty, while the rest of the train was jam-packed.

The whole route converted from MG is a site to behold, huge trees, seemingly older than time looming all over the platforms, train chugging between water filled nurseries of paddy on an overcast morning. No trace of humanity in vicinity and the chatter of vendors inside the coach. We had a crossing, too, with the delayed BRK-BSB Intercity hauled by a GZB WAP-5.

There was a person sitting beside me with a lot of cameras whom I thought to be another railfan, so I found a companion, fine. I was greatly disappointed when I found out he was just a wedding photographer going to Bahraich. I deboarded at Bahraich and went out to buy tickets again for Mailani. And I was surprised to see the crowd of daily travelers. Again, I boarded the SLR. Except for the electrical components, the train was maintained well. Coaches were clean, toilets scrubbed, with running water.

The train lurched into motion, and the coach came to life. The coach was occupied mainly by people going to their daily jobs in Risiya. From nurses to policemen, shopkeepers to peons, hawkers to teachers, everyone seemed to know each other. That's the beauty of small towns. Somehow, these people included me in their conversations as if I were their daily co-passanger. And for once, I forgot about capturing the route.

Almost everyone deboarded at Risiya, and the passenger from Nepalgunj, which usually xinged at Nanpara, crossed us at Risiya itself. The jungle hadn't started yet, and we were passing through the lazy farmlands and occasional villages. Once the train halted at Nanpara, it started to drizzle. The train was completely empty now. Since the halt at Nanpara was almost an hour long, I got down to capture the train below the huge Maulsree tree and the daily life at the station.

Nanpara is the junction of Bahraich-Mailani and Nepalgunj lines. Few spare coaches standing on the loop, colonial style building, and huge Maulsree and Sal trees looming over the whole station. Vendors frying samosas and bread pakoras, while people moving on the platform bustling with activity, the station is a page taken out of Malgudi Days.

With nothing to eat, I bought those freshly made snacks. While they were delicious, they were a bit oily for my liking. After an hour, the Guard waved his flag, the loco whistled, and we moved further. The jungle starts somewhere around Mihinpurwa. Before that, the route is like the typical northern Indian plains. Farmlands stretching to the horizon and occasional plantations around the tracks. Stations are beautiful and will take you back in time. The train got decent patronage, and I was surprised that everyone boarded with a valid ticket.

After Mihinpurwa, the track runs parallel to the road for a while under the thick canopies of Sal trees in the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. The jungle starts gradually and takes over the surroundings. A layer of mist surrounded the tracks, and I could spot occasional Langurs, few birds, and a lot of brooks. The jungle itself seemed to be lost in its own thoughts. We crossed our pairing train somewhere inside the sanctuary, coming out of the forest, crossing the semaphores, and disappearing back into the jungle.

We curved out of the Katarniaghat gradually and entered the grassland, crossing the mighty Sharda Barrage over an angrily churning Sharda river. The river had flooed the area, showing that ultimately, mother nature reclaims back what belongs to her. I made a few local friends on the train. A person traveling solo needs someone to capture him, too, right. We crossed another service going to Bahraich at a yet another beautiful station. If you're traveling on that route, you'll realize that time has stopped on these stations somewhere in the past. It's surreal.

Unlike Katarniaghat, Dudhwa starts abruptly. You can literally see the forest approaching, with a clear demarcation between plain grasslands and high Sal trees. Dudhwa is a combination of grasslands, tall Sal trees, and a lot of water bodies. And yes, endless rows of termite mounds, some of them higher than our train, and probably older than me. Now, do you remember the first line I mentioned? I was sitting on the door, and one of my slippers fell down on the ground. And there I am, watching at it left behind on the forest floor.

But somehow, the train screeched to a halt a few meters ahead. Most probably, to let a bunch of animals cross the track. And simultaneously, I jumped out and ran, barefoot back in the jungle. Retrieved my slipper, clicked a photo of the train, and ran back. As soon as I grabbed the door handle, the train lurched into motion. Now, looking back at that day, I realize it was pure madness. Running back in a tiger paradise, leaving my DSLR bag, food, water, charger, and my wallet on the train without thinking what would've happened if I missed the train. What is a journey without such stories.

After that, the route was pretty much the same, and I dozed off. Woke up at Dudhwa and again went back to sleep. Finally, I woke up near Palia and saw a bunch of keymen sitting around me. They were talking about a tiger sighting near Dudhwa railway station. Finally, an exciting journey came to an end when we reached Mailani. There was enough time for me to capture the MG heaven of Mailani. I bought tickets for Lucknow and boarded the Mailani-Gorakhpur Express. The transition from slow, beautiful MG to EMD hauled LHB train made me realize how rapidly time has changed during these two and a half decades of my life.

Slept pretty much all the way to LJN. The 15010 needs more General coaches as there was a huge rush, whereas the AC and SL were empty. Forgot my way out of LJN to Charbagh, I still can't figure out why. I had to be rescued by my friend who coincidentally was present on the station. Exhausted by the day journey, I booked a 2AC back to Etawah in Marudhar Express and called it a day.

Experiencing the slow life away from the rush of the cities, in the heart of rural Uttar Pradesh. Exploring the jungles but in a train rather than the open jeeps. This will take you back to how life used to be just a few years back. Laid-back and simple. Thank you for reading. A few snaps from the same journey, /blog/post/6105961

Kumud.

#iUsedToBe - Special
Below is the list of trains who started as special and later got regularised because of their popularity.
Preparing this list all by myself was not possible. Hence many respected members have helped me by sharing their valuable knowledge. Due credit has been given to them within the list.
**Note - There are many trains which have their first...
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run as Inaugural Passenger Special. Such trains have not been considered, only those trains have been considered who had operated as special for a brief period of time (Ex: Summer Special, Puma Special, Chhath Special, Urs Special etc).
1) 12323/12324 Howrah- Anand Vihar Superfast
2) 12503/12504 AGTL-BNC Humsafar, started as KYQ -BYPL Suvidha Special
3) 20821/20822 SRC-PUNE Humsafar - Courtesy Vikas Kumar
4) 20827/20828 SRC-JBP Himsafar - Courtesy Vikas Kumar
5) 19337/19338 INDB- DEE Express - Courtesy Shuvam Yadav
6) 22981/22982 SGNR- KOTA Super fast - Courtesy RDB
7) 16617/16618 CBE- RMM Express - Courtesy RDB
8) 17313/17314 Hubballi- MAS Express - Courtesy Viswanath Joshi
9) 22867/22868 DURG- NZM Humsafar - Courtesy Shankar Mehani
10) 19201/19202 PBR- SC Express - Courtesy Neel Ashar
11) 19573/19574 Okha- Jaipur Express - Courtesy Neel Ashar
12) 22937/22938 RJT- REWA Superfast - Courtesy Neel Ashar
13) 22939/22940 Hapa- BSP SF - Courtesy Neel Ashar
14) 22907/22908 Hapa- MAO SF - Courtesy Neel Ashar
15) 19423/19424 GIMB- TEN Humsafar - Courtesy SD Aparajit
16) 12237/12238 Begampura Express - Courtesy Omkar
17) 16101/16102 MS- QLN Express - Courtesy Dhheplan G V
18) 16229/16230 MYS- BSB Express - Courtesy Viswanath Joshi
19) 11303/11304 MUGR- KOP express - Courtesy Viswanath Joshi
20) 15057/15058 GKP- DLI Express - Courtesy RDB
21) 19609/19610 UDZ- HW Express - Courtesy RDB
22) 22803/22804 HWH- SBP weekly Exp - Courtesy Saptarshi
23) 22817/22818 HWH- MYS weekly Exp - Courtesy Saptarshi
24) 13507/13508 ASN - GKP Weekly Exp - Courtesy Saptarshi
25) 15903/15904 DBRG CDG Bi-weekly Exp - Courtesy Saptarshi
26) 20503/20504 NDLS DBRG weekly Rajdhani Exp - Courtesy Saptarshi
(previously Guwahati Spl. Rajdhani)
27) 12483/12484 ASR KCVL weekly Exp - Courtesy Saptarshi
28) 22863/22864 HWH YPR AC Exp
(previously AC Premium Exp.) - Courtesy Saptarshi
29) 12889/12890 TATA YPR weekly Exp - Courtesy Saptarshi
30) 12759/12760 Charminar Express - Courtesy DSP Anirudh
31) 12921/12922 Flying Ranee - Courtesy DSP Anirudh and Saptarshi
32) 12903/12904 Golden Temple Mail - Courtesy DSP Anirudh
33) 11109/11110 JHS- CNB ICE - Courtesy Rohit Karwal
34) 19331/19332 KCVL- INDB Express - Courtesy JSK
35) 22843/22844 BSP- PNBE SF - Courtesy Nitish Kumar
36) 18243/18244 BSP- BGKT Express - Courtesy Anna
37) 18245/18246 BSP- BKN Express - Courtesy Anna
38) 19713/19714 JP- SC Express - Courtesy Anna
39) 18633/18634 RNC- PNBE AC Express - Courtesy Brandonbuffard
40) 22601/22602 MAS- SNSI SF - Courtesy Krishna Jadav
41) 16217/16218 MYS- SNSI Express - Courtesy Krishna Jadav
42) 14311/14312 Ala Hazrat Express - Courtesy Abdus Samad Khan
43) 22967/22968 ALD- ADI Express - Courtesy Abdus Samad Khan
44) 14319/14320 BE- INDB Express - Courtesy Abdus Samad Khan
45) 15055/15056 Ramnagar- Agra Fort Express - Courtesy Abdus Samad Khan
46) 15053/15054 LJN- CPR Express - Courtesy Abdus Samad Khan
47) 22121/22122 LTT- LKO ACSF
48) 22857/22858 SRC- ANVT SF - Courtesy Aniket
49) 20815/20816 VSKP- TATA SF - Courtesy Aniket
50) 16541/ 16542 YPR- Pandharpur Express - Courtesy nump421
51) 12421/ 12422 ASR- NED Superfast - Courtesy Ankit Shotra
52) 17213/ 17214 - Courtesy Rajesh
53) 18503/ 18504 - Courtesy Rajesh
54) 19805/19806 Kora - UHP Express - Courtesy Ankit Shotra
55)
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