• A dream come true

    Trigger warning: The below poem contains strong references to politics, religion and caste; and certain sentiments may be hurt. It is not recommended for the faint-hearted, conservative families, and people with right-wing or pro-establishment political leanings. The actual content: To live your life The way you like To speak your mind To not speak at…

  • Do Not Underestimate the Deccan Express!

    11008 Pune Mumbai Deccan express is not a very fast train – it takes 4 hrs 2 mins to cover a distance of 192 km; an average speed of 47.6 kmph. It also has 9 stops i.e. an average of almost a stop every 21 km! 😛 However, these stats are not enough to dismiss…

  • Flashes of inconsistent brilliance

    You know the feeling when a sports team you support (for eg. Pakistan cricket team) have a lot of talent and potential but don’t perform as well as their strength on paper says. In this case, it was a train instead – 12127 Mumbai Pune Intercity; covering a distance of 192 km between Mumbai and…

  • A classy journey by the Tejas – Part 2

    It is hard to write about a journey by a premier train (that too traversing Konkan Railway) like Tejas express in just one post – so there had to be two parts! For the first one, please refer https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2018/04/17/a-classy-journey-by-the-tejas-part-1/ . We had departed RN at 17 28, 8 mins late. There was an Accident Relief Medical…

  • A classy journey by the Tejas – Part 1

    The main purpose of this “mini-trip” to old Goa (Karmali) was the return train by the premium superfast – 22120 Karmali Mumbai Tejas express. This was a truly sumptuous feast, after the appetizer in the form of the onward journey by 10111 CSMT-MAO Konkan Kanya express https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2018/04/09/the-appetizer-to-a-konkan-feast/ . The train was stationed at Platform 1, conveniently…

  • The appetizer to a Konkan feast

    No, this is not about food. A train trip is to railfans what a feast is for a foodie 😛 . This Konkan “feast” refers to a ride by 22120 Karmali Mumbai Tejas express – a premium superfast train that belongs to the Shatabdi class; never mind the fact that it’s not much of a…

  • You have endured so much

    You have endured so much You have braved so much As a village girl In the clutches of poverty Studying, cooking, washing As a city girl In the murky waters Of office politics and gossip Tears well up in your eyes As a colleague revels in his sport Of cracking jokes at your expense You…

  • A Superfast with a Phobia of Speed

    The title seems ironic; but IMHO it applies perfectly to 22106 Pune Mumbai Indrayani express – at least on the particular day Saturday 24th March. That day I had reached Pune by taking 11301 CSMT-SBC Udyan express – for the blog of that journey please refer https://ashwinkumar1989.online/2018/03/25/a-summer-saturday-morning-trip-to-pune/ . At Pune, as per plan; I bought the…

  • A Summer Saturday Morning Trip to Pune

    Yes. Yet another outing to Pune – hope you won’t get bored by now 😛 . Nearly a month ago, I had made a similar trip in order to buy Shrewsbury biscuits from the famous Kayani bakery – only to end up buying from Naaz Bakery (which is not as good as the former) instead;…

  • Mega Block Blues – Part 2

    Where were we? Ah! The  megablock of Sunday March 11th…it had taken its toll on 11024 KOP-CSMT Sahyadri express – as it took 2 hrs 45 mins to cover a distance of merely 63 km from Pune to LNL – at a speed of approximately 23 kmph – something that could have been achieved by…