Only those who have grown in a
Indian Railway family will understand the deep bonds that the organisation
forges with not just the employee but the whole family. While I am not privy to what the life is like
now, till not very long ago what I said held true.
The Indian Railways is the
lifeblood of travel in India integrating the country like no other, one of the largest networks in the world and
if I am not mistaken carries the maximum passengers in a day which is unmatched
by any country or transport system globally.
It is also one of the few
organisations in the country where the top man, the Chairman of the Railway
Board rises from the bottom of the food chain with no lateral entries. Thus even
the Chairman would have been there, done
that getting his hands down and dirty and
would know the intricate working and systems so well that rarely if anybody can
“bullshit” to him and get away.
For long and probably even now
when me and others like me talk of the railways we never refer to it in the
third person. It is usually as “WE in the railways, WE did this in the railways”
and so on making it sound that we worked in the organisation whereas it was either
or both of our parents who did so. I still remember in my post graduate class we
students were chatting around when one of the girls said “in the railways, you
know WE......” and my friend interrupted her and asked if her father worked in
the railways. Surprised she asked how he had guessed. So he pointed to me and
said that only the children of the railways spoke that language.
In short my fascination and
love of Railways, Trains has never ceased and even today it is one of the most
enjoyable rides that I have.
Over the next few blogs I wish to share my memories,
anecdotes and pictures as a tribute to my father. My late father Sri SR Gopalakrishna retired
as a Addln Chief Engineer in the
railways working in the civil engineering department way back in 1988. He was a
wonderful writer and if he were alive today I am sure that he could have
written a popular blog, far better than me. He also was an ardent photographer and had a
huge storehouse of pictures taken with primitive cameras and while over time
many have been lost I share here whatever I have with notes on whatever I remember. Thankfully his literary &
photographic talent is now with our
daughter.
The thoughts are in no particular order but
each of them are just a tribute to my father and in his memory.
TRIVANDRUM KANYAKUMARI PROJECT
INAGURATION 1972 - 1973
Mrs. Indira Gandhi the then Prime
Minister of India flew down to Kanyakumari to inaugurate the project construction.
As usual my father captured some moments.
 |
The field where the function was held
|
 |
| The helicopters that ferried Mrs Indira Gandhi to the site |
 |
| My father with his staff at some nearby location |
 |
| The crowd at the function |
 |
| Mr TA Pai the Railway Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi PM |
 |
| Mr. TA Pai, Mrs Indira Gandhi and Mr. Karunanidhi |
 |
| Mrs Indira Gandhi addressing the audience |
 |
| Another shot of Mrs. Indira Gandhi speaking |
 |
| View of the crowd |
 |
| The inauguration podium |
 |
| Mr TA Pai speaking to the audience |
 |
| The crowd at a near by railway station |
 |
| My father enjoying a joke with his team. The Gent in glasses smiling is Mr. Unnithan his assistant |
 |
| The traditional start of ground breaking ceremony by my father |
 |
Some local VIP also doing the ground breaking work
|
 |
The Railway team that did the final location survey for the Trivandrum Kanyakumari Railway line
The link to the next part of this blog is here
|
Comments