07. SHRIMUKHA

Wish to travel with me by Steam Engine Train, yes you are invited, Read this PAGE 7
         
                 
SHRIMUKHA.

YEAR 1943

CONTENTS

Introduction (message from the me) Page 1
Contents............................................................................................Page 2
Train to Nizamabad..........................................................................Page 3-6

Train to Nizamabad

My father's cousin brother was a village patwari at Village Armoor in Nizamabad district. He was the village head and had his own lands for cultivation.

he would pester my father to send us to his house at Armoor during summer vacations. We had other cousins living in Hyderabad he would also invite them. In summer holidays we go to the village on agreement by my father. My younger brothers were too small to live without mother as such myself and elder brother Venkat Rao used to go to Armoor. y brother was 16 years at that time.

It was a good experience to travel by Train from Secunderabad to Nizamabad. There were no reservations nor crowds in the train. we just purchase a ticket and board the train and sit wherever we like. The coaches were wooden with wooden seats. I preferred to sit near the window to have a view of outside and the steam engine. It was interesting to watch the way the train takes us. The coaches are on the platform and we go and sit in any coach we like. just before the departure time a steam engine comes from Lalaguda loco shed and gets attached to the coaches. The link by which the steam engine is attached to the coach was interesting to watch. There were two gauges of trains at Secunderabad . Broad Gauge and Metre Gauge. The links for attachments were different. I used to keenly watch the way the steam locomotive is attached to the coaches. Our Train to Nizamabad was Metre Gauge.

Secunderabad station had 3 platforms for broad gauge and 4 for Metre gauge.

I  have noted the names of all railway stations from Secunderabad to Nizamabad from Bradshaw railway time table on a piece of paper with pencil and kept the same in my shirt pocket.

The signal which is with a red color paint with a white band which stand horizontal on a frame moves down indicating that train should go. The movement of this signal is operated from a cabin located on the end of the railway stations through a steel wire  using a lever in the cabin. For indication during the night times there was a kerosene lamp with a lens to magnify the light. This shows red when the signal is horizontal and when it is  given clearance  it indicates green as two colored glasses are fitted with the lamp. A porter during the evening goes and places the lamps filled with kerosene oil with wick in it and in the next morning he brings back for cleaning and rearranging by evening. A steel ladder is fitted to reach the oil lamp position. The lamp is so designed that it will not get put off with winds. Observing this at the age of 8 with keen interest developed a liking for me on Railway systems.

Now the Guard of the train gives a whistle for the engine driver to start the train. The train starts moving making sounds as the piston of the engine on both sides slides in and out of the steam box making movement. Same time we see smoke emitting from the engine from its smoke shaft fitted on its front top. My brother cautions me not to put head outside as pieces of coal fall into my hair and eyes . In those coaches there were no guard bars for windows.

Next station comes and the train stops for passengers to get in or get out. This being a passenger train it stops at all stations. Some passengers detrain and some new passengers enter. After 2 minutes stop it starts again and moves on to the next station. I take out my stations list from my pocket and tick off the first station.

Some stations the train stops for more time. The Guard of the train asks the railway porters to unload the parcels from the luggage coach which were loaded into it. They belong to passengers travelling. Heavy luggage is not allowed in the coaches meant for sitting. They have to be booked as parcels and will be carried in the luggage coaches. The Guard looks after the loading and unloading of these parcels.

The train reaches Kamareddy station and stops. Here the loading of coal for the steam engine is done. Additional water required for the Engine is also poured into its water tank through a big funnel. Coal is loaded by labourers which was kept ready in baskets. A high platform is provided for the storing the filled baskets and an approaching ramp. The labourers dump the baskets of coal into the tender of the engine. The whole process takes 20 minutes to fill the engine with coal and water. Meanwhile me and my brother will have a cup of tea for 6 paise each cup.

The train moves and reaches Nizamabad by 12 noon. we had boarded the train at Secunderabad by 6.20 am. We get down from the train. The Train has to go further up to Manmad.

We go to the nearby bus stand to board a bus to Armoor. The Nizam Government had one department NSRRTD Nizam State Railway and Road Transport Department  for managing the Railways and Road Transport. The bus comes to the bus station empty from its shed with a name board ARMOOR. I board the bus. My brother takes one and half tickets from the bus conductor for Armoor. One for him and half for me. Tells conductor that we go to Patwari house.

The bus proceeds to Armoor. Enroute it stops at many small villages and reaches by 12,45 pm to Armoor.

 Conductor shouts at Driver to stop at Patwari house. The Driver stops the bus at our uncles house specially for us. We get down and bus proceed to Bus Station of Armoor.

The servants of my uncles house take our luggage and escort us to the house and show our room. Meanwhile my uncle and his aunty receive us with a hug and asks welfare of our parents. The other cousins would have arrived previous day. After washing we all sit on floor for our lunch. The lunch is prepared on village style. Rice used is raw rice unpolished. The sambar is of onions freshly brought from the fields with ghee prepared fresh in the house, mango pickles fresh recently prepared with raw mangoes and curd prepared at home from owned buffalo milk. We have the tasteful meals and have the fresh ripened mangoes  and take rest.

My uncle had many very big mango trees. During summer months thousands of fruits were harvested. Just before they ripe they are cut from the trees manually using rope nets fixed to long bamboos. It's an art to get the mangoes from the trees without damage. These were then brought home from the fields and speed in the big halls on first floor of the house on the floor. The raw fruits are then covered with dried grass for a couple of days for ripen.

 Uncle also cultivates onion and other pulses , Javari apart from Paddy. Had a herd of cattle for field cultivation and milk giving cows and buffalos. The crops were mostly fed with water from open dug out wells. The water is drawn by bullocks tied to a yoke and large leather buckets to get water to surface from the wells. The drawn water flows from the well side to the fields by manmade channels by gravity.

we get up in the morning after brushing with Neem tree small branch pieces and have Tea . We were 8 children from 7 to 16. Uncle had three. We go to first floor and select the mangoes which have ripened and ready to eat. Bring those ripened fruits down. More than 100 would have ripened . Aunty takes them cleans them with water make mango juice for after noon lunch.

After having some Tiffin like poha, upma we rush to the village tank . We swim in the tank playing in the waters. Many village children will also be taking bath there. Then we dry ourselves put of fresh washed clothes and come home by 11 am. We all sit of floor and stitch leaves to make leaf plates. There is a  practice of preparing a plate with leaves. Small leaves from a plant called MODU (modukakulu) the leaves are stitched together to make a circular plate for eating food in it. These tender leaves would have been brought by the servants from fields. It is an art work to shape the leaves in a perfect circle of say 12 to 15 inches diameter. In the initial stages we could not make it round but subsequently we were perfect to make an exact circle. The stitching pins were of dry stems of jawar plant cut into pins.

This work will go on for an hour and at 12 noon we go for lunch. Lunch is served on these stitched leaves after washing them with water. These leaf places are use and throw. In the end of meals mango fruit juice was served. Some of us like direct fruit only . we eat the full fruit choosing . We used to take 5 to 6 fruits at a time. Plenty of fruits in the house. We had different kinds of mango fruits with their names like juicy mango, Banganapalli, benishan etc. the whole month we used to enjoy.

The practice of going to Armoor village continued every year till 1948.

Concept:  KRISHNA RAO KHANAPUR

Graphics Support: MANU KONNUR