Memories from Covid Years – Part I

-- by Karthik Nagappan

Thirupurasundari Sevvel directed our attention to two pieces written by Karthik Nagappan during the covid lockdown. The period evoked in the author fond memories of Chennai’s suburban trains and the vegetable market at T Nagar. Though covid has now been relegated to the past, we thought readers would enjoy the affection that shinesthrough Karthik’s writing. We present the first of the pieces below, a love letter to the city’s suburban trains.

– Associate Editor

Chennai’s Suburban Trains

Trains are more just than a medium of commute. For many, they’re an emotion, a memory capsule on wheels; after all, they’ve carried millions to their destinations with punctual regularity, save a day or two for maintenance. Why, even the 2015 floods or the 2016 cyclone put them out of service for only a week or so – the tracks were inspected at the earliest opportunity, and the trains were soon running trips between Chengalpattu and the Beach! Today, however, we enter month six of the lockdown and these giants yet stand still on the tracks they’ve run marathons on for centuries. I miss Chennai’s suburban trains very much indeed and write this small piece as a beneficiary and ardent fan.

I live in Vandalur, a silent suburb about thirty kilometres from the city. Life is beautiful here – we wake up to amazing mountains, the forest range, lakes, farms, and of course, the zoo. We’re mere minutes away from the railway station, which has been our lifeline for as long as I remember. There have been days where I’ve found myself at the office past 11 pm; even though I’ve been offered a cab, I always requested to be dropped off at the nearest railway station to catch the last Chengalpattu train – I know I’m heading home when I board the rail from any station between the Beach and Tambaram!

I’ve always been happy when riding trains and enjoy the trips down to the last detail. Relatives who come to stay with us once a year or so wake up to the train passing by, and call it a disturbance; but for me, the familiar sound is a lullaby that rocks me to sleep. That the corona virus has silenced it is another reason for me to hate the pandemic.

The trains too have known me all my life. As a kindergartener, I travelled to school by train holding my sister’s hand; I continued to use them later when I had to commute to the Tambaram sanatorium for my secondary and higher secondary schooling. There was a brief period during my college years when I did not travel by train; I missed them so much during this time! I went back to commuting by train in 2007 when I began to work. My last trip to the office and back was on March 13, 2020.

When people ask where I come from, they tend to stare. But trains made life so easy! The locals were lightning-fast and took just 25 minutes to make the trip from Vandalur to Mambalam, and one didn’t have to contend with traffic or pollution, either. When office discussions turn to the subject of parking spaces for cars, I love saying my piece when it’s my turn – every time I am asked about my vehicle, I enjoy replying that it is a twelve-car behemoth driven by a government-allotted driver and with designated parking to boot! Above all, friends made on trains are a special lot; it is a camaraderie that will never fade. At one point, I was part of an informal group that took the morning local. We created What’s App groups named Last Fast and Train Friends. We had great fun in the mornings, chatting with each other – the group had people hailing from different locations and they worked in diverse industries, so each had refreshing perspectives on many topics. Those forty minutes were a wonderful start to the day. One also encountered so many different people – a man in his sixties, completely engrossed in his newspaper; a young fellow absorbed in watching a series on Netflix; a familiar couple who had managed to find a regular spot on a busy train to flirt with each other; that one group that never fails to be noisy; the woman who plaits her hair and has her breakfast; the school children discussing homework; the ones who go to sleep on the window railings; the group of middle-aged men who constantly discuss politics and claim the media is biased; and the bunch who resolutely refuse to sit even when the train is empty!

For a marketer, the train is a fantastic place to observe consumer behaviour. Each day, I count the number of people reading the Times of India and engage them in conversation to gauge their perception of the paper. I miss this today! Most of the puns and memes I post on social media owe their origin to my train journeys. I also read newspapers and books during this exciting one-and-a-half-hour ride. There were days, too, when the cool iron bar in the train helped keep my migraines under check; and some when I’ve simply plopped down in the backseat, exhausted!

More often, though, the child in me is always awake when on a train, enraptured by the sceneries passing by and the lovely turns taken by this magnificent beast. In the ‘90s, when we were small, my brother and I used to fight for the window seat on the left side of the train when travelling towards the city from Vandalur – the seat afforded the best view of the parked white-and-red Air India flights as the train chugged past Tirisulam station. It was a small happiness that a middle-class child like me cherished – there was a sense of awe when one saw the flights, and little me dreamed of travelling in one someday. It was an especially lucky day if a flight was taking off or landing as we passed by – the sound of the plane piercing through the air was thrilling indeed. The homes and buildings in and around the hills of St Thomas Mount and Tirisulam made for a pretty sight too, especially when their lights winked on past sunset. Today, the flyover parallel to the airport on GST Road, the ongoing Metro construction and other airport developments have made this joy impossible.

Then there’s the unofficial race that we all become a part of when a Fast Local runs parallel to a Local; the trains run a right race as they zip past each other, and the adrenaline rush that cheers for one’s own train to win is amazing. Who doesn’t like to see their favourite win, after all? Ask a Nadal fan and a Federer fan, and you’ll know!

One also enjoys amazing vistas of flyovers during train rides. Worthy of special mention is the view of the Adyar River between Guindy and Saidapet during the rainy season; then there are also the lakes, mountains and lush greenery that one sees when travelling between Tambaram and Chengalpattu. The sights flaunt all the beauty that Madras has to offer. Then, there are the wall-painted advertisements and the sights of people walking on the train to their destinations – while common now, perhaps one may not see such things even ten years down the line. One sees the Sanatorium Church and National School; and when the train goes past Saidapet, one sees people praying towards the Karaniswarar Temple; and on rare Friday afternoons, a few doing Namaz facing the mosque at the end of the Guindy station towards the Tambaram side. They make for such a lovely sight of unity.

Every day was a new day when I took the train from Vandalur. I looked out carefully for memories that transported me to my childhood days – back then, I travelled the route in metre gauge trains with nary a care, unlike today when thoughts of meetings and presentations stop me from enjoying the view outside. 

These days, I simply sit in the silent Vandalur railway station for some time, looking at the trains parked in the station. It’s been months now. I peer to see if one comes chugging along the tracks that wind into the distance; the realization that none will come any time soon brings a tear to my eye. But come they will for sure, roaring on these tracks as they always do, carrying not just passengers but all their hopes, too. That day will certainly be one for celebration.

Dear Southern Railway, please take care of the trains – they are precious to the middle class in this country!

This article was written during the COVID lockdown. Karthik has resumed his train rides to work since then.

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