Chapter-15
Fiction & films in railways.
The train journey is perfect setting for intrigue, romance, drama, mystery. Its seats, corridors, roof, footboard provide ample opportunity for interesting and exciting actions. A busy railway station is witness to millions of travellers, some weary, some expectant while others embarking on journeys which would change their destiny. Under the endearing gaze of its platform shelter many friendships have been forged. Others have longingly waited for their near and dear ones.
Railway & Literature
La Bete Humaine (the beast in man)- It is a tense psychological film portraying perfidy, subtlety & chicanery in the backdrop of the railway line between Paris and the port city of Le Havre in the 19th century . It is a screen version of the French writer Emile Zola’s novel of the same name.
Murder on the Orient express--It is Agatha Christie mystery thriller. The fabled Orient express was a long distance passenger train service between Paris and Constantinople. It exemplified affluence and coziness at a time when train travelling was still perilous and unsafe. The plot features an eminent detective, who happens to be on the train, seeking to unravel the murder mystery in the celebrated train in 1930.
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes—Sherlock Holmes & Watson generally begin their journeys from a London terminus except Marylebone. The legendary detective is usually the pursuer than the pursued. Yet once, with the dreaded criminal Moriarty closing in on him Holmes in his wisdom decided to leave the country impersonating as an Italian priest. He and Watson catch the Dover train from Victoria station in London. They outmaneuvered Moriarty by detraining at Canterbury. Moriarty had hired a special train to pursue them. Camouflaging behind a pile of luggage on the platform they watch as the train, consisting of an engine and a single coach speed past the station and disappear in the direction of the sea coast. Holmes and Watson then came out of their hiding and proceeded to Newheaven by local train.
Rudyard Kipling describes a train journey from Lahore to Benaras in his novel Kim and another one in a third class compartment of the 1950s in his novel Vagrants in the valley.
Penguin book of Indian Railway stories by Ruskin Bond is a collection of stories which capture the essence of our railway from the days of imperial India to the resurging India. It is not only the train travels but also the railway stations, the coaches, the locomotive and the railway staff become integral part of the stories.
Lawrence Marshall- He has written books remembering his visits to India.
Indian N.G. steam remembered.
Indian M.G. steam remembered.
Indian B.G. steam remembered.
British built locomotives largely feature in these authoritative and exhaustive books. This apart the books describe and illustrate his travel experience
In modern fiction airports, helipads, aircrafts, helicopters and luxury coaches have uncrowned railway stations and trains, but the golden age of railways has been perpetuated in the works of writers who endured it.
Railway and Hindi film songs-
Train journeys have romance that no other mode of journey has. No wonder some of the most romantic and popular songs on trains are there for decades. Most of these songs weave rhythm with the whistles & puffing steam of the steam locos as well as the chugging wheels.
Aai bahar aaj (film-Doctor of 1941) sung by Pankaj Mullick. Witnessing the picturization is like browsing the pages of history. The song is filmed on a narrow gauge train hauled by a steam locomotive with EIR (East India Railway) written on it and the coaches. The passengers are merrily taking out their heads through the windows which are without bars.
Ye duniya toofan mail (film-Jawab of 1942) is sung by Kanan Devi. Sound of the train is an intrinsic component of the song.
Aao bachchon tumhe dikhayen jhanki Hindustan ki (film-Jagriti of 1954)- It is a patriotic song during a train journey through the Indian landscape with Abhi Bhattacharya trying to disseminate righteousness and virtues amongst children.
Rahi matwale (film-Waris of 1954) Talat Mahmood and Suraiya fall in love in a train journey to Bombay.
Apni to har aah ek toofan hai, Upar wala jan ke bhi aanjan hai (film-Kalabazar of 1960)) .Devanand exudes romance as he sings the song to Waheeda Rehman on the upper berth.
Cheel cheel chilake kajari sunaye (film -Half ticket of 1962) Kishore Kumar entertains the passengers in a steam hauled train while outwitting his pursuer (Pran).
Gadi bula rahi hai (film-Dost of 1974) The train song that defines romance of locomotive.
DekhoJi ek bala yogi (film-Chinatown of 1974) Shammi Kapoor fakes a sadhu and addresses a song to his beloved, giving no clue on his real identity to the girl’s father.
We were the railway children- The song is composed and sung by Terry Morris who grew up at Asansol in the East Indian Railway. It is dedicated to all those who were once the railway children.
“we were the railway children, our daddys did us proud. They ran the Indian railways, Mumbai and Cal to Oudh. Mum stayed at home, with us children, she kept the home fires burning bright. Pa went on line in the early morn and came home late at night.”
‘Rail gaadi rail gaadi chhuk chhuk’ was sung by Ashok Kumar in the film "Aashirwad" (1968). Blending the railway-unites-the-country theme this song was arrogated by the Indian Railways during inaugural ceremony of the Commonwealth games at New Delhi in 2010.
Railway and cinema
Pather Panchali of 1955) The film bags the charm of the countryside and the children’s astonishment at the appearance of a steam train for the first time in their lives.
Ek Anant Yatra –Essentially a narration of experiences while travelling it is a short feature film of 1990 in English produced by Victor Banerjee, who describes this endless journey in the capacity of a railway official who is due to lay down his office shortly and intends to remain preoccupied with travelling and exploring India in his post-retirement life.
The following happenings can provide plots for film scripts
Begunkodar- The obscure railway station in Purulia district of West Bengal was closed for night services in 1967 after passengers deserted it amidst the rumour that a railway personnel reportedly died on sighting a white sari draped woman walking along the lonely railway track in the night. The story went round that earlier this woman was run over by a train or had committed suicide by jumping over the track before a train. The railway station remained a ghost station for 42 years until 2009 and reopened only after a team of rationalists camped at the station in the night without witnessing any sign of paranormal activity. Thus the myth of a haunted railway station was busted and the station resumed its services to the public.
Barog tunnel- In the Kalka-Shimla section there is a station named Barog where Shimla-bound passengers are entertained to morning snacks and tea. A little beyond the end of the platform the portal of a tunnel is visible which is called tunnel no-33 or Barog tunnel.
Colonel Barog was a British railway engineer who was assigned the job of constructing a tunnel in this stretch in 1898. To save upon time he decided to start the tunnelling work simultaneously from the two ends so that they could meet in the middle and complete the job as targetted. The workmen proceeded accordingly. Unfortunately, due to miscalculation the two teams from the opposite ends could not meet after covering half the length. After making some last ditch efforts to correct the misalignment Barog conceded that the project was a disaster. In consequence thereof he not only invited the wrath of his staff but his employer as well. The responsibility for failure of the project was fixed on him. He was taken off his job was and imposed a token fine of Rs one. Feeling disgraced and emotionally shattered because of stigma on his professional ability Barog ended his life by shooting himself. The faithful dog realizing the torment of his master did its best to attract the attention of the locals but could not save him. He was buried near the forlorn tunnel whose ends were sealed. However, colonel Barog was not completely buried in oblivion. The village, the railway station and the tunnel no -33 were named after him in his honour. It is rumoured that even today this tunnel is haunted by the ghost of the colonel. But he is harmless and friendly in chatting with the locals who are unaware of the history of this tunnel.
After departure of Barog the job of constructing the tunnel devolved upon H.S.Herlington who, when beset with similar predicament ,sought guidance from one Baba Bhalku of Chail who had an instinctive engineering skill in selecting the best alignment across a precipitous country. The tunnel was successfully completed in 1903 at a site one km away from the original location. As a tribute to the esteemed Baba Bhalku who assisted in laying Kalka-Shimla Railway line ,a rail museum was opened in July 2011 at Shimla after him.
The Lost Train -Recently a posting on India's ICBM train at Tinsukia was allegedly discovered by a satellite were decrepit. This rake was discovered on 18th December 2019 lying near a small station about 40 kms short of Tinsukia main. Tinsukia itself is about 480 kms north-east of Guwahati and about 80 kms from the international border. Apparently sometime in 1976 or so, the rake had been placed at one of the forsaken sidings temporarily, as there was no place available along the platforms at the station, which in any case was a very small one. Railway records show that the train had reached there at 11:08 AM on 16th June 1976. The engine ('power' in railway parlance) was detached from the rake and brought back to the station to assist in placing of certain goods wagons. Heavy rains and flooding took place with effect 11:31 AM, the same day. Enquiries conducted under instructions of the Railway Board brings to light that at the material time, the railway staff were totally involved in grappling flood problems, addressing to track repairs and safeguarding uninterrupted traffic movement ,as almost the entire station had been submerged in 5 to 6 feet of water. The passengers all had alighted and had made their way to their destinations, apparently with some difficulty and with some help from the local villagers. During this period the station master too moved out on posting as also some of the staff. With passage of time people forgot about this rake as it was about 2 kms from the main station, at a spur and in a deserted place. Slowly vegetation took over the entire area. Whatever was left of the track leading to the rarely used siding, which had not been washed away in the flood, soon disappeared under bushes, shrubs and weeds. Snakes, birds and wild animals found it an perfect home, much like sunken ships in which marine life abounds. Time went by. Most of the older lot of railway men retired and others passed away. No one remembered the train. Daniel Smith, the engine driver emigrated to Australia in September 1976. On 05th December 2019 a satellite picture by one of the NASA satellites which was mapping the forest cover in the Asia-Africa region, captured somewhat obscure, hidden and not too clear pictures of this rake, under a thick forest canopy. Suspecting it to be the site of an Indian, camouflaged 'rail mobile' ICBM rake, it was forwarded to the Pentagon. Abnormal activity of a number of satellites over this area was then noted by the Indian space research and intelligence agencies. In the meantime Russian and Chinese double agents in the Pentagon informed their controller, in their mother countries, about the 'ICBM Train' discovered by NASA. In a surreal sequence of events, the Indian intelligence agency got this information from its agents in Russia and China. This set off alarm bell ringing. Could it be the action of an unscrupulous person ? Inquiries began at the Indian end with the involvement of concerned agencies and departments. But all declined the placement of any such train/rake at the location being specified. This was not considered enough. Aerial reconnaissance was conducted and pictures taken by the country’s own satellites, They all substantiated presence of a well camouflaged rake .Ultimately a ground party of competent personnel was sent accompanied by a senior officer to ascertain the composition of the rake. And that is the story of the Lost Train. It sounds freakish but reportedly real.
The Nazi gold train- The fabled train carrying miliary equipment, precious gems & valuable treasure is believed to have gone missing In 1945 ,while the advancing Soviet army, was closing in on the German army. As the local lore has it , the train left Wroclaw ,then part of Germany & known as Breslau, for Walbrzych, entered a tunnel near Ksiaz Castle under the Owl mountains and never emerged. The secret tunnel then belonged to Nazi Germany but is now a part of Poland. The tunnel was later closed and its location long forgotten. Reportedly Nazi Germans dug miles of tunnels in the south west mountains ,now in Poland. and constructed a railway siding in one of them to hide the loot. The existence of the train has never been confirmed. The locomotive which placed the wagons in the siding has never been located. There was no material evidence about the train. But the apocryphal tale of the ghost train remained a topic of interest both for historians and treasure hunters. For someone it became an obsession who painstakingly scoured the Owl mountains during the last seven decades. The treasure hunt sparked media frenzy after claim by some explorers that they were close to finding the train. When in 2015 two fellows-a Pole and a German-claimed to have discovered a 150m long train loaded with armaments & precious metals, it appeared that this could put an end to 70 years of myth and futile treasure hunt for the train full of valuables including artwork and hidden in a sealed-up rail tunnel by the retreating Nazis. Even the government set itself to the task of framing the protocol for safe handling of the train which could be armed with explosives and enveloped with Methane gas. But there has been no further news. In all probability the search for the fabled Nazi gold train has ended in failure.
The Rail-car that changed the course of history.
The saloon car no. 2419, while stabled at Compiegne in France , witnessed signing of Armistice in 1918 at the end of WW I, symbolizing defeat of Germany. It was exhibited at the Les Invalides at Paris between 1922 and 1927 . After surrender of France in WW II, the carriage was removed from its shed in June 1940 and taken to Compiegne. In an act of revenge Hitler had the ‘Instrument of surrender’ signed in the same carriage due to its symbolic role and at the same venue in 1940. It was then moved to Berlin and other places in Germany for display. Its history closed towards the end of WWII when it was destroyed by the Hitler’s SS troops in the face of advancing Allies army. In 1950 for opening of the Armistice Museum a replacement carriage was looked for. Correct in every detail a dining car from the same series as the original was chosen, identically fitted and furnished as the damned 2419 , renumbered 2419 D and installed overlooking the remains of its ravaged twin. In 2018 the German Chancellor and the French President visited this train car parked in its protective covering in an ambience of serenity and secrecy in the shadow of the Forest of Compiegne in France. The nostalgia surrounding these events is a poignant reminder of the complex and often tumultuous history of Germany and France . It is also a reflection on the devastation of war and the diplomacy of reconciliation and healing.