AFVOA Newletter August 2020

Section 5 - Memoirs CV 2 No. 02 / 2020 Page 102 of 237 Harsha then decided to buy time by applying for two months’ annual leave enroute posting and this way the new born and me would be fit to undertake the arduous rail journey to Jorhat. Thankfully his request for leave was accepted and we heaved a sigh of relief. Journey Starts It is generally perceived that the longest rail journey is from Kashmir to Kanyakumari but actually I think, West to East is longer in terms of distance and time. We crossed seven odd states and it took us seven days to reach Jorhat. Day – 1 We started our journey in the month of October 93 with 13 odd items – trunks, suitcases, boxes etc which included a mini kitchen, school books, uniforms, clothing and other essentials. We were seen off at Bhuj railway station by many of our Air Force colleagues and their families and civilian friends. We boarded a train which would reach Delhi after two overnight journeys. We travelled in First class because that train did not have facility of II Class AC. Train left Bhuj station at 5.30 p.m. Day – 2 The next day our train reached a place called Palanpur at around 11.30 a.m. At Palanpur our compartment was detached and taken to a railway siding. After a halt of eight hours it was attached to another train coming from Ahmedabad and going to Delhi. Usually officers who travel by this train carry a lock and key, lock their cabin and go to Palanpur town watch a movie, have lunch and come back to railway station to continue their journey. We had to stay put in the coach because we didn’t want to expose the two-month old baby to rain and other adverse climatic conditions (being monsoon time). Those days Palanpur was facing acute water shortage and folks staying around the station would wait for the compartment to be taken to the siding to get some water and empty all the water in the compartment within 10 minutes. The eight hours halt at Palanpur was the most boring time for our eldest child as he was just nine years old and had finished reading all the books I catered for the entire journey. In our first class cabin we occupied three berths and the fourth person came and kept his luggage and vanished from the scene till we reached Delhi. Must have found a more peaceful place to travel and sleep. Our train departed from Palanpur to Delhi around 7.30 p.m. Air Force family is very good in giving suggestions and share their experiences. When we started from Bhuj one lady had asked me to carry a small bucket to wash baby