Retail politicking right on track

Rajmeet Singh in Nanded (Maharashtra)

After several hours of religious conversations ricocheting off uneasy naps, the thought of yet another tea or soup looked absurd. Passengers were humming ‘shabad’ as the 18-coach train halted. Heads peered out of the train doors; it was Agra late in the evening. There was yet another loud scream of bole so nihal... as the crowd at the busy junction looked bemused. 

Each coach of the ‘charted’ train is linked to a public address system, which comes alive. “We are thankful to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for introducing the train, for the first time, linking Anandpur Sahib to Takht Hazoor Sahib, Nanded. More such trains are in the offing.” Many passengers buy ‘petha’ from the station kiosks and back in the coach, the conversation veers to Punjab. “Veer-ji, get us a train to Patna Saheb the next time,” a passenger tells another, who now seems addressing a small group inside the train. “The facility is available for another year. Many things can be done by then. What we need right now is assurance of your support to Badal-saheb and his party SAD for the Assembly polls due in a year’s time,” says the leader as passengers look at each other.  There are similar interactions in other coaches. 

A sort of political campaigning is gathering full steam as Akali MLAs and leaders from all 117 Assembly constituencies travel with pilgrims in all such trains introduced for the first time to link up revered Sikh religious places. Among prominent leaders who accompanied the pilgrims last month are: Gulzar Singh Ranikee (Attari), Surjit Singh Rakhra (Samana) and Bibi Jagir Kaur (Bholath). They carry with them SGPC members and block and panchayat level Akali leaders. 

Under the ‘Mukh Mantri Tirath Rail Yatra,’ one train each from Amritsar (January1), Talwandi Sabo (Jan 4), Anandpur Sahib (Jan 8), Jandiala Guru (Jan 11), Patiala (Jan 15) have covered a six-day trip to Hazur Sahib (Nanded), Maharashtra. The train starts at 9 am and takes about 42 hours to reach its destination. One train each also went from Jalandhar to Varanasi and from Malerkotla to Ajmer Sharif last month. Such free pilgrimage trains are to be run for all the 117 assembly segments in the next 14 months till February 2017 at a cost of Rs 186 crore. And that will be the election time. 

At the moment it’s retail politicking: Much before the passengers, mostly aged men and women, board the train, passengers are first showered with marigold flowers and then welcomed with ‘sirpoa’ and prayer beads. The pilgrims are each given a packet of snacks as breakfast.

Most pilgrims are unconcerned about how a cash-starved Punjab government is plying the Tirath Yatra scheme. People are simply exuberant. For Inderjit Kaur of Ropar, it’s a historic moment of her life. She was a part of the 1,100-strong jatha to Hazur Saheb.

“It is our maiden trip to Nanded. We could not have asked for more. It is a dream come true. I have never seen such a reception,” said an overwhelmed pilgrim couple from Ropar, Sukhdev Singh and Amarjit Kaur, who queued up at the special check-in counter before boarding the train. 

On its part, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) that runs the trains on behalf of Punjab government, each passenger is given a small-size holy book of Sikhs for reciting path on board. 

As train to Nanded moves on, punctuated with unscheduled halts and pre-recorded shabad kirtan, it seems a mini township has emerged. The pilgrims, cutting across faiths, try to keep each other busy by cracking jokes or playing games like cards and carom board provided by the IRCTC, which has deployed 36 workers in the pantry to prepare steaming hot dishes such as matar paneer, palak paneer, aloo gobi, yellow dal, mix vegetable and rice. Plus, before and after the meals, sweets, fruits, tea and milk are served. “It’s a challenging task to prepare and serve 1,100 passengers thrice daily on a moving train,” says Sukbir Yadav, cooking in-charge.

VN Shukla, Manager Tourism (North), who travelled on train to Nanded recently, said IRCTC was running similar trains in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. A team of 60 persons for in-house cleaning and serving the food remains on board throughout the journey, he said.