‘Siropa, gutka’ and snacks – train right on track

Rajmeet Singh

It is 8.15 am on Friday. The archaic Anandpur Sahib railway station in Punjab suddenly comes alive as a brass band begins to play and there is an air of festivity.

An elated station master, Ram Veer Singh, plays the perfect host to 1,100 pilgrims queued up at a special counter. With hands folded and a warm smile, he welcomes them on board the Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra train to Takht Hazoor Sahib, the first chartered train linking Takht Keshgarh Sahib and Takht Hazoor Sahib.

Striking the right note, Akali leaders, led by Education Minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Prem Singh Chandumajra, Member of Parliament from Anandpur Sahib, are seen mingling with passengers gathered at the platform, a majority of them aged men and women.

Each passenger is given a siropa (robe of honour) and snacks for breakfast. They are made to sit on spotless white sheets and given a ‘gutka’ each for reciting path.

Amidst the chanting of hymns and slogans of ‘Jo Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal’, every pilgrim is given a rosary (prayer beads) by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) that is running the special trains on behalf of the Punjab Government.

“We could not have asked for more. It is a dream come true,” exclaims Sukhdev Singh and Amarjit Kaur, a couple from Ropar.

Flagged off by Cheema and Chandumajra, the train starts moving. By then, it is 9.45 am. “It is my first chance to travel to Hazoor Sahib. I feel so special,” says Gurdev Singh Kohli from Ropar. “I am certain the 42-hour journey will be a memorable one,” he adds. He looks through the window and mutters a prayer. So do the rest. It’s a journeyof a lifetime for many.