Sardargarh - Meter Gauge Train

Friday, 14 November 2014 , Sardargarh  

Today Pati and BeeBee rode on a meter gauge local train between two villages, a distance of 44 km. They boarded the train at the small Sardargarh station. Their traveling companions from the hotel were the Dutch foursome, plus a guide. All 7 of them sat on two opposing bench seats, which had berths above for sleeping (no one used them but BeeBee saw Pati considering them). BeeBee had a window seat for excellent picture-taking opportunities. Each train window had 4 horizontal metal bars, which were not a problem, because their camera was small enough to fit between the bars. The first part of the trip went through and stopped at other villages. At the first stop, the rails split into two sets of tracks. Another train was waiting on the other set of tracks, and some villagers switched between trains.

At one stop, an elderly man in white with a colorful turban got on and sat at the end of bench, diagonal from BeeBee. He and the guide chatted, be graciously posed for pictures, and then he demonstrated how he tied his turban (BeeBee has video). He offered the turban to one of the Dutchmen, who posed in it. Then the other Dutchman and Pati tried the turban and posed, and then finally all three women - BeeBee included - did the same. 

At another stop, the guide got down from the train and took pictures of each couple peering through the bars of the train window, using their cameras. Finally, the Dutch group left the train at the Manwar stop, where their driver and guide were waiting to take them in some further adventures. Pati, BeeBee and their guide remained on the train for even more exciting scenery.   

The train passes through the Ravli Sanctuary, with 100-foot-high bridges, two long tunnels (where the guide and other passengers made erie sounds for the echo effect), a (now dry) waterfall, and thick jungle. The track was cut out of the side of the cliff, with steep drops to left side of the train. There is a change of 1000 feet in elevation, downward. This railroad was built in 1928.  

One of the first stops was to test the brakes. Pati, BeeBee, and the guide got off, and he showed them the various parts of the station and explained its history. Reboarding, the guide opened a window so that BeeBee could take pictures without the bars. She took many pictures of the gorgeous scenery and of the train as it curved toward a bridge or tunnel. The train paused at the Goram Ghat flag station, where the monkeys were waiting for their treats. Villagers tossed them chipatis, while the guides gave Pati and BeeBee crackers to toss. Finally arriving at Phulad, Pati, BeeBee, and the guide left the train. Deepak was waiting with the car, and they all drove back to the hotel, following the same route they had traveled yesterday.

Meter Gauge Train

Sardargarh - Evening Safari

Friday, 14 November 2014, Sardargar

At 4 pm, Pati and BeeBee climbed into the Gypsy Jeep once more (Gypsy is the model name). Their driver/guide was a man they had seen with other groups, but they had not interacted with him before. The purpose of this evening's safari was to visit local tribal villages. As they set off through Sardargarh on tbeir way to villages, every child they passed called out to them, whether "ta ta",  "hello", or "goodbye" (but not "money"), and waved, and many of them ran after the jeep, taking shortcuts to catch up on another street. The guide stopped to interact with local citizen in the town.  At one point, as he was driving up a local street, they came upon a group of women working on a huge pile of gravel at least 30 inches high, extending from curb to curb and and several feet across. Backing up was not an option. The women retreated to the sides of the street and the guide simply drove over the gravel, the tires leaving two grooves behind the jeep.

Once out of town, their guide went off-road, looking for wildlife, and pointed out antelope and birds. He had asked how their wildlife safari had been, and seemed to want to make up for any shortcomings there (Pati and BeeBee did 't think there were shortcomings). Returning to the road, such as it was, he stopped to point out some owls in a tree. His real purpose in stopping, however, was to introduce Pati and BeeBee to a local "holy man." This man had become disillusioned with his life and gave up everything to live by the side of the road, where he created two primitive shrines. He sleeps on a hammock in the trees. He has three large bells, which he rings , similar to a call for prayers. He has not talked for 25 years; the guide thinks he has lost the ability to speak. He wears only the traditional simple white clothing, if only because he would not be allowed to be naked and still live there. He invited Pati to sit down on his simple mat, and they communicated by words (Pati) and gestures, although he did not understand what Pati said. At one point, he retrieved a ragged bag from the side of his camp, opened it to retrieve a box, and opened the box to retrieve a pack of cigarettes and matches, which he offered to Pati. Of  course, Pati could not accept that, and tried to explain open heart surgery. BeeBee asked the guide to interpret, which he did, so the holy man then tried to offer water, which started a new round of explaining why it could not be accepted, either.  

The next stop was to visit a marble processing plant, where marble blocks are sliced and then shaped. Here, the cost for 6 marble tiles that are 1 foot square would be $1. It is so inexpensive here that it is commonly used to build dry-stacked walls around property to keep antelope and cows out. (That and lines of  tall cactus plants).   After that, it was off-road again through shrub and deep pools of water to reach a wall which forms one side of the man-made Lake Monohar Sagar. Pati took some beautiful pictures of the sun about to set above the fort, which was about 1 km away. They climbed to the top of the wall (a few feet above the road surface there) and walked to a section that rose 20 feet above the wall. There were steps on the side, to climb to a viewing area above. These steps were about two feet wide, with a stone wall to the left, no handrail or barrier on the right side, and water below. The guide urged them to climb these steps. BeeBee took some convincing. The guide went ahead and held BeeBee's hand all the way up. Pati bravely climbed with no hand-holding. The view was stunning. They got good pictures of the sun setting beside the fort. 

Pati then asked the guide how long he had been at the fort, and he said "I own it." He is the Maharaj. He also owns the place where they were sitting and everything between it and the fort. He is the 10th person in his family to own it; he and his wife have been renovating it for 10 years. He then served Pati and BeeBee juice bottled by Coca Cola ; he only buys Coke products, finding Pepsi too sweet. They watched swifts darting over the water and other birds coming home in waves to roost in trees on the other side of the lake. They discussed his plans to buy a boat so that guests could have dinner on the water and enjoy the sunset. Finally, as it was getting dark, they climbed down the stairs again and drove back to the fort, where Pati and BeeBee appear to be the only guests this evening.

Sunset over Sardargarh Fort

Holy Man with Bells

Sardargarh - First Afternoon

Thursday, 13 November 2014, Sardargarh

This morning Pati and BeeBee got up at 6 am for breakfast and departure at 9 am. They had a quick sandwich lunch at a restaurant just off their route at  1:30 and arrived at their hotel, Sardargarh Heritage Hotel (a former palace), about two hours later. The roads they traveled ranged from level limited-access highway to steep single-lane with lower berms. On the way, they saw the exact local train that they will be riding tomorrow. Until 4 pm, when a young couple arrived, they were the only guests in the hotel. The hotel has free wifi that can be accessed in only one courtyard. Pati and BeeBee sat in a large opening in the stone wall to use the internet; the manager brought them cushions. The manager also brought them a dinner menu so that they could pick their meal for 7 pm. By dinnertime, there were 4 more guests, traveling together, from Holland., bringing the guest total (as far as BeeBee knows) to 8.

At 8:30 pm, Pati and BeeBee were picked up for their jeep safari. This involved driving 10 km (6 miles) from the hotel and then going off-road (and on roads that might as well be off-road) looking for wild animals with a searchlight operated by a young man standing on the tailgate of the jeep. They spotted deer (two kinds), 2 owls, 1 rabbit, a family of foxes, a small animal  bigger than a mole but smaller than a hedgehog, and a small herd of camels plus herder. The herder was surprised by the searchlight and had a friendly conversation (long distance) with the young man with the searchlight. The ride was the bumpiest so far in India. The night was cool enough for jackets, for the first time since Shimla. It was pitch black dark and very peaceful. The driver and spotter spoke in low voices only when necessary, and the driver maneuvered the jeep as quietly as possible. The two men had only limited English, reserving their conversation mostly for naming animals. The peace of the night, the darkness, and the late hour made it difficult to stay awake, even with the rough ride. Finally, Pati and BeeBee were returned to the hotel just before midnight.

Setting the alarm clock for an early start tomorrow, they fell into bed, exhausted.