A Routine Ordeal at Howrah Station

18.55 My train reaches Howrah from Jamshedpur
19.05 Stand in the Queue for Taxi with around 15-20 people ahead of me.
19.40 Manage to get a Taxi in Queue
20.10 Reaches Howrah Bridge (Barely 5oo mts to a km from the station)
20.50 Reaches Home at Salt Lake (13 Km from Howrah Station, good 2 hours after I reached Howrah)

A normal schedule at Howrah Station, with slight variation in time. Not to forget if the train reaches after 10 PM, the queue for metered Taxi is gone and you are left at the mercy of Taxiwallahs. They charge the same metered amount and take 4-5 passengers charging the same from everyone, making 5 times more money.

Howrah Station always gives a feeling of Vintage and Grandiose of British Raj. Always so majestic to watch the Red Brick and Paint or the Gleaming lights at the night. Standing so towering next to Hooghly River and Howrah Bridge. It stands testimonial to the best gift British left India with, the Indian Railways. I always feel what meticulous planning they must have done on deciding the location of Station. So, close to Hooghly River and next to Howrah Bridge. Perfectly approachable!!!! It must have been a real pleasure in the early 1900s to catch a train here.

Cut to 2000s. More than a million passenger tread daily on its platform. And the moment you enter, the vision is sordid, clumsy, congested. The moment you get down from the train you are greeted with a eerie cacophony. The next ordeal is dealing with coolies (potters). Dressed in Red a mark of Unionism and Marxism, they demand an exorbitant sum and gives you exorbitant headache. Then, You have to keep pace with them, keen not to let them away from your sight, and wary not to stamp the platform dwellers strewn all over while you tread. A normal sequence of events mentioned above to get on Taxi and get out of sight of the Station. The experience leaves you of memories, which always leaves a mark on you. Good or Bad!!! No Comments.

I wonder what the architect of the Station would feel, 1oo years after it was built. Yes, the station celebrated its 100 years of existence recently. How much have we contributed on to the legacy left by British. Although, a new building with around 6 platform has been added, the illustrious old building still accommodates around 15 platform. All the approach roads to the station are so full of traffic, there is no easy get-away. You should always keep a buffer of 3o minutes to 1 hour, if you are keen not to miss your train. The picture here is of one of the once-built-never-maintained-full-of-potholes bumpy road that is taken by the Taxi's to reach Vidya Sagar Setu. Whenever I see this road, I always feel its so foolish to talk about Development here, when even the approach road, seems, is never re-built in 100 years.

It feels so ironical at times. 4 hours to cover 250 kms by Trains and 2 hours to reach home for a stretch of 13 kms.
Perhaps a good candidate for a case of "Law of Exponential Growth".