Kalka-Shimla-Kalka Motor Rail Journey: An Inexpensive Heritage Rail Experience to Try Out In India!

It was some 35 years ago, I had the first opportunity to travel by the narrow gauge rail line connecting Kalka and Shimla. 

Kalka is a small town in the Pachkula District of Haryana State of India and is about 28 km from Chandigarh- a pre-engineered city of India which functions as the capital of both  Haryana and Punjab States. Shimla is a mountain resort city and is the capital of Himachal Pradesh State. 

Kalka Railway Station in the early Morning Nov-2013

Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge rail line is about 100 km long and is a world heritage declared by the UNESCO. This rail line ascends continuously from an altitude of 656 M at Kalka to reach the 2200 M elevation of Shimla. To reach this 2.2 km height above mean sea level, one has to travel about 96 km through the narrow gauge rail passing through 100 odd tunnels, 900 curves and about 800 bridges.

The Rail Motor at Kalka just before the departure!

One of the best travel delight on this heritage rail line is the unique facility for the rail motor car journey. While decades ago I used the narrow guage rail line for my travel from Shimla to Kalka, I could not enjoy the rail motor car journey at that time. I have been waiting for an opportunity for that and I got it a few months ago when I had to visit Chandigarh to attend my friend's son's marriage.

Rail Motor at Barog Railway Station

The motor car trip was indeed a remarkable experience and was much simpler than I thought. While there are other narrow gauge trains, I was more particular about this rail motor car experience. 

The Rail Motor Car Locomotive Diesel Engine!

It is a single rail coach self propelled by a diesel locomotive engine with 14 cushioned seats considered as first class. It is not air conditioned and for that matter a/c is not essential for this part of the country as most of the time it is cold rather than hot. 

It is the brake of the Rail Motor and not the steering!

One can book the tickets in advance  using any one of the travel portals like yatra, makemytrip or irctc. The rail car that starts from Kalka to go to Shimla is named 72451/Kalka-Shimla Rail Motor and departs at 5-10 a.m and reaches Shimla at about 9.50 a.m. 

View of Simla from Simla Railway Station

In the evening, the same rail car departs from Shimla as 72452/Shimla-Kalka Rail Motor and departs at 4.25 p.m and reaches Kalka at about 9.35 p.m. 

View through the glass window of the Rail Motor Car!

The average speed of this rail motor car is about 30 Km/hr, but the car actually travels much faster. For example, when I traveled by it from Shimla to Kalka, it reached Kalka one hour before its scheduled arrival time! 

Experience the Rail Motor Speed by viewing this video!

Barog railway station about midway is the place where passengers can alight for about 15 minutes for refreshing. 

Tourist Places Information Board at Simla Railway Station!

The fare for a person in this rail motor car is Rs.292/- one way from Kalka-Simla or Simla-Kalka. It is quite affordable for a tourist. The timings are too convenient for any one who visits Chandigarh to spend a day in Shimla. But the taxi fare from Chandigarh to Kalka and Kalka to Chandigarh in the early morning and late evening could be more than three times the rail motor fare!

A View of the Himalayan Life from the Outskirts of Simla!

Simla is in reality very easy to access by rail or by road. The highway connecting Simla to Chandigarh runs almost parallel to the rail line at many places.

The sign board at Simla Railway Station declaring its Heritage!

Unlike other hill stations of India, one important aspect of the Kalka Simla route is its relative safety. The rail line and road are considerably safe as accidents are comparatively much less. Road and rail disruptions during snow fall or land slides are also much lower as compared to other hill station areas of India.

So, if you haven't yet gone to this place, plan your trip soon. And don't miss the rail motor journey!  

Rules and Regulations: It Could Trap Even those who Made it (thoughtlessly)!

Yesterday, I got a message on my mobile phone which was sent from an automatic short message service (SMS) facility of my bank. It reads as follows:

"Dear customer, RBI's KYC norms require Banks to update customer data periodically. To update records we request you to visit your nearest ICICI bank branch with latest photograph, original and self attested copies of identity and address proof" 

When I got it, the immediate  response which came into my mind was some thing that is unprintable. I cursed the government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), my bank and all those fellows who think that they are above the people who could keep on troubling the people every now and then for all kinds of things that they think as right.

But today I felt a bit relieved after reading a news item which appeared in the Economic Times. Given below is the clipping:

The news gives the story of the ex-Reserve Bank of India governor, Mr.D Subharao facing problems in opening a bank account in his home town-Hyderabad- after he moved to that place after his retirement. Mr Subharao faced problems in producing a suitable address proof of his current residence to the bank which is mandatory as per the KYC rules of the RBI. 

The news further adds that it was Mr Subharao who was instrumental in making this mandatory rule for the banks to follow when he was the RBI governor. 

Perhaps he never imagined that such rules could make irritations for him when he is no more in power! 

Perhaps he never imagined the difficulties the common people of India would face with such rules which are made with no future thoughts! 

Any way the present RBI governor, Mr.Raghuram Rajan has opined that it is a shame that many in India are failing to get bank accounts due to the bureaucratic bottlenecks! I am not sure how is he going to make the same constricted bottlenecks expanded! 

Why do we need banks? Why do we need an RBI which keep making such idiotic rules every now and then does like this? 

Why do we need a government and the people's representatives who are so insensible to the problems of the people and do not have the sensitivity and the powers to intervene when some of the incompetent government employees make rules and regulations without any forethought? 

These are the common feelings of the people of India when they face such things. Indian authorities keep making such rules and regulations in the pretext of administrative controls without making any efforts to study the consequences and without making any infrastructural facilities for effective implementation of their rules!

It would not have caused much irritation to me had our banks operated the way they used in the past. In the past, I used to bank with a bank branch and the officers and the staff used to know me as a customer by face as I used to be a visitor to the bank for all my banking needs. I got my bank account because some other valued customer who knew me introduced me to the bank and the bank (means the officers of the bank) later got accustomed to me and my financial and other status on account of my dealings with the bank as a customer. They knew how to value a valued customer!

With the advent of computers and computerized banking services, knowing the customer by face became a non essential thing for the bankers. Passwords and alpha numeric identity (ID) words became the keys for banking transactions. Ordinary individual customers became relieved to a great extent as it was not required to go to the bank for most of the transactions. It was indeed a good progress that the banking sector was making so far.

Then came the era of the idiotic ideas in the banking sector! Some were good and essential while many were foolish and uncalled for!

One of those foolish ideas was this KYC! Now the banks were required to go back to the old system in a round about manner by introducing what is known as 'Know-Your-Customer' (KYC) system. 

What a ridiculous thing? The fundamental of banking service is that they admit a customer to transact with them only when they know the customer. How is it that the banks do not know their customers? In reality, in earlier days, the banks , the post offices and the educational institutions were the original authorities who knew a person rightly and who could vouch for sure about a person's good credentials. These very same institutions could certify the identity and address of any citizen! And that was very logical and reasonable!

Obviously, the rules and regulations for KYC were introduced by some one who did not know much about retail banking. 

It is now understood that it was introduced by an ex- RBI governor. It is common knowledge that RBI governors are political appointees and they need not have any previous experiences in banking! So, it is quite likely that such persons with their immense powers could force any idea on the system even if knowledgeable people advice them otherwise. They could proceed to implement rules and regulations the way they think as right!

Now what are the requirements of this new KYC norms that the banks have to ensure? The bank officers and staff have to get another form filled in and signed by the customers and get some documentary evidences as proofs of their identity and address.

People who fail to give this would not be allowed as customers of the bank even when they have been a valuable customer for the bank for years!

Ridiculous ? Isn't it? 

Only foolish people could make such rules and regulations! 

Now what are these proofs that they need? For identity proof they have given a long list and for address proof they have another long list of documents which are accepted. Nothing other than these schedules are accepted! 

Now all these documents need again the Identity proof and the address proof for getting it made from their respective authorities of the government. This implies that in this great country it would not be possible for any one who does not have any of this document initially to have those made if they want to proceed as a law abiding citizen following all the rules. 

So which one is the original document? The rule making babus (administrative officers and including their supporting staff) of India and their supervising political bosses are least bothered! These are silly issues for the people. There are ways and people would know how to do it. If any one is not knowing that is their problem! The authorities of India seemed to think like this. People also began to feel that the authorities made all these rules and regulations for perpetuating corruption and collecting unaccounted corruption moneys! 

Because it is not at all difficult for any one to get any of these documents if they are willing to shell out some money to the agents. 

There are ways and means. 

And for that matter one can make any number of official identities and address proofs! 

If a person wants he can exist in India with many officially certified identities! 

There are no rules and regulations in India on the manner or standard in which an identity document is prepared. That gives enough flexibility for the concerned authorities and their lower level staff to generate documents with irrevocable errors knowingly or unknowingly! 

There exist no inter departmental data exchange in the various governmental departments and organizations and every one goes ahead according to their own ways! No political party who came into power in India so far has felt it necessary to resolve this unique identity crisis of India about which I had written in a few blog articles earlier too. They all proceeded their own way to make things complicated at every instant instead of making things simpler! The Election Commission of India has been doing it for many years now by making the so-called voter i-cards with innumerable errors that any one can possibly imagine! Again, such erroneous voter i-cards are acceptable documents for Id and address proofs for any banks as the KYC document! 

Later yet another authority was created in an arbitrary manner called the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) which began to make id-cards for Indian residents. However, this authority was not so clear about the purpose of creating these id-cards!

Spending nearly 18000 crores of rupees for the so-called unique bio-metric linked identity card called Aadhar and finally making it an unfinished and failed exercise by UIDAI is the latest governmental actions done without any fore-thoughts in India, in this context. 

Identity card making has become an industry in India. In that process Indians have got the unique opportunity to exist under different identities if they so desire. Of course, no genuine citizen would make advantage of this loop hole. But that would not be the case with all those non genuine people. 

That means, the very objective of KYC is failed!

So what are the solutions? 

In my opinion, solutions are not difficult. It is easy and simple if the government is pro-people and sympathetic to the problems of the people. 

If the government allows its bureaucracy to work the way they like without any accountability to the people's legitimate questions and probes then things would happen this way only. 

When some governmental programs fail, the concerned people connected with the program should be held responsible and the parliament or the state assemblies should have the power to call them to get explanations. 

In India, unfortunately there is no such accountability at present. It is a free ride for all. Only authorities and no responsibilities! 

Will the future people's representatives ever consider this as some thing important to be debated and resolved?

Only time would tell.

Till that time me and you would remain fuming over all those idiotic rules and regulations forced upon us by the so called authorities of the country even when we live in what is supposedly a democracy!

I heard the potential future PM of India-Mr Narendra Modi-speaking out his vision about governance of India. 

"Less governance for better government" he was heard as telling.

Yes I agree with him fully. If he meant less and less rules and regulations by the term 'less governance' , it is indeed the right approach for a better government.

Because the more rules and regulations made by imperfect individuals would indeed make things complicated for any government to function effectively. The more you try to untie the knots, the more entangled you become! 

Some Universal Truths about Divine Truth and Beauty!

All finite knowledge and creature understanding are relative.

Information and intelligence, gleaned from even high sources, is only relatively complete, locally accurate, and personally true.

Physical facts are fairly uniform, but truth is a living and flexible factor in the philosophy of the universe. 

Evolving personalities (such as human beings) are only partially wise and relatively true in their communications. 

They can be certain only as far as their personal experience extends. That which apparently may be wholly true in one place may be only relatively true in another segment of creation (such as in another planet where human-like people exist)

Divine truth, final truth, is uniform and universal, but the story of things spiritual, as it is told by numerous individuals hailing from various spheres, may sometimes vary in details owing to this relativity in the completeness of knowledge and in the repleteness of personal experience as well as in the length and extent of that experience. 

While the laws and decrees, the thoughts and attitudes, of the First Great Source and Center (the Eternal God) are eternally, infinitely, and universally true; at the same time, their application to, and adjustment for, every universe, system, world, and created intelligence, are in accordance with the plans and technique of the Creator Sons (Divine Personalities originating from the Eternal God) as they function in their respective universes, as well as in harmony with the local plans and procedures of the Infinite Spirit ( the third source of deity originating from the Eternal God) and of all other associated celestial personalities.

The false science of materialism would sentence mortal man to become an outcast in the universe.

Such partial knowledge is potentially evil; it is knowledge composed of both good and evil. 

Truth is beautiful because it is both replete and symmetrical. 

When man searches for truth, he pursues the divinely real.

Philosophers commit their gravest error when they are misled into the fallacy of abstraction, the practice of focusing the attention upon one aspect of reality and then of pronouncing such an isolated aspect to be the whole truth. 

The wise philosopher will always look for the creative design which is behind, and pre-existent to, all universe phenomena. The creator thought invariably precedes creative action.

Intellectual self-consciousness can discover the beauty of truth, its spiritual quality, not only by the philosophic consistency of its concepts, but more certainly and surely by the unerring response of the ever-present Spirit of Truth (invisible living power emanating from the deities) 

Happiness ensues from the recognition of truth because it can be acted out; it can be lived.

Disappointment and sorrow attend upon error because, not being a reality, it cannot be realized in experience. 

Divine truth is best known by its spiritual flavor.

The eternal quest is for unification, for divine coherence. 

The far-flung physical universe coheres in the Isle of Paradise (the static eternal center of all universes); the intellectual universe coheres in the God of mind, the Conjoint Actor (the third source of deity originating from the eternal God); the spiritual universe is coherent in the personality of the Eternal Son (the second source of deity originating from the Eternal God). 

But the isolated mortal (human like living being) of time and space coheres in God the Father through the direct relationship between the indwelling Thought Adjuster (fragment of God residing in the mind of man) and the Universal Father (the first source of deity). 

Man’s Adjuster is a fragment of God and everlastingly seeks for divine unification; it coheres with, and in, the Paradise Deity of the First Source and Center.

The discernment of supreme beauty is the discovery and integration of reality: The discernment of the divine goodness in the eternal truth, that is ultimate beauty. 

Even the charm of human art consists in the harmony of its unity.

The great mistake of the Hebrew religion  was its failure to associate the goodness of God with the factual truths of science and the appealing beauty of art. 

As civilization progressed, and since religion continued to pursue the same unwise course of overemphasizing the goodness of God to the relative exclusion of truth and neglect of beauty, there developed an increasing tendency for certain types of men to turn away from the abstract and dissociated concept of isolated goodness. 

The over-stressed and isolated morality of modern religion, which fails to hold the devotion and loyalty of many twentieth-century men, would rehabilitate itself if, in addition to its moral mandates, it would give equal consideration to the truths of science, philosophy, and spiritual experience, and to the beauties of the physical creation, the charm of intellectual art, and the grandeur of genuine character achievement.

The religious challenge of this age is to those farseeing and forward-looking men and women of spiritual insight who will dare to construct a new and appealing philosophy of living out of the enlarged and exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness. 

Such a new and righteous vision of morality will attract all that is good in the mind of man and challenge that which is best in the human soul. 

Truth, beauty, and goodness are divine realities, and as man ascends the scale of spiritual living, these supreme qualities of the Eternal become increasingly co-ordinated and unified in God, who is love.

All truth — material, philosophic, or spiritual — is both beautiful and good. 

All real beauty — material art or spiritual symmetry — is both true and good. 

All genuine goodness — whether personal morality, social equity, or divine ministry — is equally true and beautiful. 

Health, sanity, and happiness are integrations of truth, beauty, and goodness as they are blended in human experience. 

Such levels of efficient living come about through the unification of energy systems, idea systems, and spirit systems.

Truth is coherent, beauty attractive, goodness stabilizing. 

And when these values of that which is real are co-ordinated in personality experience, the result is a high order of love conditioned by wisdom and qualified by loyalty. 

The real purpose of all universe education is to effect the better co-ordination of the isolated child of the worlds with the larger realities of his expanding experience. 

Reality is finite on the human level, infinite and eternal on the higher and divine levels.

[As told by the Urantia Book-Paper-2]