Dhanbad to Prayagraj: Braving general class train, bus over 550 km and 15 hrs to take a dip
“Certainly it was quite exhausting and at the same time satisfying too, when I checked inside the hotel room,” he said while sipping a cup of tea in the Mela area
For a 34-year-old, Rahul Halder, a resident of Dhanbad, the Mahakumbh is an embodiment of faith. And this was the force that pushed him to travel to Prayagraj, to take a dip on Mauni Amavasya (January 29).
Halder travelled 423 km by train in a general class to reach Varanasi early in the morning on January 28 and then took a bus from there to arrive at Prayagraj, travelling another 150 km.
“The experience was a mixed bag. Left my home at Dhanbad on Monday at 8.30 pm and reached my hotel room in Prayagraj at 11.30 am. Certainly it was quite exhausting and at the same time satisfying too, when I checked inside the hotel room,” he said while sipping a cup of tea in the Mela area.
“As my third AC ticket was not confirmed, so I decided to buy a general class ticket and boarded the Ganga-Sutlej Express that left Dhanbad at 9.50 pm and got down at Varanasi at 5.20 am. As the coach was packed to the rafters, I did not get up to even sip a drop of water, or go to the washroom, fearing that I may not get my seat back if I got up,” Halder said.
In Varanasi, his plan was to catch a train to Prayagraj. The scene at Varanasi railway station was horrifying. There was no place to stand as all platforms were jam packed. “I dropped the idea of taking a train to Sangam city. I left the station and went to the bus stand. I boarded a bus that dropped me 40 km before Prayagraj. Took a shuttle bus which brought me to Prayagraj.
“Then I booked a two-wheeler through an app which took me to my hotel in Ashok Nagar near the Circuit House. By the time I entered my hotel room, it was 11.30 am,” said Rahul who runs a printing press with his 69 year old father, Jaydev Halder. It took 15 long hours to reach Prayagraj from Dhanbad which is hardly 550 to 600 km.
“I was feeling relieved that I finally arrived here. This was not the end of my ordeal. After taking a bath in the hotel room, I decided to visit the mela ground on the Sangam banks. I had to walk a long distance of about 10 to 12 km to catch a glimpse of the river and the sea of humanity taking a dip in the river. It was a sight to behold. All my fatigue vanished and I felt rejuvenated,” he said.
Halder will take dip on Mauni Amavasya and will carry two bottles of holy water from Sangam and a bag full of memories of his first Mahakumbh experience with the hope that the journey back will be far less exacting.
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