CITY ENTRANCE

CITY ENTRANCE

All of us must have visited scores of cities, and would have formed some opinions about them. But how do you form an opinion ? As soon as you step into the city or after staying there for few days ? Opinions are said to be formed mostly on first impressions, and so it would be logically true for cities too.

Now a City can be entered only in two ways – from a Railway Station or by Road. Arriving by Air is NOT a third option, as airports are on the outskirts of the City – so you practically enter the City by Road.

I would prefer to enter a City from its Railway Station instead of by road, and can give sufficient reasons to do so.

Delhi

Arriving in a City by train is a joy in itself. The wait in the train as it nears the City, the clatter of the tracks as the train slowly navigates the railway yard. The duration taken in the yard varying according to the size of the City, in some cities it may be half an hour or more, in some only a minute. Finally the train hissing down to its allotted platform, the mixed noises of passengers, coollies, vendors, announcing system all vying for your attention.

Lucknow

Varanasi

Finally you come out of the station and the City is before you ! In most of the Cities the Railway station is its important landmark and you get a good first impression. In India nearly all Railway station buildings have an individuality about them, and you can name a Station from its photograph even if it is not captioned.

Howrah

Tiruvantpuram

Entering a City from its Railway Station is like entering from the center of a place, everything is before you suddenly, one after another. You take in the sights. In large Cities the Station building is GRAND, and forms a nerve center for it. Even the Cities Municipal authorities take pains to keep the roads radiating out from the Station clean, wide and likeable.

CST, Mumbai

Compare this with entering the same City by Road in a car / Bus / transport from the airport. After crossing km after km of agricultural lands, and then some one says you are nearing the City.

You come across sundry business associated with City such as herds of buffaloes, brick kilns, bullock carts, jugad’s (a transport vehicle put together from scrap parts – popular in most of rural India), lorries etc., etc.  Gradually half built houses in half built colonies (land cost and rents in outlying areas of any City are low),  Now come the dhaba’s with scores of trucks parked around (the truckers resting place, as there is nowhere they can park and rest in the City), tin sheds of small industries, some active others gone bankrupt and shut down; and so on.

The scenario of entering by road has a sameness for each City as if photocopied. You CANNOT identify by this approaching road as to which City you are entering. You tend to form a “ couldn’t care less “ attitude for the City.

Entering the City by air entails Airports! After suffering the exorbitantly priced tepid coffee, you exit the plane and are hustled from one point to another. You are not allowed to take your own time; have to speak in low voices, face the automatic weapons holding guards looking at you with suspicion, You breath a sigh of relief once outside and then face the same nondescript road to the City as described above. Most of the photographs of airport buildings are not recognizable unless captioned, and certainly non come into the category of GRAND.