Pictures of a four-week visit to India in January and February 2007. I had a return air ticket to Kolkata (Calcutta) and from there went north-west to Varanasi, south to a national park, further south to Raipur, south-east to Visakhapatnam (Vizag), inland by train through the Eastern Ghats, then back to Vizag and northwards to Kolkata.
Kolkata, one of the biggest cities of India, is an incredibly lively, colourful and idiosyncratic place. It must be the place that inspired the remark about India being an assault on the senses, which will come to mind when you lie in bed trying to sleep and listening to the never-ending street noise, or walk the endlessly fascinating streets, which seem to be full of photo opportunities — most of which will be missed as people or vehicles constantly move in front of your subject. As the former British capital, Kolkata is full of crumbling stately edifices and contains many reminders of the colonial era, yet it is less Westernised than Mumbai or Delhi and is strongly, unmistakably Indian in character.
After Kolkata I went to Varanasi by overnight train and spent nearly three days there because I had not seen it properly on my last visit in 2004. Any traveller who has endured the attentions of its touts probably thinks “Varanasi” is Hindi for “very nasty”. This time I saw more of it, liked it better and would happily return.
From Varanasi I went south to a national park, which I’d visited in ‘04. In six safaris over three days I saw eight tigers and was able to photograph seven of them. (One was barely discernible as it was too far away and in dim light at dusk.)
My train ran a whopping seven hours late, arriving at 4am rather than the scheduled 9pm. By the time I arrived at my accommodation near the park I wanted only to crash into bed, and had to skip the morning safari. Otherwise my visit was delightful.
After four days I caught another train further south to Raipur, capital of the state of Chhattisgarh. Originally I intended to spend a day exploring Raipur but decided instead to do side trips into the surrounding countryside. First I spent half a day driving to Champaran to see the Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya temple and to Rajim see the Rajivalochana temple and mela (fair). Next day I drove north-west to see the temples at Bhoramdeo and the palace at Kawardha (a full day’s expedition).
From Raipur I caught a day-time train southwards to Visakhapatnam (Vizag) on the east coast. Vizag has a delightful seaside location, and it must be the cleanest and least congested city in India, but there is very little to see and do. I went there to catch a train and to get my laundry done after my days in the jungle and off the beaten track.
Inspired by an article in Jet Airways’ magazine, I wanted to ride the KK Line on the Visakhapatnam-Kirandul Passenger train (no. 1VK up; 2VK down). It leaves Vizag at 6.50am and terminates at Kirandul after about 12 hours (‘about’ because the train often runs late). I left it at 5.30pm at Jagdalpur, which has several decent hotels. Continuing to the end of the route and arriving at Kirandul at bedtime did not appeal to me because it did not seem to have any hotels and it is reputed to be regional Naxalite headquarters. Going to Jagdalpur seemed to be quite far enough.
The train was built in the 1960s by Japanese mining interests to serve the iron ore mines at Kirandul. The railway line is an important means of transport for the local people, and tourists use the train to visit the Araku Valley for trekking and visits to tribal villages. However, the train journey itself was my objective. I like interesting and unusual train journeys, and it’s also good to leave the tourist trail and see less visited parts of India.
Being a passenger train rather than an express, the train has only one first-class carriage and no air-conditioning or catering. Most stops are limited to only 2 or 3 minutes; only about three stops are longer (10-20 minutes). Consequently I found it difficult to buy food as my carriage was near the front of the train and a long way from snack stalls at the few stations that had any. On the return journey I fared better as my carriage was in the middle of the train.
After a day exploring the town and market of Jagdalpur, I returned down the line to Vizag the following day. After another day in Vizag, I returned to Kolkata for a final three days before flying home.
For more photos of India, see my India 2004-05 gallery.