THE SOUND OF THE STEAM ENGINE !
The sound of the Rail
Engine kindles images of hope,
happiness, progress, revolution, partition,
separation, movement, rejuvenation, motivation, civilization, life, activity, commencement , flux , expectation ,
arrival , departure , and so much more.
Specially the vintage steam engine driven train which emanated power , music
and rhythm . The steam puffing out of its head and from the sides, its naked
pistons pushing in and out propelling
the wheels forward creating such captivating huffing sound. One has marvelled the sight and the sound
at many stations whilst awaiting the arrivals and the departures as the
steam engine shunted to and fro. Essentially; it is a good omen, in all cultures and societies, the world over.
However, along with the joy there are tragic
images of the Partition when the dead bodies arrived from both sides in the
overflowing trains so vividly captured in films such as ‘Gadar’ ,‘ Train to Pakistan’ , ‘Tamas’ and
‘Gandhi’ and a host of documentaries and
are seated in the collective memory of
that generation and the present too. We
have also the images of the holocaust
where train carriages were full of the Jews being taken to the ‘Concentration
camps’, and the Trans-Siberian train of
the post Bolshevik Revolution, the Stalin era when counter revolutionaries and
dissidents were exiled to the cold desert transported by the infamous Train!
These days sometimes I sit
alone in my balcony of the apartment facing an industrial complex at a distance,
it is near to the port of Vizag. The loneliness is interrupted by the gushing
sound of the rail engine and of the soft collision of the bogies in
movement. It is indeed very reassuring and makes me happy, as if reminding me
that it is here to give me company. The romanticism of steam engine will soon
fade into past as it almost ceases to exist in most places . Though I feel that
to maintain our industrial and cultural heritage it should still function in
some short sectors; and should not die
the way the Trams did in Mumbai! The
steam engine revive many childhood memories. I do not though recollect my first
‘conscious’ train journey but I am sure that I would have boarded my first
train at Dehradun where I was born. As I remember one incident of my childhood
connected to train which puts me to
shame to this day! I was at home with my grandmother and her brother who had
come to visit her, and we were having tea in the evening. Suddenly my country
cousin along with her Dad arrived from the village, they sat for some time and
then she nudged her father to leave. We wondered as to what was the hurry, she
smiled shyly but her father said that they have to go to the railway station to show her
the railway engine and the train . I
found that strange and could not conceal my astonishment which did not go
unnoticed, maybe I mocked at her! After they left my Grandma’s brother asked me
if I had seen the electric train, then he said that the electric trains run in
Mumbai and that I could see the latest Shammi Kapoor film ‘An evening in Paris
in which the electric train is shown, I got the message and felt bad for my
behaviour. Incidentally India was the first country in Asia where the electric
trains were introduced by the British in Mumbai Local, it was later in Japan
but soon they surpassed all with the bullet train and now China has left even
the west behind in its railway technology. I may not remember the Air journeys
but many Rail journeys I can recall; the food; the smell; the commotion; the
dialects; the arguments ; the jokes. The culture of reserved seat was not wide
spread and therefore on many vacations
we would travel during long day journeys to Nazibabad ( in order to travel to
Garhwal) from Allahabad , unreserved. Obtaining a seat along with the family
members was akin to a wrestling contest! Later my regular train to Mumbai from
Allahabad was the famous Bombay mail or Calcutta mail as one may call.
The Train , the Engine , the
journey , the sound has played an important role in the Indian celluloid inspiring many songs, action sequences and symbolism. The scene of ‘Pather Panchali’ when the two siblings venture out of their surroundings and chance upon the
railway track. First they hear the sound
keeping their ear on the track and then the train with the traditional Engine
arrives and mesmerises the children. It is such a captivating scene ! The
action scene of Dharmendra ( Veeru) and Amitabh Bachhan ( jai ) of ‘Sholay’
where the dacoits attack the train was perhaps the beginning of maturing of
the action Directors in Indian Cinema
.The climax of ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Lejayenge ‘
with Shahrukh extending his hand from the running train to Kajol when finally Amrish Puri releases her to freedom . Not only the scenes
are set in the train but the entire films have been set in the moving train: ‘Half Ticket’ starring Kishore Kumar and
Madhubala ,‘The Train’ starring Rajesh Khanna and Nanda, ‘The Burning Train ‘ inspired
by ‘Towering Inferno’ was a multistarrer with Dharmendra and Hema Malini leading the cast. The world Cinema’s love of
the trains is similar: ‘The Great Train Robbery’ starring Sean Connery , Donald
Sutherland and Leslie Anne Down , ‘The Train’ starring Burt Lancaster and Paul
Scofield, ‘Von Ryan’s Express starring Frank Sinatra, there is a famous Kurosava film ‘Tengoku to Jigoku ( High and Low ) which
inspired the Indian film ‘Inkaar’ starring Vinod Khanna and Amjad Khan. And
there are plenty others. Parting, separation , goodbyes and reunion have been
filmed regularly at railway platforms which is a dominant symbol of such
emotions.
What make the ‘Trains’ so
special in India are the songs picturised
on them : ‘ Gari bula rahi hai, siti baja rahi
hai’ from the film ‘Dost’
starring Dharmendra is indeed philosophical. Then there is the famous children
song sung by Ashok Kumar in ‘Aashirwad’,
‘ Rail
Gari rail gari….’ The song is unique for it was sung by Ashok Kumar
himself and in it he mentions the famous local stations of Mumbai ( the song
however is not picturised in a train but in a park ). During our time the song
of ‘Rafuchakkar’ starring Rishi
Kapoor, Nitu Singh was popular ‘chuk chuk ,chak chak, Bombay se Baroda tak…’. The famous Vijay Anand shot the song ‘Uparwala
jaan kar anjaan hai, apni to bas har aah ek toofan hai ‘ for ‘Kaala Baazar’, sung by Dev to woo Waheeda whilst they are
travelling together in train. Then there are songs sung atop the goods train- ‘humdono
do premi duniya chod chalen’ sung by Rajesh Khanna and Zeenat Aman in ‘Ajnabi’, ‘Hoga Tumse pyara kaunHumko to
Tumse hai …. O kanchi’ from the film ‘Zamane ko Dikhana hai’ starring Rishi
Kapoor and Padmani Kolhapure is shot on a moving train against the Darjeeling
hills with tea gardens. But undoubtedly the best filmed is the Mani Ratnam’s ‘Chaiyaan
Chaiyaan….’ On Shahrukh Khan dancing with Mallika Arora and her troupe
on a moving toy train against Nilgiri hills with some breath-taking shots in ‘Dil se’. And there are
some songs shot inside the engine compartment on a moving Train : ‘Dhanno
ki ankhon mein hai pyar ka surma aur chand ka chumma’ written by Gulzar
for the film ‘Kitaab’ and the much
remembered and shot well ‘haton ki chand lakiron ka ye khel hai bas
taqdeeron ka’ of ‘Vidhata’
filmed on Dilip Kumar and Shammi Kapoor, directed by Subhash Ghai . Finally
there are at least two songs filmed with the jeep chasing or moving alongside
the train and the heroine sitting by the
window ;both are filmed in the Darjeeling hills ( made famous recently in ‘Barfi’ ) because that is the only
place in hills where there is rail track
and road running parallel over long
distance. The first song was made famous by Mohammad Rafi and filmed on Dev
Anand and Asha Parekh in the film ‘Jab Pyar kisi se hota hai’ , ‘Jiya
ho dil ka parda khol do….’. The second is the all time favourite of young people ‘mere
sapnon ki rani kab aaye gi tu’ from the film ‘Aaradhna’ ,sung by Kishore Kumar and filmed on Rajesh Khanna and
Sharmila Tagore.
Indeed; to this day the Rail and its Engine
remains an important motif in our Lives , Cinema and Songs.
