Vande Bharat - The Pride of Indian Railways

When did you last travel by a train? What keeps you away from a train journey? Noisy coaches and smelly wash rooms?

Well, those reasons are a thing of past! Try a Vande Bharat train. It connects cities up to 600 kms apart. Six to eight-hour journey in luxurious coaches. Noise and dust free cruising at steady 110 kmph. Bio-vacuum toilets as in an aircraft. Courteous staff, great food. Don’t believe it?

Ghumakkad recently travelled by Vande Bharat trains between Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Sharing few pictures for you to appreciate the quality of service offered by the Indian Railways.

The doors of the coaches open automatically. See the short video below.

See the short video clip of rotatable chairs. Complete 360 degrees rotation could not be captured as the chairs were not in the upright position.

It is not only the trains where the quality of service has improved, even the waiting halls at the stations have undergone a transformation. See two pictures of the AC waiting hall at Kacheguda railway station below.

Currently, there are 35 Vande Bharat trains in India which is likely to reach the target of 75 trains. The coaches of Vande Bharat are made in India by the Integral Coach Factory. The trains operate in two configurations of 16-coaches or 8-coaches. Ghumakkad travelled in an 8-coach service. Hyderabad-Bengaluru fare for executive chair car over the Christmas weekend was Rs 2956 including all meals, convenience fee and credit card fee. 

Train journeys are always fun. We share below some of our earlier stories of train travel both in India and overseas. Whether it is the roving chaat-wallah in a train or going through a tunnel, there is nothing like a train journey!

Vizag to Araku by the 'Royal' Class 

Taj Mahal at Dawn - Straight from the railway station

A Train Journey in America

Train to Ranthambor Tiger Reserve

Discovering Rural Wisdom and Innovation - Through a train journey in Saurashtra

Of course, vande bharat train does not permit the roving chaat-wallahs in the coaches, but in-the-train catering by the railways makes up for it. Do give it a shot! Vande Bharat- the changing face of Indian railways. Those who have already travelled by Vande Bharat, do share your experience.

Thanks for browsing. This story also came to you from a moving train!

-        Harsh-the-Ghumakkad / Vande Bharat Train/ 26th Dec 23

#trainjourneys #travel #fun #indianrailways #vandebharat #prideofindianrailways #biovaccumtoilets #veterans #seniorcitizens #bloggingfromrunningtrain #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #qualityofservice 

Addiction At 85?

 Can you become an addict at 85 and lead a healthy life? Addicted to what?

A substance? Drugs? Alcohol? What else?

This is the story of a super senior citizen (and many others like him!) ‘suffering’ from addiction of a different kind. Addiction for good! Addiction for golf!

This super senior citizen, an armed forces veteran, is so deeply addicted to golf that he plays even in darkness. Don’t believe it? See the picture below shot in the darkness on a wintery morning at Secunderabad India. Can you spot a ball and the golfer?

 

As the day dawns, the darkness gives way to magical dawn and sometimes a misty morning with ground frost! Some more pictures below.

Golf is such an addiction that the golfers not only start the day with a round of golf but also dream, breathe and live golf! Ask any golfer! There is a society called ‘Golf Addicts’ with chapters around the world. Unlike ‘Alcoholic Anonymous’, the golf addicts celebrate being an addict.

Ghumakkad is also a golfer. Our earlier stories on golf have had wide readership. Links to some of the golf stories from our blog are listed below. Just click to browse the picture stories.

Golf and Yoga

Rolling Pin and Golf Club

RSI Golf Secunderabad - Hasn't happened again after 2016!

So, to remain happy in life, become an addict! Get addicted not to drugs or substance or alcohol, but to something positive in life like golf or painting, music, dance or gardening!  Follow your positive addiction with passion and you will live a healthy life! Just like Col GB Sethi featured in the story. Thanks Dr Sethi for your companionship, wit and humour on the golf course and beyond.

 

Thank you for browsing.

Incidentally, this is Ghumakkad’s 600^th story in our 12-year-old blog! It comes to you from a moving train! Thanks for your continued readership and support.

-        Harsh-the-Ghumakkad / Vande Bharat Train/ 23^rd Dec 23

#addiction #passion #golf #darkness #life #dawn #magicalmorning #mistymorning #golfaddicts #drugs #alacohol #substance #veterans #armedforces #bloggingfromrunningtrain #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

Someone Else Also Loves Fresh Guavas

Do you love guavas? Specially the pink variety? Yes I do. I love to pluck it from the tree and eat. As fresh as it can be.

This morning, I found someone else with an equal craze for garden fresh guavas! Not another human being but a feathered friend! Whom did I find on our guava tree? Any guesses?

A parakeet? No.

A bulbul? No.

Then what?

It was a Pale-billed Flowerpecker! A bird so tiny that it can hide inside a guava! See the picture below.

It went about doing its morning breakfast in stages. Probably, its nest was close by and it kept feeding the chicks while making rounds. From the size of the guava, the bird could feast for days. But there must be other birds sharing the guava because the next morning the fruit was gone!

Special thanks to Yella Prakash Rao for bird ID.

Benefits of Guava

In an earlier story, we had brought out the nutritional value of guavas. You may click the following link to browse the complete picture story. An extract about the fruit is also reproduced below.

Guava - A Powerhouse of Nutrients Guava is also called 'super fruit' like super cars and super bikes! It contains 4 times more vitamin C than orange, 3 times more proteins and 4 times more fiber than pineapple, 2 times more lycopene than tomato and slightly more potassium than a banana. Guava is used in treatment of high blood pressure, constipation, respiratory disorders and hypercholesterolemia. Readers may browse the LinkedIn article for further details.

Do share the observations of similar visitors to your home garden or neighbourhood. Isn't it fascinating to see Nature's myriad ways and creations?

Like the flowerpeckers, eat guava and stay healthy!

Thanks for browsing.

     -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ Secunderabad/ 14th December 2023

#guava #superfruit #nutrients #antioxidants #vitaminc #protein #dietaryfibre #homegardening #palebilledflowerpecker #freshfruits #secunderabad #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Multi Tasking At Ten

When did you hear the term 'multi-tasking' for the first time?

For computer science students, probably during the undergrad degree. For most others, the answer would be 'during work life'!

Here is the story of a ten-year-old, who also hasn't heard the term multi-tasking. But she practices it with ease and finesse of a seasoned professional. She does multiple things at the same time. And excels too! Let us see Anuva's multiple talents one by one.

IronKids Champion

Anuva has successfully completed 'IronKids' the Ironman run for the kids. She was among the fastest in her age group both in 2022 in Goa and 2023 in Malaysia. Pictures below.

For more pictures of her triumph at 2022 IronKids, you may browse the story 'Ironman in the Family'.

Athletics

Anuva has been winning multiple prizes in her school athletics competition for last several years. For Ghumakkad, who too was a Broad Jump winner at India level multiple times, it is extra delight to see his grand daughter exceling in athletics. See the pictures below. 

Gymnastics

Within a year of gymnastics training, Anuva finished at the podium during Tamil Nadu State Gymnastics competition in 2023. Sharing few pictures of the Championship and a short video clip. Don't miss the glow on her coach's face.

She is passionate about gymnastics and loves to practice wherever she is. It could be a park in Malaysia or the lawn of her grandparents house in Hyderabad, she would utilise the time so well. See the clips below.

Adventure Sports

Ever keen on outdoors specially adventure sports, you can see her in action below'

Creativity

Anuva has been a creative child. When she was barely two-year-old, her vocabulary was different from most children of her age. Sample the following from our earlier story 'A For Alligator':

A for Alligator and not Apple (as most toddlers of her age would learn!)
B for Ball (as for every other child)
C for Caterpillar and not Cat!
D for Doll
E for Elephant and not Egg!
and so on...! 
Amazing isn't it? 

Her power of observation has always been sharp. Once accompanying her parents in a shopping mall, she shouted 'blue tooth blue tooth' after sighting the magnetic security tags on the garments on display! And she was just two-year-old then!

She continues to be creative in her expressions and writing. See the creative posters designed by Anuva on World Environment Day and other occasions.

Art and Craft

Fond of creating useful things out of waste or used items, sample some of Anuva's creativity below.

Friendship Bands made of rubber bands.

A pen stand using discarded jute twine and a paper cup. I still use it on my study table. Thank you Anuva.

She keeps learning from sources such as YouTube. She recently made a crochet frog. Pictures below.

Playing the Piano

Anuva also plays the piano probably inspired by Ansh her elder brother. A short video clip below.

Mathematics and Anuva

On being queried whether she loves mathematics as a subject, she was pretty candid. See the video below where Anuva and her Dadi (paternal grand mother) express their 'love' for mathematics!

So genes do play a role! Isn't it?

Grandparents' Delight

Grandchildren are the real delight in the lives of grandparents. Am sure all the grandparent-readers will agree. Do share your moments of joy as comments in this blog.

We share below some of our earlier stories on grandchildren and grandparenting.

Grandkids Are Grandkids- Grandkids are a blessing whether toddlers or teenagers!

Ganapati Comes Home - When your granddaughter dresses up as Lord Ganesha!

Play Is The Highest Form Of Research - A five-year-old learns how to mix the batter for Pizza Muffins!

Thrill Of Grandparenting - Accounts of the thrilling arrivals of our grandchildren - one each in USA and India couple of years ago!

Anuva with her Dadi and Mom when she was few weeks old in Chennai. The same girl is deftly multi-tasking now!

Sketching At Eight - Story of an eight-year-old who loves to sketch. By God's grace, he too is our grandson!

Grandkids continue to delight us. They bring cheer into our lives. See the bonding between the grandparents and Anuva.

Hope you liked Anuva's multiple pastimes and how she juggles it so efficiently. She continues to learn on her own- what with YouTube and so on! Do leave a word of encouragement for her.

Thanks for browsing

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta and Prabhjoth Bhargava/ Secunderabad/ 1st December 2023

#children #grandchildren #parenting #grandparenting #hobbies #interestsinlife #multitasking #tenyearold #gymnastics #athletics #music #artandcraft