In the Cauvery’s Land

I landed at Bangaluru earlier known as Bangalore airport at half past five in the evening on Wednesday.  I had boarded the flight from Delhi. It was dot on time. At the airport, drivers were asking exorbitant money for going to the city where I had booked online a room in a hotel near railway station. I chose this hotel in the proximity of railway station because I had booked a berth in a train called “Mysore express” for going to Mysore. In fact, Mysore is not so easily accessible from outside places. I have a meeting with the scientists at Central Food Technology Research Institute (CFTRI) where a collaborative project was running and it is about to conclude in November. I even tried taking a taxi directly from Bangalore airport to Mysore but again taxi drivers were asking for a fare which included the return fare also. Already we were knowing this exigency and as an alternative had booked a room in a hotel in Bangalore and leaving by early morning train for Mysore.

From Bangalore the distance to Mysore is only 140 kilometers but trains run very slow due to single track for coming and going trains. If two trains are coming from opposite sides which usually is the case, one of the trains has to halt at a passing track and allow the other to cross. At the railway station, it first seemed very confusing because instead of Mysore Express, name of the train was written as Tuticorin express. Anyway the train came very much on time from Tuticorin and commenced its journey towards Mysore on time.

Soon the city was left behind. All along there were fields of sugarcane, rice and millet. There were coconuts planted everywhere. Trees and shrubs with beautiful flowers could be seen around the houses. The whole countryside was lush green. Occasionally the train crossed a bridge on a river. And which river? It is none other than the sacred river Cauvery. It is also a bone of contention between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The waters of the river are used as a Political weapon by the Karnataka state because it has erected many dams on the river and Tamil Nadu is starved of water whenever Karnataka state wants to pressurize the Central government to meet its demands.

Anyway, the greenery became more and more intense as the train chugged towards its destination. There were banana cultivations also at many places. Farmers were seen working in the fields. At last the train reached the destination after three and half hours and I was received by colleagues from CFTRI and went to the hostel.