Wednesday, October 28, 2015

संस्कृत सुभाषिते - १

आज माझ्या मुलीचा संस्कृत चा प्रथम सत्र परीक्षेचा पेपर होता. पेपरच्या आधी अभ्यास वगैरे घेण्याचे काम आमच्या सौभाग्यवतींकडे असले तरी परतल्यानंतर "पेपर कसा गेला ?" " बघू, कायकाय आलं होतं ते ?" वगैरे विचारपूस करण्याचं पितृकर्तव्य मात्र अस्मादिकांकडे असतं.

तसंच आज तिचा पेपर बघताना मन भूतकाळात ३० वर्षे मागे गेल. सी.पी. ऍण्ड बेरार शाळेत शिकताना आम्हाला श्री. हरीभाउ महावादीवार म्हणून संस्कृतचे उत्तम शिक्षक होते. तेव्हा संस्कृत भाषा प्रचारणी सभा, नागपूर तर्फ़े इयत्ता ५ वी, ६ वी आणि ७ वी साठी संस्कृत परीक्षा घेतल्या जायच्या. (राष्ट्रभाषा प्रचारणी सभा, वर्धा तर्फ़े हिंदीच्या आणि टिळक महाराष्ट्र विद्यापीठातर्फ़े मराठीच्या परीक्षा घेतल्या जायच्यात. आमची गणना स्कॉलर विद्यार्थ्यांमध्ये उगाचच होत असल्याने, या सगळ्या परीक्षा देणं आम्हाला अनिवार्य असायचं) त्या ३ वर्षांमध्ये  त्यांनी शिकवलेली सुभाषितमाला मला अजूनही तोंडपाठ येते. इतकं जबरदस्त पाठांतर त्यांनी आम्हा सगळ्यांचच करून घेतलं होतं. 

आजही अगदी " अयं निजः परोवेती " पासून म्हणायला सुरूवात केली की आमची गाडी " तपः सर्वं समाप्ययेत " पर्यंत न अडखळता घडाघड म्हणू शकतोय. त्यातलंच एक मजेशीर सुभाषित आज आठवलं. ते सुभाषित आणि त्याचा अर्थ इथे आज सर्व गीर्वाण प्रेमींसाठी देतोय. त्या काळात देवांची ही टिंगल संस्कृत सुभाषितकार करू शकायचेत हे पाहून आश्चर्य वाटेल.

कमले कमला शेते, हरः शेते हिमालये
क्षीराब्धौच हरिः शेते, मन्ये मत्कुण शंकया.

लक्ष्मी कमळात वास करते, हर (शिव) हिमालयात वास करतो, हरी क्षीरसागरात वास करतो म्हणून कवी म्हणतो की यांच्या घरात मत्कुण (ढेकूण) झालेत की काय ? (यांना असे चांगले आपले घर सोडून इकडे तिकडे रहावेसे वाटतेय तर )

यात "मन्ये मत्कुण शंकया" या शब्दाचा इतरही काही अर्थ निघत असल्यास संस्कृतच्या जाणकारांनी मार्गदर्शन करावे ही विनंती. 



Monday, October 26, 2015

दक्षिण दिग्विजय : २ (चेन्नई ते मदुराई)

यापूर्वीचा भाग दक्षिण दिग्विजय भाग १

रविवार दि. ३०/११/२००८


मदुराईला जाण्यासाठी आम्ही चेन्नई एग्मोर स्टेशनवर आलोत. दुपारी १२.३५ ला आमची वैगई एक्सप्रेसची आरक्षणे होती. साडेदहाच्या आसपास तिथे पोहोचतो न पोहोचतो तोच आमच्या नवीन बॅगचे हॆंडल तुटल्याचे ध्यानात आले. मग एग्मोर स्टेशनच्या बाहेरच एक नवीन खरेदी झाली. (नागपूरला इतवारीतून, खात्रीच्या दुकानातून, घेतलेल्या नवीन बॅगने ८ दिवसांतच दगा दिला होता पण चेन्नईला घेतलेल्या बॅगने गेल्या ६ वर्षात दगा दिला नाहीये.)

एग्मोर स्टेशन छानच आहे. बहुतांशी तामिळनाडूत मीटर गेज रेल्वेमार्ग होता तेव्हा हे स्थानक मीटर गेजची राजधानी समजल्या जायचे. वीजेवर चालणा-या मीटर गेज लोकल गाड्या फ़क्त चेन्नईतच होत्या. आता गेल्या १० वर्षातील गेज रूंदीकरणामुळे त्या नामशेष झाल्यात. वैगई एक्सप्रेसपण तिच्या मीटर गेज अवतारात या मार्गावरील राणी होती. हिरव्या आणि पिवळ्या अशा आकर्षक रंगसंगतीत ती यायची.


एग्मोर स्टेशनचे हे प्रवेशद्वार.


प्रवेशाच्या कमानीच्या वर असलेली ही कलाकुसर. जुन्या काळच्या वैभवाच्या खुणा अजूनही इथे पुसट होउ दिलेल्या नाहीत.

एग्मोर स्टेशनचे उच्च वर्गाचे वातानुकूल प्रतिक्षालय छान आहे. पण गर्दी फ़ार होती. कशीबशी आम्ही बसायला जागा मिळवली. नोव्हेंबर महिनाअखेर असूनही उकाडा आणि घामटा फ़ार होता. अगदी मुंबईसारखाच. कदाचित जास्त. चेन्नईला खेळताना सगळ्या क्रिकेटर्सना खूप दमायला का होतं ? याचा उलगडा झाला.

फ़लाट ४ वरच्या प्रतिक्षालयात आम्ही थांबलो होतो. गाडी बरोबर वेळेत येणार अशी घोषणा होत होती. पण त्याच बरोबर फ़लाट ४ वर तिरुचिरापल्लीवरून येणारी पल्लवन एक्सप्रेस येणार अशीही बुचकळ्यात टाकणारी घोषणा होत होती. फ़लाट ४ वर जर पल्लवन एक्सप्रेस येणार असेल तर वैगईचा रेक कुठे दुसरीकडे तर लावणार नाही नं ? या भीतीपोटी मी इतर फ़लाटांवरही जाउन एक चक्कर मारून आलो. पण तशी चिन्हे नव्हती. थोडक्यात वैगई एक्सप्रेसला काही अज्ञात कारणांमुळे उशीर होणार आणि आम्ही मदुराईला रात्री २०.३० ऐवजी उशीरा पोहोचणार असे वाटू लागले. प्रथमच त्या शहरात चाललो होतो. माहिती फ़ारशी नाही. भाषेचा प्रश्न होता. मोठमोठ्या हॊटेल्समध्ये जरी इंग्रजी चालणार असलं तरी रिक्षा / टॆक्सी ठरवण्याबाबत काय ? असे प्रश्न डोक्यात रूंजी घालत होते.


चेन्नई एग्मोरची क्षणचित्रे :
१) नागरकोइल-चेन्नई स्पेशल गाडीचा रेक फ़लाट क्र. ६ वर. हा नवीन कोचेसचा रेक होता (सी.बी.सी कपलर्स वाल्या कोचेसचा). तिथेच गोल्डन रॊक शेडचे १६८७९ ड्ब्ल्यु.डी.एम.२ आयडलिंग मोडमध्ये.

२) चेन्नई-काकीनाडा सरकार एक्सप्रेसचे दोन दोन रेक्स फ़लाट २ व ३ वर होते. मी फ़लाट १ कुठे आहे याचा शोध घेण्याचा प्रयत्न केला आणि सोडून दिला.

आणि सगळ्या अधीरतेचा अगदी अनपेक्षित अंत झाला. स्वतः विषयीच वाटून गेलं की "अरे, इतकी साधी गोष्ट आपल्या आधी लक्षात कशी आली नाही ?" दुपारी पल्लवन एक्सप्रेस ४ क्र. फ़लाटावर येण्यापूर्वी उलगडा झाला की ह्या गाडीच वैगई एक्सप्रेससोबत रेक शेअरींग आहे. पल्लवन म्हणून तिरूचिरापल्लीवरून येणारी २६०६ लगेचच २६३५ वैगई म्हणून मदुराईला परतते आणि मदुराईवरून सकाळी निघालेली २६३६ वैगई एक्सप्रेस २६०५ पल्लवन म्हणून दुपारी उशीरा तिरूचिरापल्लीला परतते.




प्रवास: सविस्तर


२६०६ पल्लवन एक्सप्रेस, २४ मिनीटे उशीरा म्हणजे १२.२४ ला चेन्नई एग्मोर स्टेशनवर आली. (आपल्या भारतीय रेल्वेने चेन्नई एग्मोरचे चेन्नई एषुंपूर असे मजेशीर नामकरण का केलेय हे नकळे. त्या प्रवासात आम्ही एकमेकांना "एषुंपूर" असे चिडवत असू.) आम्ही लगेचच आमच्या कोचमध्ये बसलोत. ही गाडी फ़ार लोकप्रिय आहे. आमच्या कोचसकट सगळे डबे अगदी पूर्णपणे भरलेत.

येताना 21266 या अरक्कोणम  शेडच्या WAM 4 बुवांनी आणलेली गाडी मात्र परतीच्या प्रवासात  22654 या इरोड शेडच्या   WAP 4बुवांनी ताब्यात घेतली.

एंजिन क्र. 22654  द. रे. इरोड शेड WAP 4

कोच क्र. 94152, द. रे.,  सी - २ कोच, वातानुकुलीत चेअर कार (खुर्ची यान)आसन क्र. ३५, ३६ आणि ३७.

इंटिग्रल कोच फ़ॆक्टरी, मद्रास येथे दि. १९९४ मध्ये  बनविण्यात आलेला WGSCZAC कोच. एकूण ७३ आसने





कोचच्या आत डिजीटल डिस्प्ले होता खरा पण त्यावर पुढील स्टेशन वगैरे माहिती येण्याऐवजी फ़क्त   "Welcome to Indian Railways. Happy Journey" एव्हढीच पट्टी सरकत होती. 

१२.४६ ला गाडी हलली. तांबरम , चेंगलपट्टू अशी चेन्नईची उपनगरीय स्टेशन्स मागे टाकून गाडीने वेग घेतला. आजवर आमच्या www.irfca.org या वेबसाईटवर पाहिलेली ही सगळी स्टेशन्स आज प्रत्यक्ष अनुभवत होतो. या स्टेशनांचे मीटर गेज काळातील वैभव बघितले होते आणि आजही गाडी वेगात पळत होती. चेन्नईच्या बाबतीत मुंबईशी तुलना करायचीच झाली तर चेन्नई सेंट्रल म्हणजे छत्रपती शिवाजी टर्मिनस तर चेन्नई एग्मोर म्हणजे मुंबई सेंट्रल.


चेंगलपट्टूवरून मग मात्र तामिळनाडूच्या भातशेतीतून गाडी जोरात निघाली. या गाडीचा रूबाब जाणवत होता. एकमार्गीय लोहमार्गात समोरून येणा-या गाड्या मधल्या स्टेशन्सवर थांबवून ठेवून या गाडीला वाट दिली जात होती. चेंगलपट्टू ते विल्लूपुरम हे १०३ किमी अंतर अक्षरशः विना थांबा या गाडीने ९० मिनीटांत पार केले. विल्लूपुरम पर्यंत विद्युतीकरण झालेले होते. (आता मात्र पूर्ण नागरकोईल स्टेशनपर्यंत पूर्ण विद्युतीकरण झालेले आहे.) विल्लूपुरम स्टेशनपर्यंत बाजूने जुन्या मीटर गेजच्या मार्गाने साथ दिली. मीटर गेजमध्ये विद्युतीकरण झालेला संपूर्ण भारतातील हा एकमेव मार्ग होता. मीटर गेज लोकल गाड्यापण संपूर्ण भारतात फ़क्त चेंगलपट्टू ते चेन्नई एग्मोर याच पट्ट्यात धावत होत्या.





चि. मृण्मयीने मात्र तेव्हढ्या प्रवासात अभ्यासाचा घाट घातला. आमची भाषा आता इथे कुणालाही कळत नव्हती. (असे किमान आम्हाला तरी वाटत होते. खरे खोटे तो वेंकटरमणन च जाणो.) आणि आजुबाजूचा कलकलाट आमच्या आकलनापलीकडे होता. थोडा वेळ मग आमची चिडवाचिडवी चालली. (" माहितीय माहितीय तुमची शाळा किती कडक आहे ते. " वगैरे वगैरे नेहेमीचे पवित्रे झालेत.) त्याप्रसंगानंतर तिची ही रिऍक्शन.

विल्लूपुरमला डिझेल एंजिन लागले. 11171 WDM 3D इरोड शेड. SHF. विल्लूपुरमवरून १५.३३ ला निघालेली गाडी वृंदाचलम, अरीयालूर मागे टाकून कावेरी नदीवरचा केळीच्या बनांत दडलेला मोठ्ठा पूल ओलांडून तिरुचिरापल्ली जं. ला संध्याकाळी आली. दक्षिण भारतातले हे एक मोठे शहर. इथे राष्ट्रीय तंत्रज्ञान संस्था आहे आणि एका चांगल्या संस्थेत तिची गणना होते. इलेक्ट्रीक एंजिनाचा सरासरी वेग ६२.७६ किमी प्रतीतास होता पण डिझेल एंजिनाने ६६ किमी प्रतीतास (६६.७१ किमी प्रतीतास) च्या वर वेग कायम ठेवला होता.

सरतेशेवटी चेन्नई एग्मोर ते मदुराई हे ४९७ किमी चे अंतर ७ तास ५४ मिनीटांत कापून आम्ही रात्री २०.३७ ला मदुराई स्टेशनात दाखल झालोत. मदुराई स्टेशनात चेन्नईला जाणारी २६३८ पांडियन एक्सप्रेस उभीच होती. प्रथम वर्ग वाता्नुकुलीत दर्जाचे २ कोचेस असलेल्या मोजक्या गाड्यांमधली ही एक गाडी. 

रिक्शा ठरवली आणि स्टेशनजवळच एक छानसे हॉटेल पाहिले. 

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowUserReviews-g297677-d617934-r39427908-Royal_Court-Madurai_Tamil_Nadu.html

दुस-या दिवशी रामेश्वरमला जाण्याचा बेत आखत झोपी गेलो. 





Monday, October 19, 2015

Mystery solved. Shunting of 51118 - 11058 slip coaches at Chalisgaon Junction.

I was on my way to Mumbai by 51118 - 11058 slip coaches. our 51118 passenger arrived Chalisgaon Jn. right time. Indian rail information system was showing the connection, 11058 ASR-CSTM express late by about 4 hours. Then started mysterious shunting. I thought over it again and again and got more and more confused.

Then I started studying Chalisgaon Jn. layout and the time requirements. I think I have solved the mystery. The shunting on the day I was travelling must be an odd case of shunting employed when the connection, 11058 express (popularly known as Pathankot express though it doesn't touch pathankot station on its route anywhere.) late.

Presenting it for you all. There are two cases.
 A) When both the trains are right time. 51118 arrives at Chalisgaon at 20.35 and 11058 arrives here at 20.50 and departs at 21.00 hours.

B) When 11058 is late for more than an hour.

A-1) 51118 arrives at Chalisgaon Jn. Generally loco link is Pune WDM 2. The composition of the rake is Loco-SLR-GS-S-12-S-11-B-4( Mumbai slip coaches) GS-GS-GS-GS-SLR. (CSN-DHI passenger coaches.)



A-2) The Mumbai bound slip coaches are detached just after 12139 CSTM-Nagpur Sewagram express clears PF 2 and are waiting for 11058 to arrive at PF 1.




A-3) 11058 arrives and loco (GZB WAP 4 or WAP 7) detached. Slip coaches are getting attached by the diesel loco that brought it from Dhule.



A-4) Shunting loco gets detached and regular loco link gets attached with the full formation of 11058.




A-5) Meanwhile 11058 departs for CSTM. Shunting loco goes at the end of PF 2 and then to PF 3 to get itself attached with the GS coaches of 51118 passenger.




A-6) The diesel loco pushes GS coaches of the passenger backwards towards the coaching depot for overnight maintenance. These will be taken out for its journey next day at 06.00 hours for 51111 passenger to Dhule.





B-1) Now the situation I have experienced when my connecting train, 11058 , was more than 1 hour late. PF 1 can not be kept occupied with slip coaches for so long as there is a rush of trains one after the another. 12810 Mumbai Mail, followed by 18030 Kurla Express and many more, the shunting takes place in a typical fashion.



B-2)  After the departure of 12139 Sewagram express to Nagpur, the slip coaches are brought backwards through PF 2 as shown below.



B-3) Shunting continues. It is quite confusing to judge whats happening outside by sitting inside the coach.



B-4) Loco goes into middle during this shunting. 




B-5) The GS coaches of Chalisgaon - Dhule passenger are being shunted back to Chalisgaon maintenance yard for overnight maintenance.




B-6) The loco and the slip coaches come back to PF 3 and the wait for 11058 continues silently, without disturbing other operations at the station.


B-7) 11058 arrives. GZB loco gets detached for the time being and slip coaches are shunted to 11058.





B-8) Slip coaches shunted. Diesel loco will get detached, Electric loco gets attached and train departs with its full formation for CSTM.


Happy that mystery is solved.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Comparative review of Private operators' buses plying between Shirpur / Indore to Mumbai.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are framed after the author’s individual experiences. It is definitely not an attempt to bias the opinions of the future travelers on this route.

Prologue: Since last couple of months, I am travelling every weekend to Mumbai. General plan is to leave Shirpur late in the evening (sometimes midnight) every Friday and reach Mumbai (Andheri) next morning. Attend my Ph. D. course work at our institute in Juhu and return back in the evening reaching Shirpur at Sunday morning (in wee hours). Once or twice I preferred Dhule-Mumbai slip coaches that are carried by 51118 DHI-CSN passenger and get attached to 11058 Amritsar-CST Mumbai express at Chalisgaon and in return journey by 11057, get detached at Chalisgaon and attached to 51111 CSN-DHI passenger. Though this mode is the most comfortable one, timings of it and the responsibilities here in my institute, do not allow me to prefer it most of the times. Hence I have to prefer road travel.


I have experimented purposefully by exploring various options available on this route and still exploring a lot. This is the small presentation of my experiences.

1) Date: 31/07/2015 to 01/08/2015

Travel: Shirpur to Mumbai (Andheri E)

Bus No: MH-18 / AN 8055, Ashok Leyland, Viking Model




Seat / Berth no: 20 (Lower single berth on the left in fourth row. In all 5 rows of berths for passengers. One row of two berths perpendicular to the motion of the bus for Drivers rest)

Bus operator: Sai Abhishek Travels, Shirpur

Body built at: Azad, Banglore.

Travel Time: 9 hours 54 minutes (31/07/2015 20.36 to 01/08/2015 06.30)

Distance: 430 kms. (Approximately)

Ratings and reviews

Legend:  5- Excellent          4-very good           3-average              2-below average
1- poor

1.    Seat or berth comfort: 3  
(Nothing special to mention)

2.  Air conditioning: 2  
(They used to shut it off during night and it was causing suffocation inside as the windows are of fixed type)

3.    Suspension: 3   
(Nothing special to appreciate or to criticize either)

4.    Cleanliness: 4  
(May be due to Shirpur is the starting point for this bus. But is was very good)

5.     Staff behavior with passengers: 4

6.     Driving: 3
  
7.    Punctuality in timings: 4  
(A lot of buffer time is provided. 430 kms in 10 hours is a lot of slag considering that all the stretch of this road is a 4 lane road)

8. Essential amenities inside bus: 1
(Charger points were in non working condition. Now a days, looking at the smart phone users and their usage throughout the day, charging point is an essential commodity. My cell phone got discharged and I had to wait till 10.00 next morning to find the charging facility for it. Blankets were not provided.)

9. Inside ambience of the coach: 3
(Nothing special to mention)

10.   Selection of Places to stop for dinner / morning tea etc: 3
 (They do not stop for dinner. That’s the major drawback. Preferring this bus means I will have to have my dinner too early.)

Overall ratings: 30 /50 (60 %)

This bus managed to get first class marks.

Commenets: Decided to try out different bus on this route because of inconvenient timings and service inside the bus especially lack of charging point and blanket.

2) Date: 01/08/2015 and 02/08/2015

Travel: Andheri (E) to Shirpur

Bus No: MH-41 passing. Eicher 10.5 m model.



Seat / Berth no: 9 (Lower single berth on the left in second row. In all 5 rows of berths for passengers. One row of two berths perpendicular to the motion of the bus for Drivers rest)

Bus operator: Chawla Travels, Indore

Body built at: Indore

Travel Time: 8 hours 20 minutes (01/08/2015 20.10 to 02/08/2015 05.30)

Distance: 430 kms. (Approximately)

Ratings and reviews

Legend:  5- Excellent          4-very good           3-average              2-below average
1- poor
1.    Seat or berth comfort: 3  
(Nothing special to mention)

2.  Air conditioning: 3

3.    Suspension: 3   
(Nothing special to appreciate or to criticize either)

4.    Cleanliness:

5.     Staff behavior with passengers: 4

6.     Driving: 3


7.    Punctuality in timings: 3  
(Started 30 minutes late and never attempted to make up the lost time.)

8. Essential amenities inside bus: 3
(Charger points were in working condition. Blankets were provided. Nice quality of blankets.)

9. Inside ambience of the coach: 3
(Nothing special to mention)

10.   Selection of Places to stop for dinner / morning tea etc: 3
(It stops for dinner at Hotel Atithi, near Padgha, Bhivandi. It charges exorbitantly to the passengers for the food. Cleanliness and taste at this point is fairly below average.)

Overall ratings: 32 /50 (64 %)
This bus, too, managed to get first class marks.

Commenets: Decided to try out another bus on this route because I found Eicher bus is not at all a good option for such a long distance travel. It required extra efforts for the engine to climb up simple gradients which would have been never noticed in any other buses.)

3) Date: 22/08/2015 and 22/08/2015

Travel: Shirpur to Andheri (E)

Bus No: TN 56 E 9454. Volvo 9400 Multi Axle sleeper coach.




Seat / Berth no: SL 16 (Lower single berth on the left in fourth row. In all 6 rows of berths for passengers. One row of two berths perpendicular to the motion of the bus for Drivers rest)

Bus operator: Verma Travels, Bhopal

Body built at: Azad, Banglore

Travel Time: 6 hours 30 minutes (22/08/2015 01.40 to 22/08/2015 08.10)

Distance: 430 kms. (Approximately)

Ratings and reviews

Legend:5- Excellent          4-very good           3-average              2-below average
1- poor

1.    Seat or berth comfort: 4  

2.  Air conditioning: 4

3.    Suspension: 3   
(Multi axle Volvo could had been with better suspensions. I think the suspensions are not maintained for this oldie. I felt a few bumps on the road during travel)

4.    Cleanliness:

5.     Staff behavior with passengers: 4

6.     Driving: 4


7.    Punctuality in timings: 4  
(Started  1 hour 30 minutes late and but attempted to make up the lost time.)

8. Essential amenities inside bus: 4
(Charger points were in working condition. Blankets were provided. LCD Tvs were also with sufficiently big screen and were working. Wi Fi and GPS services with the bus were working. Nice quality of blankets. Toilet was provided for both genders inside the bus.)

9. Inside ambience of the coach: 4

10.   Selection of Places to stop for dinner / morning tea etc: NA
 (It did not stop at anywhere en route. Not even for bio break for passengers as toilets were provided inside the coach itself.)

Overall ratings: 35 /45 (77.77 %)
This bus managed to get distinction grade marks.

Commenets: Decided to try the same travel bus on this route for another time.

4) Date: 22/08/2015 and 23/08/2015

Travel: Andheri (E) to Shirpur

Bus No: TN 56 E 9454. Volvo 9400 Multi Axle sleeper coach.


Inside ambiance of the coach by Verma, Bhopal.


Seat / Berth no: SL 15 (Lower single berth on the left in third row. In all 6 rows of berths for passengers. One row of two berths perpendicular to the motion of the bus for Drivers rest)

Bus operator: Verma Travels, Bhopal

Body built at: Azad, Banglore

Travel Time: 7 hours 48 minutes (22/08/2015 19.10 to 23/08/2015 02.58)

Distance: 430 kms. (Approximately)

Ratings and reviews

Legend:  5- Excellent          4-very good           3-average              2-below average
1- poor

1.    Seat or berth comfort: 4  

2.  Air conditioning: 4

3.    Suspension: 3   
(Multi axle Volvo could had been with better suspensions. I think the suspensions are not maintained for this oldie. I felt a few bumps on the road during travel. This time lesser bumps were felt as my berth was one row ahead of the previous one I travelled.)

4.    Cleanliness:

5.     Staff behavior with passengers: 4

6.     Driving: 4


7.    Punctuality in timings: 4  
(Started 30 minutes late and and attempted to make up the lost time.)

8. Essential amenities inside bus: 4
(Charger points were in working condition. Blankets were provided. LCD Tvs were also with sufficiently big screen and were working. Wi Fi and GPS services with the bus were working. Nice quality of blankets. Toilet was provided for both genders inside the bus.)

9. Inside ambience of the coach: 4

10.   Selection of Places to stop for dinner / morning tea etc: 3
  (It stops for dinner at Hotel Atithi, near Padgha, Bhivandi. It charges exorbitantly to the passengers for the food. Cleanliness and taste at this point is fairly below average.)
Overall ratings: 38 /50 (76 %)
This bus again managed to get distinction grade marks.

Commenets: Decided to try the same travel bus on this route for another time. In return journey this bus lost some of its grades just because of selection of poor place for place of dinner.)

5) Date: 28/08/2015 and 28/08/2015

Travel: Shirpur to Andheri (E)

Bus No: MP-41 / P 2777. Ashok Leyland Viking model. Sleeper coach.






Seat / Berth no: 14 (Lower double berth on the right in third row. In all 5 rows of berths for passengers. One row of two berths perpendicular to the motion of the bus for Drivers rest)

Bus operator: Citizen Travels, Indore

Body built at: VEERA, Banglore

Travel Time: 7 hours 30 minutes (28/08/2015 01.35 to 28/08/2015 09.05)

Distance: 430 kms. (Approximately)

Ratings and reviews

Legend: 5- Excellent          4-very good           3-average              2-below average
1- poor

1.    Seat or berth comfort: 4
(Extremely comfortable bus. It did not let us feel the road at all. Great build quality. Only point it lost from getting perfect 5 was the height of the lower single berths. It was not sufficient for an average person to sit during day time comfortably. )

2.  Air conditioning: 4

3.    Suspension: 5 
(Better than multi axle Volvos on this route.)

4.    Cleanliness:

5.     Staff behavior with passengers: 4

6.     Driving: 5


7.    Punctuality in timings: 3  
(Started 1 hour 30 minutes late )

8. Essential amenities inside bus: 4
(Charger points were in working condition. Blankets were provided. LCD Tvs were also with sufficiently big screen and were working. Nice quality of blankets.)

9. Inside ambience of the coach: 4

10.   Selection of Places to stop for dinner / morning tea etc: 2
  (It stops for morning tea at an extremely shabby place, near Padgha, Bhivandi. It charges exorbitantly to the passengers for the food. Cleanliness  at this point is fairly below average.)










Overall ratings: 39 /50 (78 %)
This bus managed to get distinction grade marks.

Commenets: Decided to try the same travel bus on this route for another time just because of comfort in travel.

6) Date: 19/09/2015 and 19/09/2015

Travel: Shirpur to Andheri (E)

Bus No: MP-13 / TA 5555. Ashok Leyland Viking model. Sleeper coach. (Actually the scheduled bus was MP 41 / P 2777 but it was changed at the last moment for maintenance purpose.)






Seat / Berth no: 9 (Lower single berth on the left in second row. In all 5 rows of berths for passengers. One row of two berths perpendicular to the motion of the bus for Drivers rest)

Bus operator: Citizen Travels, Indore

Body built at: SUTLEJ Coach and Body builders, Patiala.

Travel Time: 8 hours 00 minutes (19/09/2015 01.30 to 19/09/2015 09.30)

Distance: 430 kms. (Approximately)

Ratings and reviews

Legend: 5- Excellent          4-very good           3-average              2-below average
1- poor

1.    Seat or berth comfort: 5
(Extremely comfortable bus. Though an old one, it did not let us feel the road at all. Great build quality.

2.  Air conditioning: 4

3.    Suspension: 5 
(Better than multi axle Volvos on this route.)

4.    Cleanliness:

5.     Staff behavior with passengers: 4

6.     Driving: 5

7.    Punctuality in timings: 3  
(Started 1 hour 30 minutes late )

8. Essential amenities inside bus: 4
(Charger points were in working condition. Blankets were provided. LCD Tvs were also with sufficiently big screen and were working. Nice quality of blankets.)

9. Inside ambience of the coach: 4

10.   Selection of Places to stop for dinner / morning tea etc: 2
  (It stops for morning tea at an extremely shabby place, near Padgha, Bhivandi. It charges exorbitantly to the passengers for the food. Cleanliness  at this point is fairly below average.)

Overall ratings: 40 /50 (80 %)
Though old, this bus managed to get distinction grade marks.

Commenets: Decided to try the same travel bus on this route for another time just because of comfort in travel.

7) Date: 19/09/2015 and 20/09/2015

Travel: Andheri (E) to Shirpur

Bus No: TN 56 E 9454. Volvo 9400 Multi Axle sleeper coach.

Seat / Berth no: SL 14 (Lower single berth on the left in second row. I all 6 rows of berths for passengers. One row of two berths perpendicular to the motion of the bus for Drivers rest)

Bus operator: Verma Travels, Bhopal






Body built at: Azad, Banglore.

Travel Time: 9 hours 10 minutes (19/09/2015 18.50 to 20/08/2015 04.00)

Distance: 430 kms. (Approximately)

Ratings and reviews

Legend: 5- Excellent          4-very good           3-average              2-below average
1- poor

1.    Seat or berth comfort: 4  

2.  Air conditioning: 4

3.    Suspension: 3   
(Multi axle Volvo could had been with better suspensions. I think the suspensions are not maintained for this oldie. I felt a few bumps on the road during travel. This time lesser bumps were felt as my berth was one row ahead of the previous one I travelled.)

4.    Cleanliness:

5.     Staff behavior with passengers: 4

6.     Driving: 4


7.    Punctuality in timings: 3
(Started only 20 minutes late but reached almost 1 hour 30 minutes late.)

8. Essential amenities inside bus: 4
(Charger points were in working condition. Blankets were provided. LCD Tvs were also with sufficiently big screen and were working. Wi Fi and GPS services with the bus were working. Nice quality of blankets. Toilet was provided for both genders inside the bus.)

9. Inside ambiance of the coach: 4

10.   Selection of Places to stop for dinner / morning tea etc: 3
  (It stops for dinner at Hotel Atithi, near Padgha, Bhivandi. It charges exorbitantly to the passengers for the food. Cleanliness and taste at this point is fairly below average.)
Overall ratings: 37 /50 (74 %)

This bus again managed to get distinction grade marks.

Commenets: Decided to try the same travel bus on this route for another time. In return journey this bus lost some of its grades just because of selection of poor place for place of dinner and failure to make up the delay.)

8) Date: 10/10/2015 and 10/10/2015

Travel: Shirpur to Thane (Majiwada Jn.)

Bus No: UP 75 / M 3552. TATA 1510 Cummins  Sleeper coach.



Seat / Berth no: 15 (Lower single berth on the left in third row. In all 5 rows of berths for passengers. One row of two berths perpendicular to the motion of the bus for Drivers rest)

Bus operator: Hans Travels, Indore

Body built at: Indore

Travel Time: 7 hours 10 minutes (10/10/2015 12.20 to 10/10/2015 07.30)

Distance: 390 kms. (Approximately)

Ratings and reviews

Legend: 5- Excellent          4-very good           3-average              2-below average
1- poor

1.    Seat or berth comfort: 4  

2.  Air conditioning: 3 (The Air Conditioning vents were not at all user friendly. One had to call the coach attendant to open and close it quite often.)

3.    Suspension: 5   
(Though an old bus but the suspensions were excellent. We hardly felt the road beneath.)

4.    Cleanliness:

5.     Staff behavior with passengers: 4

6.     Driving: 4


7.    Punctuality in timings: 4
(Started only 30 minutes late but managed to make up the delay.)

8. Essential amenities inside bus: 4
(Charger points were in working condition. Blankets were provided. Quality of blankets was average. Toilet was provided only for ladies inside the bus.)

9. Inside ambiance of the coach: 4

10.   Selection of Places to stop for dinner / morning tea etc: NA
  (It did not stop for morning tea.)

Overall ratings: 36 /45 (80 %)

Surprisingly this bus managed to get distinction grade marks.

Commenets: Decided to try the same travel bus on this route for another time.  It was poor selection by me this time on Red Bus. Instead of a bus destined for Borivali, I selected bus destined for Dadar and hence had to break my journey to Andheri at Thane and then proceed.

9) Date: 10/10/2015 and 11/10/2015

Travel: Andheri (E) to Shirpur

Bus No: KA - 01 / AA 6840. VOLVO BR 9 Multi Axle Sleeper coach.










Seat / Berth no: C-5 (Lower single berth on the left in third row. In all 6 rows of berths for passengers. One row of two berths perpendicular to the motion of the bus for Drivers rest)

Bus operator: NEETA Travels, Mumbai

Body built at: Kardar Ramdev Coach Body builders, Pune


Travel Time: 8 hours 40 minutes (10/10/2015 19.30 to 11/10/2015 04.10)

Distance: 430 kms. (Approximately)

Ratings and reviews

Legend: 5- Excellent          4-very good           3-average              2-below average
1- poor
1.    Seat or berth comfort: 2
(Not at all comfortable berths. Volvos built by Kardar Ramdev are extremely uncomfortable. This is my second experience of travel in such a coach. First was the experience in Volvo 9400 by Khurana Travels from Sangola to Nagpur in October 2012. It was equally annoying experience.) 

2.  Air conditioning: 2
(The Air Conditioning vents were located at one end of the berth. For Verma travels Volvo the air conditioning vents are well distributed along the length of the bus. In this case, it was a poor planning of air conditioning console at one end of the berth.)

3.    Suspension: 1   
(Hard to believe that one is travelling in a multi axle Volvo. Poor maintenance of suspensions. Felt every tiny pothole on the road.)

4.    Cleanliness:

5.     Staff behavior with passengers: 4

6.     Driving: 1

(Extremely poor. Acceleration and braking was always exceeding passenger comfort levels. There were only 9 passengers in a coach of capacity 36 and no one complained but it was not at all comfortable.)


7.    Punctuality in timings: 2
(Started 1 hour late. Never informed passengers. When contacted the call centre for information on any delays, I was assured that the bus is dot on time. But ultimately it was a wait  for almost 1 hour at a place where NEETA has an office but do not provide the basic facilities like comfortable sitting place to the passengers boarding from there. One has to stand and wait. No excuse for ladies and children from this silly rule. It never tried to make up for the delay.)

8. Essential amenities inside bus: 2
(Charger points were broken but fortunately in working condition. Blankets were provided. Quality of blankets was below average. )

9. Inside ambiance of the coach: 4





10.   Selection of Places to stop for dinner / morning tea etc: 3
  (It stops for dinner at Hotel Pushkar Mela, near Padgha, Bhivandi. It also charges exorbitantly to the passengers for the food. Cleanliness and taste at this point is fairly below average.)

Overall ratings: 25 /50 (50 %)

This bus hardly managed to get passing marks. Forget about first class and distinction class.

Commenets: Decided never to try the same travel bus on this route for another time.  NEETA travel has continued to disappoint me once again. First experience of NEETA Volvo (53 seater B 7 R VOLVO with 13 cramped rows, instead of normal 10,was the first agonizing experience by me in 2004 for travel from Shirdi to Mumbai. I will never prefer this operator again.)

By the way, I generally used to book tickets on Wednesday for my travel on Friday. On Thursday, I used to get discount offers from Red Bus. This week, I have decided to book only after receiving discount offers and I punched the bonus code offered by Red Bus to me. But it did not work. I will not book by Red Bus. Instead I will definitely prefer the travel company website to book my ticket.