An Enchanting Tale of Our Tour of South India - Part 3 of 20

OUR SOUTH INDIA TOUR IN 1975 (Episode 3 of 20)

Continuing with the fun facts that were an integral part of travel during the 1970s and before...

Fun fact #2 : 

The Brobdingnagian Trunk, the Hold-All, and the Baggage:

The Brobdingnagian Trunk:

The era of wheeled bags and lightweight polyester suitcases was yet to arrive on the scene during our tour in the year 1975. Steel trunks ruled the roost when it came to traveling during the 1970s and the earlier years. The trunk we carried was quite a big one and heavy too. Lugging it along during the journey was itself a herculean task.

Now long forgotten, these trunks, in many households, may have found their final resting place in the attics along with other equally forgotten mementos from the past like valve radios, turntable record players, cassette players, etc. Rummaging through the contents of these trunks now will be like a trip down memory lane, I am sure. 

The Hold-All:

This was the term colloquially used for a bed roll. But it was much more than a simple bed roll. Usually made of canvas, it contained huge pockets for stuffing bed sheets, small pillows, etc., intended for use during the train journey. If I recall correctly, berths in non-ac train coaches did not even have cushions until the beginning of the 1980s. They used to be plain wooden berths. Hence, the need for a bed roll.

During our tour other than bed sheets, it was used to stuff in many other items of clothing too. Two leather straps with buckles helped in tying down the entire thing into a compact roll. 

The Cloak Room:

To move from one place to another with the above two pieces of luggage was not a matter of joke. In those places where we stayed in hotel rooms, it was not an issue. But there were many places where our stay was only for a couple of hours. For example, in Swamimalai, Vaitheeswaran Koil, Thiruvaiyaru, etc., our stay was only for 2-3 hours, after which we were to proceed to our next destination. So, there wasn’t any necessity of checking into a hotel in the above places. But on the other hand, carrying heavy items was also not possible, while we were on the trek, visiting temples, etc. In those places, the railway cloakrooms came to our rescue. We used to book our heavy luggage in the cloakroom and then proceed with our sightseeing. Cloak rooms were safe, open 24 hours, and the safekeeping charges were very nominal, too. The charges were only Rs.2.00 per item of baggage for 24 hours, then.

The Baggage:

Other than the above two pieces of luggage, my family had to put up with another piece of baggage, which was myself. During the earlier tours, I remember clearly that, except for me, the other three had well-defined duties. Once we reach a destination, my father used to take care of arranging accommodation, planning sightseeing trips, shopping for essential items for daily use, etc. My mother used to prepare breakfast, lunch packs, and wash clothes, and my sister used to help her out. But I, on the other hand, simply used to enjoy, not doing much. However, all of them loved me so much that they just let me be. My only contribution to the tours is, yes you guessed right, writing this travelogue. 

Other than the trunk and hold-all, there used to be another ubiquitous piece of item that used to accompany the families traveling by train.

The Tiffin Carrier:

I was born and brought up in Calcutta. Every alternate year during the school summer vacation, my parents used to take us (my sister and myself) to Chennai, where my grandparents lived. We used to travel by train, and the journey involved 36 long hours. But I used to enjoy the journey very much and used to keep my eyes glued to the window, enjoying the passing scenery.

However, the best part of the journey was the food. Those days during travel we used to have homemade food only. Buying food served by the railways was considered wasteful. 

My mother used to bring along a gargantuan five-tier Tiffin carrier filled with sumptuous home-cooked food.

The first tier used to contain puris and the second one, potatoes chopped in tiny blocks and fried well in lots and lots of oil. That was dinner on Day 1 of the journey. 

On Day 2, breakfast was usually homemade soft white idlis with a dash of chilli powder soaked in gingelly oil. This used to come out of the third tier.

The bottom two tiers usually contained tamarind rice and curd rice. This was for lunch and dinner on Day 2.

To go with the rice menu, my mother usually brought along fried papad and mango or lemon pickles.

However, we did not bring the tiffin carrier during our 1975 tour as it was not a one-stop tour. Rather, my parents had improvised upon a concept of food that was suitable when you are visiting several places in one trip.

The said concept is Fun Fact #3, which I will share in the next episode.