Cantonment Railway Station, Abu lane at Meerut, INDIA - 7
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Last updated - Thursday, 24-Aug-2006 11:21:13 EDT
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The Cantonment Railway Station. Built around 1865 . 12 years after the 1st train ran from Bombay to Thana. See a picture of the Duke of Connaught arriving at the Cantonment Railway Station .Click here. Use browser back button to come back here.
This picture ( smaller than th e original ) shows the Duke arriving at the Cantonment Railway Station. In the full sized picture you can see the tension in the posture of the British soldiers. And you thought all this dramatics which takes place even today, when ministers arrive and depart was an Indian original. Remember all the dangerous work had been done by the forces while India was still with the East India Company. The fruits of their sacrifices were enjoyed by the Royalty when the crown took over. Don't miss the oil lamps on the walls Electricity was still sometime in the future. Even cycles were not still available for general use. However one "thing" still in use is cantonment* laws which still apply (they are dated 1836 about 60 years earlier than this scene).
*What is a cantonment? How did they appear in India? Are they still relevant? Click here for a very well investigated write-up.
Another view of Abu Lane.
This view now belongs to ages. The parking space has been halved in one deadly stroke called 'central parking'. This has increased the possibility of accidents. This was already a very cramped road. It seems a lot of unilateral cheering took place amongst the brilliant people who decided on this.
No number of pictures can give you a feel of being here. This is a city of kings, and most other people on the road, trespassers. The street is owned by the fathers of many of the pedestrians,
scooterists , car owners .. Whenever we are bored , we just get into each other's way.
It is said that the best things in Life are free. We are talking of course of Honour, Glory, Importance. All available for the asking on Meerut roads. Honour if you knew where the brakes were when someone steps into your path. Glory if you come under someone's wheels and get taken to the nearest hospital by complete strangers. Importance if you meet a friend in another vehicle coming from the opposite direction and stop for a chat in the middle of the road. This is specially satisfying if you are a bus driver and meet a colleague from the opposite direction during the Monday morning rush ( when shopkeepers go to Delhi to replenish stocks ) on the Meerut-Delhi road.
Slideshow 3 pics. Abu Lane is not a typical Indian Bazaar, perhaps because it is relatively new dating from the 70's. Sadar Bazaar is more representative and definitely existed around 1857.
The 1st picture shows DAS motors building in the background. You can see the fast vanishing Ambassador in the picture. This is actually a 1956 Morris Oxford. It still is the roomiest car on the road. What you see ( or should in IE 5.0) in the slide show is a Hyundai Coupe never advertised in the press, but was visiting Meerut to assess reaction. I saw little children (10-12 year olds) stand outside the showroom whispering to each other. Some reaction.
Meerut is no one horse town, yet strangely a lot of people think it is. Particularly, the people who think that the only horse in town is theirs.
Hi ! Do write back with reactions /suggestions /objections...
