“Unoula” Station was three stations away form Gorakhpur town and was just nineteen kilometers from the village. Villagers normally used to walk to the town whenever it was needed and normally returned the same day or next day. No one ventured in the night as the village and the town was separated by a dense jungle which was popularly known as “Kusmi Jungle”. This jungle now houses one of the largest Indian Air Force air base in India. That time, various wile animals roamed the jungle freely in night and few travelers  were attached and eaten in daytime itself. If villagers had to undertake the travel, it was always in a group and they also took self defense items like stick, axe or even tinsel along with them. At times, if not wild animals, robbers too took advantage of lone travelers and attached and robbed them in this nineteen kilometers stretch. The railway station was a big relief as the villagers could now travel to the town in safety of the train along with hundreds of other fellow passengers. Once in a day frequency and time of one hour journey from village to Gorakhpur was too good for those who had to undertake six hours of trekking through the jungle. However the only catch was that to board the train one had to buy a ticket for one anna which several villagers found a bit steep. Such people continued to undertake trekking to the town whenever they needed. Time was never a constraint for them as except for two months in a year when they planted their fields and when they cut the crops. When the station was build, my father was very young and very soon the railway line and once a day train with a steam engine remained an object of curiosity for everyone. Every morning, by about nine the whistle of the engine made every one run to catch the glimpse of the train till it vanished from the site.

Popularity: 3% [?]