The Expedition – (Experience documented by Sadam Chalaps)

Looking back at our college years, my thoughts quickly went to the first year at JNTU Hyderabad in the 1980s. We initially started off with over 50 students in Civil Engineering; however, by the second year, our class strength had shrunk to 26 students as many shifted their majors to electrical, electronics, and computers. With our small class, we quickly became a tight-knit group, and we got to know each other much better. Needless to say, we had a great time during our undergraduate years at JNTU.

The Civil Engineering Department Head, Dr. Ramashastry, was a great guy, and he strongly believed in experiential learning. He often said that practical education, such as visiting dams and exploring other civil engineering structures, is essential for students to grasp the concepts of engineering. He encouraged us to take the college bus and go on an educational trip across the state. We visited Nagarjunasagar Dam and spent a week in Srisailam surveying the new campus of Telugu University.

On one such trip, we took a bus tour of AP, visiting major civil engineering marvels throughout our then-undivided Telugu state. After covering various areas, we reached Vizag and stayed at Andhra University. As the weekend approached, our bus driver took the day off, and we were on our own to explore the area. One of the guys suggested that we explore Araku Valley, legendary for its majestic views often captured in many Telugu movies. We all agreed that it would be best to spend the day there and that it would be good to take the train. There is a daily train that goes in the morning from Vishakapatnum to Araku, and the same one returns in the evening, allowing visitors to make a day trip to the valley.

We decided to take the train for the three-and-a-half-hour ride to Araku. Once on the train, we scrambled to find our seats in the coach and were wondering which one would give us the best views of the Araku Valley. A passenger on the train noticed our excitement and mentioned that the guard caboose at the end of the train provides the best views. We quickly reached out to the train guard and asked if we could stay in his cabin for the trip to Araku. The guard agreed that his cabin often provides the best views of the valley. He further said that, given that we were good engineering students, and if we all agreed to behave nicely, he would let us sit on the outside ledge of the car for a complete 360-degree view of the valley. We agreed, and all 26 of us got seated. As the train headed towards Araku, we began enjoying the expanded views from the caboose. We would get on and off the train as it stopped at various stations along the way, but had to quickly get onboard as the electric train would quickly gain speed.

Along the way to Araku, we were immersed in great scenic views of the valley. Upon reaching Araku, we walked or hiked to various areas, and some of us rented bikes and rode on the many trails. We covered many of the things to do at Araku and started heading to the train station for the 3 p.m. return trip to Vizag. Our initial plan was to take the train and reach Vizag that evening for the overnight stay at Andhra University. While we enjoyed our stay in the valley, it was rather uneventful, without any adventure.

In discussions with locals, we learned that we could go to the nearby Borra Caves, which are an hour away by train. We could take the same Vizag train and get off at Borra Caves station. However, since that was the last train, getting off at Borra would result in us not having any more trains to return to Vizag until the following day.

After reaching the train station for the return trip, we began mulling over whether we should explore Borra caves. We debated the pros and cons of this diversion from the trip. Everyone was initially resigned to continuing with the original plan to return to Vizag. It was noticeable that while everyone was upbeat in the morning, on our way to Araku with high expectations of the valley, we felt a little let down by the afternoon. Suddenly, there was an unusual calmness in the air. Right about that time, I felt that we should try out Borra caves and asked if anyone else would be interested in this side tour. Pemzang Tenzing, our classmate from Sikkim who grew up in the mountains, said he is up for the challenge.

Immediately, Sai and Praveen said they would join. Very soon, Manoj, Bacha, Dayaker, Sekhar, Suresh, Shiv, and Konda said that they were interested too. Some were concerned about their safe return to Vizag. We mentioned that there is an element of risk as we are taking the last train of the day, but we will collectively figure out our return trip after our visit to the Borra caves. Not convinced by our answer, they decided to stay with the rest of the group. Now, with 11 people deciding to take the detour and the remaining 15 sticking to the original plan, we boarded the Vizag train. As the train departed, discussions were underway to convince the remaining guys to join our group. As we were reaching the Borra Caves train station, two more guys, Srinivasan and Sunil, decided to join. One of the guys was ambivalent and stayed on the train. With two additional members, the splinter group was now exactly half the size of the original group. The adventurous 13 of us got off the train and waved goodbye to the other 13 remaining on it. As the train started to pull away, Lachi wanted to join. However, as he was about to disembark the train, it had already gained speed and left the platform. It was too late for him to join us.

As we got off the train at the Borra Caves station, we quickly headed out to the caves as they were closing at 5 p.m. We enjoyed seeing the various natural formations – stalagmites and stalactites throughout the caves. Excited after the visit to the caves, we returned to the train station. We met the station master and inquired about any trains available for Vizag that day. He said that the last train had already left for the day and that the next one would be the following morning. He said that we could stay overnight at the train station and take the morning train. As we were finishing off our conversation with the Station Master, we saw a goods train pull into the station. We were told that it was on its way to Vizag. We asked the station master if we could take that train. The station master said to check with the engine driver if he is willing to have us on board. Excited with the opportunity to return to Vizag that same evening, we quickly ran to the front of the train and asked the engine driver if we could ride the train in the engine car. Seeing that there were 13 of us, he said that he could only accommodate about 6 to 7 of us but asked us to quickly check with the train guard if he would take the remaining. As the goods train was about to start, we quickly ran towards the back of the rather long train to see the guard. After learning of our request to ride in the guard’s car, he firmly rejected it. He mentioned that he would lose his job if he allowed any passengers in his cabin. Disappointed, we explored the idea of riding on some of the open cars in the train along with the freight. Workers in the area cautioned us not to do such a thing and told us that some smugglers often throw large rocks and other objects in the open car while the train is moving for a free ride to Vizag. We quickly dropped this new idea.

While at the train station, someone mentioned that we could take the bus from the nearest highway to return to Vizag. The highway was about 7 km from the train station when walking along the local road. The distance would be significantly less if we cut across and walked along the train tracks. We thought that it would be good to go to the highway and catch the next available bus to Vizag. We decided to walk along the train tracks to cut down on the distance. By now, it was 7 p.m. and getting dark. We stepped out of the train station and bought some biscuits from a small shop. Knowing that we would be walking in the dark and with potential wild animals in the area, Suresh found a broken branch and used it as a stick to protect ourselves. Knowing that it would be very dark along the tracks, Pemzang quickly came up with a makeshift torch, the kagada, using some rags and a stick. Dayakar bought a liter of kerosene as fuel for the kagada. We were ready for the new excitement.

The station master, upon learning of our adventure, tried his best to discourage us. Seeing that we were not going to relent, he told us to be cautious when walking along the train tracks. He mentioned that the tracks go along deep ravines and that we should not veer away from the tracks to avoid falling off the cliff. He was concerned and asked us to inform him once we reached the railroad crossing. This we can accomplish by having the railroad crossing attendant contact him and let him know that we reached that area safely.

Armed with the makeshift devices that we pulled together—the kagada, the torch, and a stick—we started walking along the railroad tracks. Dayaker was in front with the lighted torch, and Suresh was at the back with the stick. We walked in a straight line and were careful not to step outside of the railroad tracks. Knowing that we had a long walk, we were very judicious in using the kerosene for the torch. It was pitch black with very limited visibility. Everyone was very quiet, wondering if a train would come along the tracks. After walking for about a couple of kilometres, we reached the Ghat Road railroad crossing. We woke up the railroad attendant and told him to let the train station master know that we had all reached the crossing safely. We were happy that we finished the risky part of the journey safely. Once off the railroad track, we started walking along the local road on our way to the highway. Within minutes of us clearing the railroad tracks, we heard two trains just go by the very area we were in moments ago. Kaboom. Our hearts pounded hard, possibly harder than the train itself, knowing that we could have all been wiped out completely had we stayed any longer on the tracks. We were rather upset with the Station Master as he told us that there were no more trains that night and that the next one was only in the morning. After composing ourselves, we were back on our journey.

During the journey, we would often count to make sure our group was intact. Once on the ghat road, Konda did the count and shouted that we were 12. I thought he was kidding. I counted again and got the same result, 12. We panicked and checked on the group. Srinivasan was missing. We used to call him Tamilian, as he was the only Tamil guy in our class. We turned back some distance and found him resting on a rock. He said he was too tired and thought he could quickly catch up after resting. We all yelled at him and told him not to do that again. We promised to look out for each other and continued the journey.

Along the way, we saw some tribals who didn’t understand our language. One of the guys cautioned us not to engage with them. We walked a little further and found some farmers huddling around a fire. Seeing us with sticks and the kagada, they thought we were some extremists and did not want to associate with us, so they essentially waived us away. We continued our journey and finally reached the highway crossing. We found a small tea shop near the highway. The chaiwala was about to leave as it was about 9 p.m. One of the guys cautioned us not to engage with them. We walked a little further and found some farmers huddling around a fire. Seeing us with sticks and the kagada, they thought we were some extremists and did not want to associate with us, so they essentially waved us away. We continued our journey and finally reached the highway crossing. We found a small tea shop near the highway. The chaiwala was about to leave as it was about 9pm. As we were really tired, we requested that he make some chai before leaving. After serving chai, he closed his shop and suggested that we could sleep in the front porch area of the shop as the earliest bus was the following morning. We drank chai and ate the biscuits that we had bought earlier. Praveen, who is a great singer, regaled us with his melodies as the night pervaded.

For the night, we thought that we should take turns sleeping. Four of us sleeping. Four of us would be up at any given time while others would sleep. As we started to settle in, we heard a car go by on the highway. Soon after, there were very few more vehicles going by. Someone said that instead of waiting for the bus in the morning, why not hitchhike to Vizag? We liked the idea and began waving at the passing vehicles. Some would stop, but none were large enough to take all 13 of us. We did not want to split. Finally, after some time, a guy with a large pickup truck stopped. He was carrying LIVE chicken in the back of the truck. He was heading to the large highway junction outside Vizag. He was fine with taking us if we were okay with riding along with the chicken. We were excited and took the opportunity. We all settled in the back of the truck, riding along with the chicken. He dropped us at the highway junction and pointed us to the nearby Dhaba, where we may find other truckers who may be heading to the town. We found one truck driver who was willing to give us a ride to Vizag. He was carrying sand in his truck. He said that if we were okay lying on the sand, we could go in his truck. While a few of us got seated in the front cabin of the truck, others lay on the sand in the back of the truck. He dropped us off near Andhra University. We walked a short distance and reached the campus at 1 a.m.would be up at any given time while others would sleep. As we started to settle in, we heard a car go by on the highway. Soon after, there were very few more vehicles going by. Someone said that instead of waiting for the bus in the morning, why not hitchhike to Vizag? We liked the idea and began waving at the passing vehicles. Some would stop, but none were large enough to take all 13 of us. We did not want to split. Finally, after some time, a guy with a large pickup truck stopped. He was carrying live chicken in the back of the truck. He was heading to the large highway junction outside Vizag. He was fine with taking us if we were okay with riding along with the chicken. We were excited and took the opportunity. We all settled in the back of the truck, riding along with the chicken. He dropped us at the highway junction and pointed us to the nearby Dhaba, where we may find other truckers who may be heading to the town. We found one truck driver who was willing to give us a ride to Vizag. He was carrying sand in his truck. He said that if we were okay lying on the sand, we could go in his truck. While a few of us got seated in the front cabin of the truck, others lay on the sand in the back of the truck. He dropped us off near Andhra University. We walked a short distance and reached the campus at 1am. We woke the other 13 and told them about our adventure. They told us that they had a horrible day and only reached an hour earlier as their train got delayed. They were happy to see that we were all safe but were disappointed that they missed out on the excitement. We finished out rest of our trip with the entire group and returned to Hyderabad.

Back at the JNTU campus, there was a lot of buzz about our adventure. The following day as we walked by the canteen, we saw a large group of students from the electrical and electronics sections, our good friends who were initially in our civil engineering class in the first year listening intently about our trip. Guys from our trip were explaining the Borra caves adventure, and the challenges we faced. Many felt that it was definitely an adventure for the books and wished they had taken part in it. Little did I know at that time that it would be several decades before it was penned.

There you go, this is how it happened.

Chalap