The Poetic Diction of Steam by Bill Aitken summary.

The Poetic Diction of Steam  by Bill Aitken summary.

 (Travelogue)

Bill Aitkens travel by lesser line was published in 1993.

Bill Aitken was born in Scotland in 1934; he became a naturalized Indian by choice in 1972. He has written a number of books about India, capturing its Himalayan majesty, its scenic beauty and its spiritual core.

He studied Comparative Religion at Leeds University in England and he moved to India in 1959.

He lived in Himalayan ashrams for some time and undertook many trips all over India, extending from Nanda Devi, a Himalayan peak in the North to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip in the South. Most of his excursions were either on an old motorbike or by the steam railway. It was not only the Indian scenic beauty that fascinated him, he was also attracted by the steam engine that helped him cover the whole of India from the North to the South, from the East to the West.

The Poetic Diction of Steam

Fulfillment is not just the satisfaction of seeing a laborious job through but is also felt in the more subtle relief of having performed a financial tight-rope act and managed to land on one's feet.

 My metric path veered crazily at times, to take in special likes such as the high ranges of Kerala. Looking back it went like a dream and all the worries about reservations and the elbowing through crowds that travel in the North implies simply did not arise on the meter gauge in the South. It was leisure all the way.

Full marks to the Railways for their unfailing efficiency and close sense of duty. This vast network with its million-and-a-half employees pulls together impressively to keep the economy running and the passengers for most of the time from complaining.

When I started out from Ledo in furthest Assam, it was to see if it was possible to cover the whole of India by meter gauge. The answer is yes, provided you believe that journeying is as important as arrival.

That way the journey can teach you more than any university can about the diverse wonders of India so few of our political masters have the width of vision to encompass. Their India is nowhere near so remarkable as the real one which can only be viewed without blinkers.

 With its astounding array of human types and sublime array of beauty, anyone exposed to the marvel becomes a natural patriot. Whether it's boatmen on the Brahmaputra or toddy- tappers in Telengana, the railway gives you India like nothing else can. It enables you to ride camels in Jaisalmer and catamarans in Tiruchendur.

Unlike the politicians who pass through in their helicopter you will know the difference between the two! Add the flavour of the metre gauge and you get the extra magic of the classic age of railway travel - the poetic diction of steam.

" To make my day a steam engine lay.. ."(para 3) .

Apart from delighting in the architectural beauty of the temple and the $tation  in the vicinity of the blue sea - the author says that his day was made richer by the presence of the steam engine in the station.

In his concluding chapter "The Poetic Diction of Steam", he pays a tribute to the steam engine for giving him the ride through fourteen states in a single metre gauge line. It had also been inexpensive in comparison to the fast moving broad gauge express trains whose fares are much higher. In its leisurely pace, with no jostling crowds around, the steam engine chugged its way through different regions of India gave Aitken a glimpse of the vast country. The train travel was almost like a pleasant dream as he could see the beauty of the land, listen to the animated talk of the co-passengers, feel the spiritual quest of the people and sway to the rhythmic motion of the slow moving steam locomotive. The author feels a great sense of repose, almost sublime, similar to repose one experiences in the writing and reading of poetry.