The Cartoons of the Nineties

I recently observed how kids nowadays keep playing with tablets and watch some really advanced kind of cartoons on television.

It took me back to the Nineties, the age I grew up in.

The programs which I used to watch then were,

1.Duck tales

A tale of a miserly Uncle Scrooge and his mischevious nephews. The highlight of this program used to be the money bath that Scrooge McDuck used to take in a pool filled with gold coins.

2.Talespin

A program where the lead hero, a bear who works as a pilot, his no nonsense lady boss and his assitant, a cute bear who is an aircraft mechanic. It was fun to watch Baaloo, the bear, bungle up flight duty and his boss reprimanding him and his assitant fixing the plane. I really admire how the whole thing was built, straight out of fantasy with the bear wearing a flight jacket and all and driving an amphibian plane which used to land in a perfect and beautiful lakeside port.

3.Small Wonder

This one was about a Robot girl called Viki if I am correct. The program revolved around the robot girl, her father (A scientist who invented her), her mother and her brother. The father was called Ted Lawson. It gave us a glimpse of an American household and the amenities that an American house had since it was shot in an indoor set, that of a house in America.

4.Tom and Jerry

This was the funniest of the lot and both Tom the cat and Jerry the mouse were cute and used to make us laugh till we cried by chasing each other and trying to outsmart one another. The background music played a very important role. One could not imagine this program without the background music.

5.Heidi

I dont know how many people used to see this program. I think it came in the early 2000's and was about a cute little girl called Heidi who lived with her Grandfather in Switzerland, if I am correct. I used to be fascinated by how European countries looked in the past as the animation was wonderful.

6.Thomas and friends

This was one program which fascinated me to no end. Astonishingly this program was shot with the help of miniature train sets and different emotions used to be portrayed simply by changing the front face of the engine. This program used to make me yearn for a huge train set of my own, the size of Sodor Island where I could play with trains and hear the engines go 'Toot toot'.

7.Captain Planet

This program had Captain planet as the protagonist who used to be called by 5 kids called the 'Planeteers' symbolizing the five elements of nature, viz, air, water, fire, earth and heart. The villain was called Captain Pollution. Actually when I think about it now, the premise of the program was good. It educated young kids about things harmful to the planet.

8.Swat Cats

This program had two cats, whose names I forget now, who used to run a junkyard and below which stored their plane which they used to fly to save people. Talk about high tech for kids. The floor of the junkyard would open and the plane would take off from there into the air. Cartoons of those days could stretch ones imagination to its limits.

9.The Jetsons

This program was about a family living in an ultra modern world where they flew in glass bowl type planes to their offices and had houses high up in the sky perched on needle shaped pillars.

10.The Flintstones

Completely oppisite to the Jetsons, this program was about a family comprising of Fred Flintstone, his wife Wilma, his buddy Barney and his wife Bettie. It was set in the stone age but had an amazing twist in the form of Fred and Barney driving to office in cars which they had to push with their legs. It also showed stone houses which were a mix of an Igloo and a cave's design. This program left me thinking about how the World must have been in the stone age.

Nowadays I see kids watching things but somehow dont see that fascination in their eyes when they watch cartoons.

I used to be fascinated by those cartoons and used to really enjoy watching them. It helped, I suppose that some of these cartoons were a little futuristic and left me wonderstruck about technology.

Cartoons in those days were a World of their own, where us kids could get lost for a while and return fascinated and awestruck, to the dreaded homework that schoolteachers used to give us to do.

That magic seems to be missing in the cartoons of today. I might be wrong but I do feel it.

The Deccan Queen

I find myself at Pune Railway station on a nice cool morning. Normally, the first thing I do when I enter a station is to look for the board or Television set which displays the platform on which my train is berthed.

Today I wont need to do that, as I am traveling by the Deccan Queen, the most prestigious train in the Mumbai Pune section. It is always berthed on platform number 1. This I suppose is done to enable the passengers to alight from their vehicles, walk across the platform and hop into the train. Similar to the manner where prestigious trains like the Pallavan Express, Vaigai Express and Pandiyan Express are berthed on platform number 3 at Madras Egmore.

I walk through the main entrance to find my coach C4 stop just opposite me. Talk about luxury and convenience. I have been alotted an aisle seat this time, but its in a set of two, so its quite convenient.

The Deccan Queen has 4 AC Chair car coaches, two of them reserved for season ticket holders. The train starts right on time and slowly crosses Pune yard and the Sangam bridge.

After Shivajinagar the engine notches up and the Queen shows her true colours, proudly steaming towards Mumbai. Funny, the phrase 'Steam out' was used for trains many many years ago, since they were hauled by steam engines then. I day dream for some minutes trying to imagine the Deccan Queen speeding with a steam engine at its helm.

Waking up, I read a paper which has been distributed to all the passengers, 'The Golden Sparrow'. Funny name but quite a good paper, only problem being the issue was two days old. 

At Lonavala, I walk across the vestibule to the Dining Car. The Deccan Queen is the only train which has an on board restaurant car, where food is served in bone China crockery with knives, forks and spoons. Even the menu seems to have been left unchanged and reeks strongly of British cuisine. Bread and Cutlets, Omlettes, Sandwiches, Cheest Toast, Baked beans for the Vegetarians and dishes like Chicken cutlets and Fish N Chips for the carnivores.

Cutlets with toasted bread, served with a fork and a knife. 

As I was savoring the cutlets, the Queen came to a halt inside a tunnel, ensuring that the window side seat on the dining table wasn't going to be of much use to me.

After this I ordered a plate of Cheese toast.

It was crisp, hot and delicious.

To complete my adventures in culinary paradise I asked for a cup of coffee, which was served in a cup, with a saucer. I couldn't help but dream about me being some official from the past who was enjoying his morning breakfast, since the food was served in such a grand manner.

The total bill for this delicious spread along with a one litre bottle of mineral water came to Rs 100 which made me smile a little more as I paid the waiter.

Post breakfast I went back to my seat and spent the rest of the time dozing. The heavy and delicious breakfast did have a soporific effect and I took advantage of it to travel to dreamland for a while. 

Meanwhile the Queen seemed to be blazing the tracks to cover up the delay and slowed down before Kalyan and seemed to run slowly in a manner which the train must have found frustrating.

The Deccan Queen finally entered Dadar, delayed by around 20 minutes, which made me feel a little sad as an on time arrival would have ensured that I had been treated like royalty for 3 hours and 20 minutes, traveling by her majesty, the Queen of Central Railway, the Deccan Queen.

The Pragati 'Superfaaast' Express

Its around 0715 in the morning when I reach Pune railway station. There's a nip in the air, Pune feels nice and comfortable. Normally I take the Deccan Queen to Mumbai which leaves from platform number 1, but today I have opted for the Pragati Superfast Express (As the station announcer always insists on emphasizing the word 'Superfaaaast' to convince passengers).

A couple and two men come running to platform number one, probably to board the Deccan Queen. One gentleman walks towards the edge of the platform, looks towards the right. He then looks towards the left and jumps pointing to the end of platform number 1, 'There it is'. His friend takes the cue and both start running. The station clock says 0718 and the Deccan Queen has left sharp at 0715 and seems to have slowed down to negotiate the points.

Looking at the two chaps running, the couple also seems to have got inspired and they start running. Looking at this group running, in start and stop mode the Deccan Queen also seems to have got inspired and starts running once she clears the points. The two chaps and the couple run for a while and seeing the 'X' mark on the last coach going farther and farther away, they stop and stand resigned.

After watching this, I start climbing the bridge to board my train, the Pragati which has been announced on platform number 5. As I climb down from the foot over bridge, the Pragati is just being shunted into the platform. I start walking and board my coach 'C2'. The Pragati has two AC Chair Car coaches and I secretly hope C2 would be the one with large windows. Sadly, it is the old Mumbai Pune liveried AC Chair Car coach with square windows.

I locate my seat, a window in a set of 3, and settle down for a meditative nap, one which makes the onlooker think I am meditating, when I am actually dozing. Sharp at 0750 the Pragati inches out of the platform. It negotiates the points and slowly screeches past Pune yard. After crossing Shivajinagar I suppose the train has had enough of a warm up session and starts jogging. Come Dehu Road and the Pragati is on a sprint.

Breakfast orders are taken and I opt for Bread and Cutlets. Breakfast arrives and the cutlets seem to have been flattened. Surprisingly, breakfast is delicious and post breakfast, I decide to enjoy the cozy environs of the coach and doze off with Alka Yagnik and Arijit Singh crooning in my ears.

The Pragati meanwhile enters Lonavala and leaves after a short halt. The ghats are crossed at a sedate speed and the golden brownish tint of the windows doesn't help when it comes to admiring the scenery. Still, some views of the valley below are breathtaking. Satisfied I go back to listening to music. At Karjat the Pragati takes a different route. All the other trains between Mumbai and Pune reach CST from Karjat via Kalyan, while the Pragati travels on a single line between Karjat and Panvel.

This single line is a treat to the eyes, since it has 3 tunnels and one seems really long judging by the time the train takes to cross it. This line is sparingly used and the Pragati and the Pune Bhushaval Express are the two passenger trains which use it. The Bhushaval Pune Express is waiting at a small station to let our Pragati Superfast Express fly by. The Pragati being a Superfast has priority on this single line section. The Bhushaval Pune Express stops at the 3 or 4 stations between Karjat and Panvel while the Pragati skips all of them.

After a while the Pragati crosses the  Mumbai Pune Expressway over a girder bridge. Don't ask me why but I find this sight majestic. The Pragati stops just before Panvel as the points are set for the Mangala Lakshadweep Express to Ernakulam. Once Mangala clears the points the Pragati is admitted into the platform. Many passengers alight here. This train seems to be convenient for people working in New Mumbai.

The Pragati is off again and starts trundling towards Thane via Taloja and Nilaje. I see the Lodha township near Nilaje, and it seems quite vast. The Pragati joins the Thane Kalyan line at Diwa and after crossing the Parsik Tunnel pulls into Thane.

At Thane the announcer welcomes the passengers who have arrived by the Pragati 'Superfast' Express and requests them to keep their tickets and passes ready for inspection, to avoid delays.

I think the train heard the announcer mentioning 'Superfaaast' which refreshed its memory, because after that the Pragati ran like there was no tomorrow. Mulund, Bhandup, Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg were crossed at Maximum Permitted Speed. It slowed down near Kurla and again notched up to MPS near Sion. It entered Dadar at a very high speed and creaked to a stop.

My journey ended at Dadar and the Pragati was delayed by 10 minutes. Since it seems to have some slack built into its schedule from Dadar to CST, I surmised that it would end the journey with a delay of around 5 minutes which is right time as per Indian standards.

I was delighted to travel by this train. I do like and admire the Deccan Queen but the Queen is late by around 20 minutes whenever I have had the privilege to travel by it and that does dilute the experience of traveling by the most prestigious train of the Central Railway. The Pragati Express on the other hand seemed to prove its 'Superfaaast' status and managed to keep the delay to a minimum.

As I was getting out of Dadar station the announcer again welcomed the passengers and reminded them about the 'Superfaaast' status of the Pragati Express. I agreed....