To Matheran (part II) : The broom seller and the cold drink stall

The broom seller

This woman was carrying that huge load of brooms on her head and a child in a sling. Her older kid walked alongside. They both were bare feet. The train track is treacherous on the feet - even with shoes on - with all the stones. She stopped by the cold drink stall for a rest. I guess buying a cold drink was out of question, but the company of people was better than sitting alone. Such is Irony. Such is life.

We have had limbu or kokum sherbat at this stall for a few years now. He had started with just a table in a clearing next to the tracks. Slowly the place has transformed into a nice clean joint where people rest. The journey from Dasturi to the market takes about 45 minutes of pleasant walking. One can follow the road or one can hop onto the tracks and follow them from Aman Lodge station. Just before the stall, the track passes near the edge of the valley and you have a fantastic view of Garbett point.

After the 26th July 2005 rains much of this side was washed away and the tracks had hung in empty air. I had crossed them in the night in the following November without knowing about the landslides. It had been scary to see them in the daylight when we were returning. Now the tracks have been restored and also the train service. But all along the tracks at regular intervals they have put up advertising poles which are very ugly and are an eyesore. But I guess it was an attempt to collect money for the tracks as well as for the village.



The cold drink stall at "Stop and Rest Point"