Having 'examined' trains like Palace on Wheels and Deccan Odyssey  on files several times, I got an opportunity to 'examine' Palace on Wheels first-hand a few days back, when I was able to go on the trip starting from Delhi Cantt. on 22nd February 2006.

The trip was unforgettable! 6 days after leaving the train, I am still thinking: Oh! Today is Tuesday, the train must be in Agra!

Starting from Delhi Cantt. station on a Wednesday evening, the train covers most part of the state of Rajasthan and a portion of UP in a week. From Delhi, the first stop the next morning is at Jaipur, followed by Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur (Ranathambore Tiger Sanctuary), Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Bharatpur (Kaladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary) and Agra.

The pace of sightseeing appears to be hectic at first. However, you soon settle down, what with a good night's sleep in the plush cabin and a thoroughly relaxed atmosphere in the restaurant cars and lounge car in the evening. My wife and I were a bit apprehensive about the company; the guests on the train consist almost entirely of foreigners, with a sprinkling of NRIs. However, we were fortunate to get congenial company in our saloon (coach) which consists of four cabins (eight guests). Apart from us, in our saloon there was a couple from Edinburgh and a Chinese family settled in UK. By the time the trip ended, we all were an extended family!

I was also slightly unnerved at the prospect of going up and down several steep forts all through the trip. However, the large proportion of elderly foreign guests were an inspiration. If they could climb up the steep slopes and stairs, 'hum to abhi jawan hain!' Of course, by the time we reached Agra on the last day, 'Oh! Not another fort!' was the common refrain.

The two wild life sanctuaries served as an appropriate 'change of scene' from the forts and palaces. While we were able to sight a number of animals in the Ranathambore Tiger Sanctuary, the search for the tiger was a wild 'goose' (tiger) chase! It being a Sunday, Mr Tiger was probably taking the day off, relaxing in his cave. The birds in Bharatput Bird Sanctuary were more accomodating, coming out in the crisp spring morning in large numbers.

Despite the sampling of lunches and dinners in various 5-star hotels, there was unanimity that on-board catering and services were the best. Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) has really managed to get excellent staff for the train. Apart from the expert chefs and cooks on the train who served up a wide variety of delicious dishes, the service staff on the train, particularly the saloon staff were outstanding. They took personal care of the guests, even telling them when it was a bit chilly outside so that sweaters would be required!

No wonder the train has become very popular among international tourists and is heavily booked till 2010. We met an elderly American couple who were taking the trip for the third time! Palace on Wheels has succeeded as a brand. I hope the trains like Deccan Odyssey and the proposed train in Karnataka will also gradually build up their brands.

Travelling on the Palace on Wheels, we truly came to realise what it means to be a Maharajah! Oh!  To be a Maharajah again!

For a trip to Rajasthan and Agra through my eyes, click here.

So the platinum jubilee celebrations are over. The last one year (in fact, more than one year, if the preparations for the inaugural function are to be taken into account) has been hectic. Apart from the platinum jubilee work, there was the normal Financial Commercial work in Railway Board and the maintenance of IRAS Times.

The inaugural function and the Chennai seminar followed each other in quick succession. Thereafter, there was a welcome interlude for me in Dubai in February, when I went there to stay with my daughter and son-in-law. The weather was lovely and Dubai is like an oasis in the desert. I bought my first Digital camera and clicked away to glory. I now have a huge collection of photographs of Dubai.

The function in Kapurthala was finalised after several days of indecision - whether to hold it in Varanasi or in Kapurthala. Ultimately, the better infrastructure at RCF as compared to DLW won. In retrospect, it was an apt decision. For a change, the April summer gave way to an almost winter-like atmosphere on 11th April. On the RCF Golf Course in the evening, the robust Bhangara and other dances were welcome; they generated some heat!

The functions at Secunderabad, Jaipur and Kolkata followed in May, July and September. I would always regret my inability to attend the function in Mumbai on October 7th. That was the only function I missed.

Railway Staff College was the icing on the cake! The workshop there proved to us as well as the others that an all-IRAS in-house function could be as interesting as any other.

Through all the six outside functions which I attended, there was a common refrain of excellent organisation and above all, warmth of local IRAS officers for all fellow IRAS colleagues. One felt completely at home.

After one year, I personally feel that IRAS is stronger professionally and the officers closer to each other because of the celebrations. The book 'IRAS - The Untold Story' compiled by Kakoli and the film on the celebrations by Anita are permanent pluses. They should be compulsory reading and viewing material respectively for all entrants to the service. Perhaps we could carve out a departmental exam from the book and the film to ensure compulsory attention from the future batches!

Professionally, a very wide range of themes and topics was covered in the seminars. We took considerable pains under the overall guidance of Mrs Vijayalakshmi, ex-FC, to finalise the topics. I am sure, as I have written before, that all IRAS officers would have benefited professionally. The printed proceedings are also ready in three volumes and all IRAS officers should get a set (of the proceedings) shortly. Of course, most of the material is already available on your favourite website.

After the flood (of work), the draught! There is an empty feeling since only the winding-up work of platinum jubilee remains. And the centenary is too far off! So I decided to devote more time to IRAS Times; this blog is the result.

I am sure all of you would devote the same love and affection to this blog as you have devoted to the parent site. In fact, here you have to go one better! While you could passively browse the site (most of you do that), here you have to participate actively. Write your own blog, post comments on other blogs, whatever. But participate you must!

I am waiting for your registration request. Happy blogging!