From tram to auto - eleven forms of travel in a single day

Kolkata is a city that runs of various types of wheels. On a lucky occasion, it gave me an opportunity to explore most of them on a single day.

This was around 3 years back when I was returning home to Bangalore from Ghatsila (a remote town in Jharkhand) via the city of joy, Kolkata. My Grand father was with me on this journey

The day began at 6 AM and ended at 11 PM in the night and in the course of the day, we used 11 different forms of transport / commute. Here is the exact sequence :

Transport #1 : Tuk Tuk Auto
We took a Tuk-Tuk Auto from the hotel to the railway station. It is not the autos that we generally see in the  cities, rather it was one that was used by school-going kids.

Transport #2 : Train
Our journey from the remote location to Kolkata was bridged by the Indian Railways. We took a train from Ghatsila to Howrah (the terminal station of Kolkata)

Transport #3 : Ferry Boat
Howrah Station is on the banks of river Hoogly (also called Ganga by the locals). As soon as we got out of the station, we took the ferry to cross the river from the Howrah station to Babu Ghat. It is a faster means to get to the other side than taking a cab over the Howrah Bridge.

Transport #4 : Walk
Once out at Babu Ghat, our drop off location , we started our walk to Burra Bazaar - The market of Kolkata. Assuming our Burra bazaar was only a few minutes by walk, we walked, and we walked and we walked for about 2 kilometers having roadside "Nimbu Shikhanji" on the way. On realizing that it was much farther than anticipated, we reverted to wheels (Cycle Rickshaw).

Transport #5 : Cycle Rickshaw
Grandpa complained of walking and so we resorted to taking a cycle rickshaw to reach Burra Bazaar. The cycle rickshaws are cheap and effective means of commuting short distances. The stamina and energy of these rickshaw pullers is remarkable.

Transport #6 : Auto Rickshaw
After our shopping at the bazaar, we took the auto that we are familiar with to reach another store (the ones that are used in the cities). We had hardly covered any distance when we got an urgent call to reach Ballygunge (about 10 kms away).

Transport #7 : Taxi-Cab
Personally, I feel the Taxis in Kolkata fill up more space than all the other vehicles put together! We took one of these yellow mammoths, the ambassador cars to reach Ballygunge.

Transport #8 : Tram!
Kolkata offers a joyful ride in its historic 'Trams'. These are slow slithering trains that offer a good view of the city as they run in the middle of the roads. I noticed that each and every commute form in Kolkata is always overcrowded. We took the tram from Ballygunge to Dharamtala (The heart of Kolkatan commute)

Transport #9 : Metro!
From the slow-and-old tram, we shifted to the fast-and-modern Metro for our next stop. The metro trains too were overcrowded. We intended to get to the airport from Dharamtala and so we took the underground metro to dumdum from where we took another taxi cab to reach the Kolkata airport.

Transport #10 : Airplane
From Kolkata we flew down to Bangalore via an airplane, which brought us to the last leg of our journey home -

Transport #11 : Bus
Yes, this common commute system was left for the last. We took the Vayu Vajra to reach back home.

This gave us a uniquely innovative way to reach home from a remote location and all in a single day. Thanks to Kolkata and its many forms of travel.

P.S : The pictures are not mine. Due credit to all the photographers.