A Journey to Sion in 1853

 Welcome to this short story about a journey to Sion set in November 1853, 7 months after the first train run between Bombay and Tannah. I have drafted this narrative using several maps, photographs, and literary resources. It is more of an experience rather than a story. Hope you enjoy this trip to the past!

You wake up on a cold November morning, fresh for a new day. It's 5 a.m., as you see on your wall clock, and you head out to your window to have a look outside. You feel the cold on your face, and yet you peek into the dark night. You see an empty street, and all the multi-storey houses crowded nearby. You look up and see a crescent moon in the eastern sky, just barely visible in its current phase. From your third floor home along the Bazaar Gate street, you can just see the moon unobstructed. Pleased by the peaceful environment outside, you head in for your morning chores. 

Your Uncle had long been asking you to pay a visit to his cottage at Sion. He is your favourite Uncle, and so you're just willing to oblige. Free from work, you chose this day to be the one. It would have been a long journey by road, for you were living in the Fort of Bombay: nearly the southernmost tip of the island. Your Uncle, on the other hand, lived at the Northern extreme of the island. Fortunately, the railways had been in existence in the city for the past seven months, and shortened the time needed from hours, to just a little more than half an hour. 

You have a morning cup of tea, certainly a refreshing beverage in the cold, and otherwise. Besides, you have an early breakfast, and lock your door around 6:30. This would be just enough time to catch the 7 am train to Tannah. You climb down the stairs, and enter the barely wide Bazaar Gate Street. This street was called so, as from the outside, it led to the Bazaar, where you could buy cloth of many colours, crystalware, and even fruits and vegetables.  There were certainly more people hanging around at this time, in contrast to when you had seen an hour back. You walk northward, and as you walk, you see the five storey buildings alongside the road. These buildings housed the offices of rich businessmen within the fort. After a bit of walk, amidst the cold still felt in that wintry air, you reach the inner Bazaar Gate. 

Crossing the Stone gate through one of its pedestrian walkways, you walk over the moat bridge, onto the Bazaar Gate Ravelin. The fort was surrounded by a long water moat (similar to a canal) for defense purposes. The ravelins were like islands on this ditch, often serving as offices for the government. After crossing the other two gates, you finally exit the fort, onto the vast open Esplanade. 

The Esplanade was a vast expanse of land, that surrounded the fort on the Northern and Western sides. Vegetation that grew here was cleared regularly, as this land was considered as a clear firing range in case of an attack on the Fort of Bombay. Besides this, it served as the grounds of the Native Infantry, which was stationed at the Northern end. The Bori Bunder station was situated just adjacent to the military grounds.

You turn right, walking adjacent to the walls of the Fort George, a northern extension of the fort built in 1769. You spot the Phansi Talao on your way, and observe the Women washing their daily stock of clothes at the Dhobi Talao. And not faraway, you see the starting point of your upcoming trip: The Bori Bunder station.

The Bori Bunder Station 

You arrive around 10 mins prior to the scheduled departure, and get yourself a Second Class single ticket for Sion at 8 Annas and 3 pice. You rush to the station platform, and find the train waiting. Head to the front, you have a look at the Locomotive, painted a bright green, with the initials 'G I P' painted yellow on the tender panels. The driver was in his open air cabin, with his hands on the reverser lever, waiting for his signal. You now walk back to find a second class carriage, and find a good window at eastern side. A whistle is heard, and the pistons are set into motion. The train slowly picks speed, and gradually departs the 19 acre railway station at Bori Bunder. 

Now you feel an unpleasant smell in the cold air from the windows. The train moves on, and you discover the source: The infamous slaughter houses. These were located along the eastern waterfront, close to Mazgaon, soon after Bori Bunder. Indeed, the reek of these Slaughter houses often offended passengers. Eventually the smell fades away, and the train navigates a leftward curve. You look inside the still fairly dark coach. It was not filled to the brim, and consisted of both native and the British folk. While some conversed, others sat quietly, gazing out of the open windows, observing all kinds of scenes one sees in Bombay. 

The train now turned right, and by pushing your head just barely out of the window, you spot that great green Locomotive, sending clouds of smoke into the winter air. The train now slows down, lets out a high pitched whistle, and enters into the small but fashionable Byculla station. 

The Byculla Station 

This station had only two platforms, with a few small structures for the station itself. From your window, you spot the Mankeshwar Mahadev temple. Construction of this impressive shrine had begun back in 1839, but could not be concluded even as the railway opened just next to it. You plan on visiting this temple sometime next year. As you ponder all this, the train lets out another squeal, moves on, and passes under the ornamental Byculla viaduct. As it heads north, it passes by the Phipps' Oart, a former toddy grove that was acquired by the railways to station the first steam locomotive of Bombay: Lord Falkland. You have fond memories of the past year, when you joined the crowd that gathered to witness the shunting operations of this new wonder of Bombay.

The next few miles, the train chugged on a straight line of track, passing through the salt batty lands. These were lands reclaimed from the sea, and were mainly used for cultivation, specifically of rice. The train now navigates a final curve, before an even longer straight stretch of rail. You take a look at the sky. The eastern sky had a yellowish tint from a sun not yet completely risen, and as you turn look through your coach towards the left windows, you see the vegetation of the Mahim Woods, much farther away. 

You now sense the train losing speed, and judge that this journey is almost at its end. You see many more settlements here, than you had seen in a while throughout your journey. As the brakes are applied, the train slows further, coming to a stop at the last station of the island city at Sion. Further along the line lay the Salsette, and further beyond, Tannah, and then the Ghats. But this is all you want to experience for the day, and plan to go further, sometime later. 

The Sion Station 

You stand up, and head towards the wooden door, and with your feet still inside the carriage, have a look towards the front and rear of the train. A few houses lay close to the station, and behind them, a small hill. You then step out onto the small platform, and after a while of standing, gazing at the train one last time, make your exit. As you walk through the kutcha streets toward your Uncle's beautiful cottage, you hear that loud whistle. The whistle of the train departing for its final destination miles away, but now hours closer.

Thanks for the scroll!