Suppose you are traveling from Kolkata to London. For this you must choose a 9 hour flight. If you are lucky, you will get a window seat and you will be able to see the surface of about 10 countries from the sky. But do you know that there was a special bus from Kolkata to London? Passengers got off the bus and saw the countries with their own eyes.
According to an all-India media report, special bus services were introduced in 1957 to travel from Kolkata to London. The bus traveled nearly 16,000 km from one end of the world to the other. The double-decker bus takes about 50 days to travel from east to west.
The trip costs around Rs 3,000 including three meals and bunker facilities for sleeping. Along with the British, all the rich Indians used to travel in this bus. The bus entered Afghanistan via Pakistan. Passengers landed in Kabul and bought pasta nuts at very low prices. Then they crossed the great mountains of Turkey.
Buses are stopped at certain places at certain times. Passengers get down there to rest and use the toilet. Passengers get off the bus and buy local products from Iran, Kazakhstan and other countries. Sometimes the bus stopped on the shore of a beautiful lake, and sometimes the passengers enjoyed the sunset through the bus window on the mountain roads of Iraq.
Every day was very interesting for those traveling in this bus. In their memory, every shop bought in the market, tea break or small bargain was immortalized till the end of life. For them, the bus ride was more than just a trip, it was like a school on the move.
Passengers did not speak the languages of all countries. Even the people of the countries where they come to market do not understand their language. Yet no one had any trouble talking to anyone or bargaining in the marketplace. There is no telling how many different cultures have changed day by day during this 50 day journey.
However, this double-decker bus service started to close down gradually. The world was at war and it became difficult for ordinary people to cross country borders. The bus service was finally discontinued in 2011
Later some tourists traveled from Calcutta to London on the same route taken by the bus. This path was called the Hippy Trail. In fact, this hippie trail was the route of the famous Kolkata-London bus journey in the 1960s. London is currently only 9 hours away from Kolkata. But every kilometer of the bus journey and the new experience of the different cultures of 11 countries are still vivid in the memories of those who accompanied this historic journey.
post 11 Countries Crossed, Journey Takes 50 Days: Let’s Know The Unknown History Of Indian Transport Services appeared first Northeast Now (Assamese).
