Engine

The word ‘engine’ implies locomotion. Indeed trains powered by engines occupy a special place in our lives. They evoke romanticism of poetry, novels and Bollywood films, including some memorable songs that have been tuned with the whistling sound of engines. Time magazine once carried a cover story on Indian trains laden with delightful anecdotes. It narrates how job discussions, interview preparations, marriage negotiations, political wheeling and dealings, business transactions, etc. are all carried out inside railway compartments. The noted mathematician, historian and philologist D. D. Kosambi receiving mail from the Postal Department, on his regular sojourn in the ‘Deccan Queen’ between Poona and Bombay, is now a legend.