Kundu Special - Customer Care

Customer Care

From reserving a full train in the 1930s, the Kundus took to reserving entire bogies (train compartments) in the 1960s. They would carry mattresses known as “Dunlopillos” to fit within the train sleeping berths for comfort. Instead of checking into hotels (there weren’t that many quality ones in those days), the tourists would stay on in the bogie that would be stationed on the side tracks, somewhere in a railway station in India. The mornings would start with hot ghee-soaked luchis and dhonkar dalna along with a steaming cup of tea (luchi, a kind of fried puffed bread is a very popular Bengali delicacy). That would lead to khichudi-begun bhaja or bhaat-maacher jhol in the afternoon. At night, meat was a staple component of the meal unless of course the tour was one of the pilgrimages where vegetarian fare was de rigueur. A frequent traveller on Kundu Special was heard saying, Aar ki chai Dada, sakal-e luchi, raat-e luchi, e-to bari-teo hoy na! (What more do you want, luchi in the morning, luchi in the evening, we don't even get this at home.) The khichudi may have given way to fried rice in the 80s and to chow mein and biryani in the 21st Century, and the stationed bogie to hotel rooms, but even in the days of Cox and Kings and fancy packages and low-cost airfares, Kundu Special holds its own as a traditional Bengali bastion.

At Kundu, each tourist group is still accompanied by two tour managers, two cooks and four bearers/waiters, all of whom are Bengali. Their primary responsibility remains to look after every need of the travellers.