Aurangabad/Patna: Amid the vast web of Indian Railways’ 7,500 stations, one stands apart for its almost mythical rhythm of existence. Anugrah Narayan Road Ghat station in Aurangabad, Bihar, stirs to life for just 15 days a year. Then, as swiftly as it wakes, it slips back into silence.
From September 7 to 21 this year, trains will halt once again at this station, perched on the banks of the Punpun river. Pilgrims alight, not to linger, but to perform Pind Daan—ritual offerings of rice, kheer and prayers to their ancestors—before continuing their journey to Gaya. For the remaining 350 days, the platforms lie abandoned, their neglect visible in crumbling walls and unused tracks.
The British introduced this halt so that pilgrims could perform their first Shraddha at the Punpun before travelling on to Gayaji. Even today, no express stops here, only eight pairs of passenger trains on the grand Mumbai-Kolkata corridor. Devotees carry tickets marked for Gaya, step off briefly for rituals, and then board another train—travelling on faith as much as rails.
“There was once no facility here at all,” recalls Amardeep Kumar, a local resident. “This year the railway has arranged lights, police and water. But compared to other stations, it still feels deserted.”
Yet, near the riverbank, the atmosphere transforms. At Vishnu Dham temple complex by Sangam Ghat, the air carries chants, the smell of burning ghee lamps and the sound of bells. Concrete ghats, parking spaces and resting areas offer respite to thousands arriving daily. For them, this is no forgotten place—it is a portal between the mortal and the eternal.
The 16-day Pitru Paksha mela draws lakhs to Gayaji each year. But here, at the solitary Anugrah Narayan Road Ghat station, the boundary between life and afterlife feels closest. The station’s very existence is a testament to rituals that outlive empires, locomotives and timetables—an annual reminder that even the most deserted places can become sacred when memory calls the living to honour the dead.
