PUNE: City-based author Shubhada Gogate , 71, never thought she would suddenly become a subject of curiosity because of the Railway Budget.

But after railway minister Suresh Prabhu referred to her Marathi book 'Khandalyachya Ghatasathi' in his budget speech on Thursday, her phone did not stop ringing.

The first to call up a 'blissfully unaware' Gogate was her brother Satish Ranade from Nashik. "I was not watching the budget and by the time I switched on the TV, the speech was over and the discussion on the budget had started. But fortunately, I could watch Prabhu's speech and hear his reference to my book on a news channel. It felt as if I had won a lottery," she said with a smile.

Sadashiv Peth resident Gogate was born and brough up in Nashik. Her 352-page book that Prabhu mentioned in the speech, was first published in 1992 and is currently out of print after selling 3,300 copies spread over three editions. Finding a mention in the railway minister's speech was an unexpected acclaim for the book that has fetched Gogate two prestigious awards - one from the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, which is the apex state literary body, and also the Mrinmayee award, which is given out in the memory of renowned Marathi author G N Dandekar.

Gogate's interest in and love for the Indian Railways goes back to the days when she lived in Bhusawal - a railway junction, after her marriage with publisher Sharad Gogate. "Our home was located opposite the signalman's cabin so the sounds and sights associated with the railway were a constant companion. My father-in-law was a lawyer and used to fight all the cases of the railway unions. Thus started my interest in the railways," she recounted.

Gogate spent over six years in painstaking research to find out everything about the Mumbai to Thane railway that started in 1853. "It meant visiting railway offices, libraries and even travelling in an engine to get the feel of things. The Khandala ghat section, described as the toughest, was completed in 1863. It fascinated me, for it was a tale of adventure, courage and determination," said Gogate, adding that while the characters in her book are fictitious, all the details are factual.

Gogate later authored another book on railway titled "Sandha Badaltana", which is on the first railway in the then princely state of Baroda (Vadodara).

Gogate said she does not know railway minister Suresh Prabhu. "But it is obvious that he has read my book. It made me really happy that he mentioned it in the budget speech to explain how one step at a time can lead to something historic and big," she added.

