Charubala

Charubala is the controller of the Indian Railway.

Thomas & Friends
Charubala was first seen at a shunting yard when Thomas and Nia are heading to Sodor.

While Thomas was working on the Indian Railway, he followed Charubala's orders. One day, she introduced him to the Director of a Bollywood movie that was being filmed on the railway, as he had a job for him. She was later present on the set during the filming of the movie.

When Charubala told Thomas to collect and deliver a truckload of coconuts, he became lost at the Monkey Palace. When Thomas arrived at Varkala Railway Station, Charubala was disappointed that all the coconuts were gone and she asked Thomas to go and get some more. Thomas managed to get more coconuts with the help of the monkeys and he delivered the coconuts to Charubala on time.

Later, when Thomas and Rajiv were excited and wanted to take passengers on Noor Jehan's jungle tour to see tigers, she reminded them that they still had their own jobs to get done first. Thomas later brought her with a pair of police officers to apprehend two poachers that hired Rajiv to help them find and capture a tiger, but were lured into a trap by Thomas, Rajiv, and Shankar instead. She was very impressed with Thomas and Rajiv for helping protect the tigers, before sharing a laugh when it was discovered that Shankar had disappeared in the meantime.

Later, she came to visit Rajiv in the sheds with Thomas, Ashima and the others, having heard about his little mutiny over refusing to work without his crown. Although Rajiv apologised for his failure to do his jobs and be Really Useful, Charubala also congratulated him for his heroism with saving Shankar when Noor Jehan was having trouble with her brakes, and returns his crown to him, fully polished and looking like new.

Some time later, she asked Thomas - who arrived early to Varkala Railway Station - to deliver some silk to a famous tailor in a distant part of the Indian Railway, providing instructions to Thomas on how to get there. However, when Thomas discovered he left the silk at the wrong station, Ashima suggested telling Charubala. Fearful of her reaction to his mistake, Thomas tried to fix it himself. This ended up with Thomas causing more trouble, until Noor Jehan suggested he tell Charubala about what happened. With little choices left, Thomas went to tell her everything. In response, Charubala showed that Thomas had nothing to be afraid of, as she understood he messed up and should have told her sooner before things escalated. She assured him that with the support of the station staff and her engines in Ashima, Noor Jehan, and Shankar, Thomas could fix everything. By evening, the silk has been recovered and delivered to the tailor, and everything else had been mended as well. Charubala congratulated Thomas and her engines for a job well done, before everyone shared a laugh when Ashima asked if anyone wanted to go for a swim after hearing an elephant trumpet, as it was seeing some elephants swimming that caused Thomas to mess up in the first place due to daydreaming and missing his original turnoff.

Personality
Charubala is a kind lady and she likes taking charge of the Indian Railway. However, she can be stern when needed, having once scolded Rajiv for not doing his jobs because of his crown getting lost.

Attire
Charubala wears a white dress, a blue sweater as well as a purple scarf.

Appearances
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Thomas & Friends

 * Series 22 - Thomas Goes to Bollywood, Thomas and the Monkey Palace and Tiger Trouble
 * Series 23 - Crowning Around and Thomas Makes a Mistake
 * Series 24 - Shankar's Makeover

Specials

 * 2018 - Big World! Big Adventures!

Music Videos
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 * Big World! Big Adventures! - We're Friends
 * Series 22 - All the Girls Around the World and Let's Dream

Voice Actors

 * Sheena Bhattessa
 * Erina Yamazaki
 * Juana Saucedo
 * Anne Hoth
 * Alma Naranjo
 * Susa Saukko
 * Clara Rocha
 * Olga Kuznetsova
 * Lilli Manzini

Trivia

 * She is the only female railway controller to appear in the franchise.
 * Her name means "pretty girl" in the Gujarati language.
 * Many news articles in September 2018 spelt her name as "Churubala".

Charubala Charubala צ'רובלה チャルバラ Charubala Чарубала