The guy standing next to me was smelling of alcohol and the toilet beside me smelled as if it was never cleaned. I had to bear it as there wasn't enough space to even move my head. The compartment was full of people. I wondered, from outside it would look like a cattle van . On my left side , 6 women sat on the seat of 4 , one carrying a bag of woods and other with a little girl yawning on her lap. The upper seat (reserved for luggage) was full of half naked dark men, who seem to be returning from a long day of hard work. There were lights inside the compartment but fans weren't working . Some people standing near the window were asked to give little space for air.I was standing near a door with a bunch of young guys who all seemed to be laborers in the near by mining quarry.All of them were drunk and enjoying the bantering about what happened at work. One of them had a bottle of water, the only one that I noticed in the whole compartment.It was a general boggy in Indian railway.The boggy of the poor people.
It was just a two hour journey and it did not make much sense to get a reservation. I thought , I would most likely have to stand , bear the toilet smell and keep listening my ipod and the 2 hours will just pass.I somehow managed to get into the train with the push from people trying to get into the same boggy. I also managed to find a place to stay near the toilet . Seeing couple of guys hanging on the door, I felt at-least lucky to trade the risk of falling down with the smell of toilet! Train finally started and everything slowly set in place, the initial push , people trying to move , eventually was in some kind of equilibrium. People around me looked happy but there was a lack of hope in their eyes. Seeing an old sick man standing and coughing all the time, a young boy picking fights with others for a fifty paise toffee made me pity them. People smelling of alcohol, hair so clotted with dirt that it seemed they haven't taken bath for days. I started feeling , if this is the way a human should live? They seemed to have gotten used to their lives and were OK with what they had for their lives. They all argued /fought for a seat on the bench , a place to stand near window and seemed not to have any concern for whats happening around them. It all started feeling as if they were just some part of the this train, nut bolts of the machinery , which even though had thinking cells, decided to ignore them comfortably. It was hard to imagine that they would enjoy the coolness of fresh air coming in , the fast moving green fields , or the symmetry in the flock of birds returning to their home. I wondered when people have problems like hunger , place to sleep, would they worry about anyone else?
Standing for 2 hours was not something I was used to. I had missed lunch that day so after a while I started feeling dizzy and wanted to sit , I asked a guy who seemed to have taken enough space for 2 people, I asked politely but he not only refused but even pushed me away. I was taken back ,but not really surprised. At that moment , I just wanted to get out of the train not because i couldn't bear the toilet smell ,not because i was hurt ,but everyone there seemed comfortable with the whole setup and made me feel disgusted. I started feeling dizzy at that moment and was really scared that I might fall out of train. In few minutes I thought I had blacked out and almost fell , but not before one of those clotted hair young guys got hold of me. For a minute I don't remember what happened. but when my senses came back, I was sitting on a seat ,with an old guy calming me down , one of those guys sprinkling some water on my face and trying to make me feel comfortable. All 6 women and the men on the upper seat got down made enough seat for me so that I could even lay down if I wish too. Looking at their eyes I could see they were really concerned and everyone was trying to do something to help me.I felt grateful for their help and at the same time guilt. My stop was coming in 10 mins. They helped me to the door and gave me the same bottle of water and said good byes when train stopped. I was proven wrong about them , but that actually made me happy.
PS: an image showing the general compartment in Indian railway.[ courtesy: http://community.photojournale.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/3.jpg]
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