The good old times were so bloody different. Or probably, it was the ignorance-induced-indifference of my age. Whatever be the reason, the sleeper coaches never used to bother me. They were taken for granted on a family trip. Travelling in air conditioned compartments used to be considered extravagance of the highest vulgarity.
22 hours in the sleeper coach of Purushottam Express brought back everything. It was a kaleidoscope of all the possible colors, dialects and cultures. The toilets stank. Males ogled blatantly at the plateaus of female anatomy. Discussions ranged from instantaneously solving political quagmires to making roadmap of the Indian cricket team to the WC. Hawkers sold spurious packaged drinking water with impunity. Some destitute-turned-junkie swept the entire coach with his shirt – that he would still wear after the exercise – for quick change and some glue to sniff. Ticket examiners made moolah at the expense of the employer. And everyone seemed to flash their ‘chai-neej’ phones squirting the latest Bollywood chartbusters that superimposed with one another making me beg the Lord to enlighten them about earplugs!
Today, I’m one friggin snob. Today I cringe in disgust. Today I travel AC.
Today, I travel with the crowd that throws huge words like ‘civic sense’ and ‘etiquette’ in a split second. The crowd that changes colors like a chameleon. The crowd that does “upar neeche” with the TTE without the slightest of hesitations. The crowd that uses the choicest expletives once it gets out of the coach. The crowd that thinks the world is it’s dustbin. The crowd that contributes more than it’s fair share to the smelly heap of garbage next door. The crowd that knows just one game: that of blame.
Will the buck ever stop? Will Musaddi Lal ever come out of the lazy reluctance bred by the ‘Chalta Hai’ attitude? Will we ever start using dustbins, however scarce they might be? Will we stop promoting beggary by offering them food instead of hard cash? Will the stranglehold on spurious water bottles ever tighten? Will the TTE’s wings ever be clipped? WILL PEOPLE EVER START USING EARPLUGS?
P.S. I’m totally convinced that the education system in UP sucks. This is Ishika (niece)’s take on English:
…C-A-T cat, D-O-G dog, E-O-G elephant…
No matter how thought provoking the article may be, the P.S. still takes the cake!
ReplyDeleteA very relevant and hard hitting strike. So true I had almost forgotten the three tiers...I don't know when/how can the buck stop but in the meantime I appreciate the effort you've put it. And cho chweeet niece you got there. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd, excuse me if it's only me, but are the profanities really missing?
ReplyDelete@ Tamal: I know (:
ReplyDelete@ Sapna: Thank you! I'm glad. And yeah, the profanities are missing. I can, for a change, be mature. :P
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ReplyDeleteNay, I don't remember any on sleeper compartments.
ReplyDeleteWho cares about the world when the confines in the four walls are clean enough? We are all screwing up the world without even realizing that we can do so much damage. Liked reading it, as always.
ReplyDeleteAnother JAAG post. Well thought of and even better execution. We can all just contribute our share and wait for the world to follow else the buck cannot stop.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Ishika seems to be the latest victim of the education system after you. For you, it's like F for...
ReplyDeleteGood morning.
ReplyDeleteWe travelled 2nd class throughout our Sikkim trip, but our travel durations for any given journey were very short. for a 20+ hour journey, AC should be given very serious consideration.
@ Akshhar: Exactly. Thanks! (:
ReplyDelete@ Abhishek: Well, that's precisely what we can and we should do. If you noticed, I refrained from keeping the tone preaching. An ounce of practice is worth a lot more than a ton of teaching. Tried to urge a few people through this to amend their ways. And 'wtf' at your second comment.
ReplyDelete@ Gurdit: Thank you, travelchacha.com
ReplyDeleteI always like the way you make little but important things sound not-so-boring :-).
ReplyDeleteYes i remember those days when traveling by train used to be an adventure of sorts....now i cant think beyond flight. Life has changed so much.
ReplyDeleteBut don't you get a good night's sleep in AC class? :)
ReplyDelete@ DP: I'll take it as a compliment. (:
ReplyDelete@ Ria: Yeah, I guess. Growing economy probably.
ReplyDelete@ Ana_treek: Yes. So?
ReplyDelete:-) reminded of a long forgotten nightmare .. but i got almost the same experience on my way back to kolkata from jammu last yr .. the only good thing was a handsome soldier on the next seat :P
ReplyDeleteA good portrait..keep going..
ReplyDeleteLets hope for the best. All we can help is in doing our part. I do and will do mine, you do yours. About earplugs, I plug them tightly to keep other sounds off my ears, and then pump up the volume, just a bit more than maximum.
ReplyDeleteNice read.
@ vicious: Great for you! Meri kismat to aisi hai ki INVARIABLY, there's never any hot/semi-hot/manageably-hot chick in proximity!
ReplyDelete@ Rony: Thanks, man!
ReplyDelete@ BA: Thanks, for the appreciation and the "doing your part bit". All we need is resonance. Australia took just 40 years to transform itself. We might take a few more but there's no reason to believe in the contrary.
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ReplyDeleteYou revived my journey to Aligarh. One helluva alone trip. Won't ever use train again. Probably will ask Dad to get me a Helicopter as my B'day gift. ;P
ReplyDeleteGood.
ReplyDeleteSometimes,I force myself to travel in the general compartments, let alone sleeper. Like before the term break, for 13 hours from Patna to Tata. I say to myself: I am travelling with India, and I must keep in touch.
My mother calls me mad and when I say this to my friends, they call me 'unnecessarily crazy', wanting to travel without ticket or in general.
But then what I like about the people there is absence of any fake characters. Everybody is original, as he/she is, true to himself and the world, no masks, and that makes for a refreshing difference.
Of course when we live, in the 'seat' of what I would call as 'creating cosmetic humans',better referred to as MBA's.
@ Prateek: What an idea Sirjee! :D Contrasting comment under yours!
ReplyDelete@ Anupam: That's errr..different! I absolutely support the no-mask identity of the general/sleeper compartments. But I find my own different ways to keep in touch with India. The general (or even sleeper) coach doesn't really fit the bill. A better way, probably, would be buses or platforms. To each his own! But hats off to you, man!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Indeed MangoMan indeed. ;D
ReplyDeleteRailway ministers are busy introducing new trains to their home constituencies...safety, cleanliness, food and hygiene go for a toss..TC's accept bribes, toilets stink and food is stale..But who cares?
ReplyDeleteInstead of passing on the blame to others, its time to owe up to our responsibilities.
ReplyDelete@blog: Very apt, very true, very mangoman like....
wow!! nice contrast!
ReplyDeleteand I liked the way u used "we" instead of "they"... we r all a part of this shit!
but cant help it... I liked the ps more :P
it was O-S-M: awesome :)
and i can visualize it all to vividly :P
ReplyDeleteI almost missed this one. Am I glad that I finally read it. I am allergic to the word awesome but might up using it. Or maybe I can just say keep the anger coming...vent it out...and whatte a post!!!
ReplyDeletehaha....blatantly slapped the structure (of the society) that prevails and yes, it is praiseworthy that you still realise who is to be blamed for it. None but we the people.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work!!!
@ Alka: Seriously, the PPP model needs to be revisited. I believe it's competition that can bring about a change. Passengers in AC coaches can substitute it with air travel. There's a monopoly in sleeper travel. Hence the disparity!
ReplyDelete@ Divya: lol at osm! Discerning reader, you! Glad. Thanks. (:
ReplyDelete@ sri14manu: yeah! coz you were the fellow sufferer!
ReplyDelete@ Purba: Spice absolutely missing from the comment!! Ye kaise hua? Thanks (:
ReplyDelete@ Nikhil: Thanks, bhai. Glad you liked! (:
ReplyDeleteNice. :)
ReplyDeleteThe message is said in simple words. Hope the crowd will soon change it's attitude of thinking the world as dustbin. :)
Good one. Absolutely the present state of affairs in the Indian Railway. Felt nice that someone notices the small things that have been taken for granted traditionally.
ReplyDeleteEkdum mast likha he bhai. bilkul sahi....aisi hi umeed thi tuj se....
ReplyDeleteWell written. If the double standards of those traveling in AC compartments is what you are hitting at, I agree. This of course doesn't mean that the sleeper/general compartment travelers are saints. Given a chance most of them would do the same. I somehow never understood calling poor India the real India and taking satisfaction in that mediocrity. I know (hope)you too don't mean that :) But while traveling in AC,if the mentality is of general class, rest assured, soon everyone will be back in general class :)
ReplyDelete@ Chandrika: Thanks. Hope prevails.
ReplyDelete@ Prajakta: Just noticing won't do. We need to be the change we want to see as well. Thanks.
ReplyDelete@ SFS: Thanks bro. \m/
ReplyDelete@ BI: I was hinting at a lot of stuff, one of them being the point in contention. I believe in the contrary, actually. People, though fake, at least behave properly in those hallowed compartments which might be a good thing in the long run. The problematic area is their behaviour outside the AC coaches.
ReplyDeleteReally Good post bro... People come in all hues and sizes and Railways provide a cool forum to view those conflicts. :)
ReplyDeleteI travel a lot and mostly i like to take trains.. only coz of this reason. And yes, the behavior of travelers change as we move up the classes.. but ultimately - w/o any class , in their own domains - they all are the same, aint they ?
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My travel has less trains in it.. infact only two so far,both were memorable :) I think travelling by train is beyond just transportation.
ReplyDeleteUmm will d CROWD ever stop?
Reminded me of so many things. The whole post was hard hitting.
ReplyDeleteVery true. A sorry state of affairs prevalent.
ReplyDeleteImagine the scenario in the general boggie..
ReplyDelete@ DG: You have you own way of expressing and I like that. Totally agree.
ReplyDelete@ Dipa: Just two train journeys! Well you're missing out on a lot! And why the word in caps?
ReplyDelete@ Harini: Thanks! Glad (:
ReplyDelete@ Shyam Sir: General boggie is a nightmare: a true metaphor for a dog eat dog world outside the boggie!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the appreciation, man. Jaag was a cause that needed to be pursued with ful rigor and I'm ashamed to say I failed. Will try to take it up again when the workload subsides.
ReplyDeleteIronically, its the case with the whole country. The priorities are all screwed up. We all want to help and contribute and we're all stuck up in our little burrows.
Sigh.
I cant agree more with the line 'using the world as a dustbin'.But its one thing that has to be ingrained from birth.An ideal Indian grows up watchin parents/friends/society spew pan,chocolate/boomer,centre fresh wrappers etc anywhere under the sun.Its so mortifying for a "Rising Superpower" like India.Glad,ur one of the rare persons apart frm me who actually thinks on these lines.More so, to c it comin frm an almighty MBA grad.
ReplyDeletePS: Only Indian train journeys r long enough for one to write a discourse on it.Other contries(read China, Jap, EU nations) stick to the literal meaning of 'superfast' WRT Trains/Railways.
@ Shaleen: It's true it's been kinda ingrained. Growing up, I did the same. But educated folks like us can do better. It's just the matter of taking responsibility. And almighty MBA??? That's new!
ReplyDeleteDemonstrating through behaviour is what helps many a times. That is all in our hands.
ReplyDeleteI actually did try to act on a similar line by not giving alms to a child 'beggar' but half the packet of hide and seek remaining. The others still gave him money ironically chiding him on his yellow teeth alleging a tobacco addiction.
ReplyDeleteSo this little girl wouldnt stop following me...begging for money..i kept refusing..she persisted...and then came the epiphany - i had a banana in my bag (my breakfast). I gave offered it to her. She took it, looked at it, and threw it onto the floor with disgust. I was livid. She had the cheek to continue asking for money. I nearly dealt a blow to her face..badly wanted to..but made do with screaming and walking away.
ReplyDeleteThey don't bloody want the food. Do they?
Hasn't ever happened to me but I can very well imagine what it would be like. They would probably be under cruching pressure of those friggin begging nexuses or they might plainly be needing more glue. Who knows? And however much one can write on his blog, but who cares?
ReplyDeleteThe human angle gets space on this blog again and as always, thought-provoking!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nilanjana!
ReplyDelete