TRAIN JOURNEY FROM MUMBAI TO CHENNAI

While Travelling by Train from Mumbai to Chennai…. 13/02/2016

It was a pathetic and inhuman experience from my part in train; I could find different people men and women, boys and girls, transgender and many other if I wish to classify; but I am not interested in classification of travellers rather the incident which I show and I realize; there was a man of 40 to 50 years of age who had unreserved ticket, he might have thought because of his defacement of body people will allow him to seat at least near door of 2^nd class reserved compartment, he boarded between the station thinking I could be safe without much tension of overcrowd or hanging with each other in general compartment since I am having acute wounds in my body. And there were people of different behavior towards to acute wounded man; some could buy eatable things and served him, some could talk to him with hopefully, some could not see his wounded body, could spited on him, and some are indifferent to him, some gave some money and so many observation that was on mind. My mind flashed back to the treatment that upper class and caste gives to lower class or caste; the form of discrimination, the untouchability, and in the form of purity and pollution. And also lot of things like dharma and karma which usually varna system indulge in Hindu caste system, since he is getting painful life, because of his karma or dharma which always we relates.

In this train people of different class, caste, groups, genders and religion present but it was the upset to see as we belong to 21^st century of globalized, modernized and westernized era, things that are happening is really intolerable. And it was the whole episode of Tamil Brahmins who were travelling to Chennai who deny the person and look down upon him; they don’t even bother to see his condition. They actually forced him to get down in between the station; as we know everybody has some destination to reach, may be he had also some destination to reached, actually speaking he was not a beggar; I could see him having more than thousand rupees in his hand; may be he was on the way to treatment or assume it like that. I think what is wrong with them simply forcing him to get out from train.

Later the train arrived at station; these groups of Brahmin called railway police and let the wounded man has to get down- this was just usual but later Tamil Brahmin called the railway clearers (toilet and washroom) and tell them to clean the whole compartment; which I was not expecting at all; though clearers clear toilet and washing bowls where we usually do hand wash and brash our teeth; they were so adamant and insisted them to clean because a wounded man was polluted the compartment which will polluted them too. There is a stereotype which haunted in the incident.

If one can analyze this point in other way as western and modernized free thinking man; I think they would have been much rational and scientific in their outlook and nature; would have helped him to cure; since they were of upper class, economically sound and possess power, position and prestige. And they would have been highlighted as one of the Good Samaritan. But it never happen in this circumstance; and there was an interesting things to be noted which really caught my mind there was a transgender who was also travelling in this compartment to Chennai; and this transgender was had reserved ticket but people in this the compartment were not happy to see the transgender; they were not giving any respect to the transgender but some of the people who are of free thinking they would ask and talk with transgender which usually first and second gender people don’t mix with third gender people; they always ignore and make fun of them, but this transgender was given some kinds of human dignity some coffee and some eatable were sponsored for the transgender.