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 2nd 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 21st 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.
