Off late, I have been spending a lot of time travelling by train. When travelling alone, trains (especially the Indian Railway with its very flexible timetable) give a lot of time to reflect on just about anything. The trains and the railway stations in themselves are a microcosm of India and reflect a lot of our society/nation.
The reflections start as you try to get that tatkal ticket to get back home. You immediately realize that the sheer demand for everything in India and the gap in the ability of our existing systems to fulfill it, makes India an attractive marketplace for everybody.
You get that tatkal ticket (phew!) and when it costs almost the same to reach the railway station as much as the cost of a sleeper class ticket to your destination, you immediately understand why the Indian Railway can never be the ideal mode of transport we want it to be.
Ok, you get to the station and the train comes hurtling down the platform. You immediately notice 4 second class coaches, 12 sleeper class and 1 each of three-tier AC/two-tier AC/first class coach. And you should immediately thank God that in a deprieved country like ours, you are holding an AC ticket!
Now you are comfortably hosted in your seat and you get time to observe the station. Almost all major railway stations in India have recently been "beautified" without actually improving any of the existing systems. You are suddenly horified, is it what we are doing with our nation too! Projecting ourselves as the superpower to be on the International stage, glossing our achievements, and hiding our failures ( and to hide our failures, we cut off the communication lines in Kashmir, do fake encounters in Manipur, permit air strikes on maoists and transfer our society's victim to Singapore).
When food vendors enter the coach, they bring with them sweet memories of childhood when we wanted each and everything they brought. Some scolding and finally the item is bought! With money in pocket and freedom to buy whatever we want, buying stuff from the vendors is no longer that fulfilling :(
Finally, here is the destination, your own hometown. You get down from the train, take in a lungful of air and wonder at the opportunity cost of all the "progress(studies, job, money, blah blah)" that you have made!
The reflections start as you try to get that tatkal ticket to get back home. You immediately realize that the sheer demand for everything in India and the gap in the ability of our existing systems to fulfill it, makes India an attractive marketplace for everybody.
You get that tatkal ticket (phew!) and when it costs almost the same to reach the railway station as much as the cost of a sleeper class ticket to your destination, you immediately understand why the Indian Railway can never be the ideal mode of transport we want it to be.
Ok, you get to the station and the train comes hurtling down the platform. You immediately notice 4 second class coaches, 12 sleeper class and 1 each of three-tier AC/two-tier AC/first class coach. And you should immediately thank God that in a deprieved country like ours, you are holding an AC ticket!
Now you are comfortably hosted in your seat and you get time to observe the station. Almost all major railway stations in India have recently been "beautified" without actually improving any of the existing systems. You are suddenly horified, is it what we are doing with our nation too! Projecting ourselves as the superpower to be on the International stage, glossing our achievements, and hiding our failures ( and to hide our failures, we cut off the communication lines in Kashmir, do fake encounters in Manipur, permit air strikes on maoists and transfer our society's victim to Singapore).
When food vendors enter the coach, they bring with them sweet memories of childhood when we wanted each and everything they brought. Some scolding and finally the item is bought! With money in pocket and freedom to buy whatever we want, buying stuff from the vendors is no longer that fulfilling :(
Finally, here is the destination, your own hometown. You get down from the train, take in a lungful of air and wonder at the opportunity cost of all the "progress(studies, job, money, blah blah)" that you have made!
No comments:
Post a Comment