I type this sitting in Shatabdi Express. This is a return journey from Bhubaneshwar to Kharagpur. There was an invited talk in a workshop at IIIT yesterday afternoon. The train compartment is one-third full. Shatabdi – Rajdhani trains are special. The travel time is less. Trains run on shared tracks. Other express trains are held up to make way for these. Similarly, express trains make passenger trains wait. However, in suburban sections passenger trains rule. The passengers there are organized force.
June 15, 2013. Poorva Express at New Delhi station. We had reservation in 3 Tier AC Sleeper Coach B2. There were only one unreserved compartment in the front. Train information system of Indian Railways showed that there should have been two unreserved coaches after loco. There were more people in our compartment than the no. of berths, right from the start. The coach attendant were very courteous to these extras. One such person was found to raise currency notes from his book-pocket a little when conductor came. Another extra person slept in the passage between two berths at night in our coup. There was announcement in the Delhi station for Rajdhani Express that there must not be any extra person in the compartments.
One hour after we started from Delhi, our train was taken to siding of a small station. Why this unscheduled stop? The ‘extras’ who were regular laughed at our ignorance. While our train was stranded there for more than one hour, five-six Rajdhani Express to different destinations passed. The station master of that small station asked me not to worry. He said that our train would make-up at night. It did not and the late increased to 2 hours. The train information system says that average delay of Poorva Express is 4 hours. One wonders why cannot Poorva start after all these Rajdhani-s.
June 16, 5 PM, Bardhhaman Station, the same Poorva Express. Last stop Howrah is about 100KM, 90 minute away. Our B2 compartment has become half-empty. I boarded the unreserved compartment in the front of the train for the last part of the journey. It was full to the brim. One of the toilet was seen as place holder of 3-4 people. I just managed to get some space to put my two feet. One inch this side or that side, people were sitting on floor or standing. In the space marked for 8 people in reserved 3 tier compartment (3+3+2), there were about three times more, 24 people in the unreserved compartment. Bringing it down to 16 (which is luxury in current standard : 5+5 on either side 1+1 on two single window seats and 2+2 on two bunks) with additional compartments makes railway earn twice as much the seat capacity. Even without the sleeper or reservation charge, the earning from these compartments won’t be less compared to others. One wonders how difficult it is to give little comfort to them who also deserve.
I was standing not far from the door. It was not possible to go further inside the compartment which was full. There were 7-8 young people jostling near the door. They are into labour intensive jobs in and around Delhi. One could listen what they were discussing among themselves. They were discussing what they found enjoyable and the attempts they made so far to enjoy them. Little or no education, tough job condition, insecure future, difficult life condition, add to these, plenty of certain stuffs in newspapers, magazines, movie, mobile / internet downloads, MMS (cheap mobile phone is not all boon). The topline movies, the reality shows (even the ones that includes children) promoting “entertainment, entertainment and entertainment” and defining entertainment in certain way, it is but natural to see what we see occupying the mindspace of youth; that of what turns into addiction, what poisons slowly but surely.
The science of life shows the relationship.
Thought ---> Action ---> Habit ---> Propensity (Character)
We think about what we come across - what we read, what we see, and the kind of persons we come in contact with. If we offer our young generation inputs which are not positive and inspiring, how do we expect the society to get rid of negativity and the inglorious things that we see around us? We cannot get marigold if what we plant is parthanium.
The tighter and tougher law attempts to treat the symptom and not the cause. We are alarmed today by the crimes of most heinous type. If we feed people sex and violence, selfishness and immorality, matter over mind, can we expect that we will be surrounded by people of noble character who do not cheat, who do not abuse? Unless we promote and recognize human values in us, in the society from young age, we are leading ourselves to ‘dog eats dog’ world.
If we treat fellow-being as human, then we can expect human qualities from them. Also, we ourselves are got to learn many human qualities from them. [Video Link] There may be aberrations. Even after being treated as human, some may allow the animal-self to get better of him. Law is there to make such choice costly for them. But we should proactively create and nurture an environment to let the human aspect, the divine aspect of one to blossom in every strata of the society.
Access to education, education of right kind that develops complete personality and not just a leading rank in a competitive exam., is the key. Scoring high percentage in exam. is important, but it is more important to learn what goes into making a good human being who cares, who shares. It is time to focus on who are educating our nation and what are they educating; and what is leading by examples. [Here is a bio of RKMVU teacher: Link :Readers’ comments too are interesting.] Each of us leaves a print in the society. Whether we are conscious about it or not, we like it or not, the society - specially, the young cannot escape having examples like us before them. If they are what we see them as today, we cannot avoid our responsibility on what we presented before them.
If we want to address the issues our nation faces, we need to reach out to every section of the society. And this should be more than symbolism, the genuineness in our approach makes the difference. We are in praise of relief operations carried out by young jawans of army in Uttarakhand. Do we ourselves or young members of our family have ever attempted any relief / social service work in our neighbourhood with same sincerity?
It is not just money or donation made. How we do what we do are more important. What is our attitude? Is it that of service (i.e. kindness put into action) or do we think that the downtrodden are burdens? Giving money to an NGO will never yield what personal involvement, engagement will. Nation-building responsibility of mine cannot be outsourced.
Few days back, a point came in an informal discussion, here at IIT Kharagpur. Can we have tea in the houses of village, slum that we visit? We may start with the village / slum of our house maid. If one has reservation over hygiene, tea would be fine because the water is boiled. To this, a very, very senior faculty participating in the discussion, remembered a Baltic saying on Three Cups of Tea. "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family..."
If we do not learn to live together, we shall perish together. We may be boarder of Rajdhani Express, Poorva Express or a passenger train. We may have reservation or we may be travelling in unreserved compartments. Let us start by a simple thing - let us have occasions to have tea together. We can seek help of IRCTC if we need that.
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