Thoughts Unprovoked Unlimited

One Night at Hyd Stations'

Are all people created equal?
All people are not the same. People are not equal.

29JUN2005:
My train (Hyderabad to Delhi) was 6 in the morning. I knew I couldn't have woken up early. So I decided to spend the night at the station.
It was there that I learnt the hard way how different people are. How much I take this life of mine for granted.. How much I believe in the false dreams of a beautiful future without hunger, poverty and misery.
I realised that Nationalism is a concept solely for the middle class.

I met 3 people that I distinctly remember.(although I remember more I won't see to any reason to do so)

Person A: He was from some village in Rajasthan. Was working in a local plastic mat factory. Earned Rs. 3000pm ($2 a day). After working a year, he was going back to his village. He had had a fight the same day with a colleague, having seriously injuring his colleague in the machinery PersonA was now returning home. He told me that it's better to commit a crime than live in fear.

Person B: He was from Howrah, W.Bengal. Waiting for a bi-weekly train he had already spent 2 days on the platform. He had started showing an all-consuming hate towards all the railway staff and police. The man was happy that his skin-colour was lighter than policemen guarding the platform. He called me saab continuously.

Person C: He was a jawan in the army. His vacations had been anulled. He was now going to Pune to resume his duty under officers. He explained the whole system of his holidays to me with certain adjectives forArmy officers that I would rather not use. He hated his job. He hated the army.

They did not treat me like them. I was on outsider. In my own country I was an outsider. I realised that I am not like them. I realised that the country did not matter. I realised that their hate, their nightmares.... somewhere in all of them lies a person like me. I realise now that somewhere in my dreams I had forgotten people like them.

posted by aniket @ 12:22 AM