Tags:
Journalism of Courage
There is a saying in Malayalam to describe a trip that did not achieve anything: Koora kappalil poyathu pole like a cockroach that went on a ship. What can it see in a large vessel? A lot, says the railways. For I never realised that cockroaches indeed undertook a journey, though not on a ship, until I boarded the Kerala Express from Delhi. It was a scorching day in May and we entered a boiling8217; AC bogey. quot;We switch on the AC only when the train moves,quot; informed the attendant.
The moment I began settling in, a swarm of cockroaches piled upon us, attacking the bag containing the food. The attendant enlightened me: quot;Oh, you are really lucky to have got only the babies who are out on their pranks. This train is infested with big cockroaches.quot; My son quickly got into the act of trampling them though they were too smart for my brat. When reproaches and diatribes on hygiene from me became too much, the attendant said, quot;They also need to live.quot;
With my son jumping upon the brown crawlies and me grumbling about the state of Indian railways, the journey started, and so did the cool air, slowly. Still, I could not digest the fact that despite the train being parked at the Delhi station yard the whole night, it could not be cleaned for the next day8217;s journey. quot;Is it like this in the pantry too?quot; I could not help asking the attendant, who was quite amused by our mutterings. quot;No madam, cockroaches cannot exist there because of the heat.quot; Thank God! Though the lunch anddinner are collected from the stations, the pantry makes the cutlets and the watery tea-coffee which the entire train guzzles for two days. At any rate, as the bogey became fully AC-ed, the brownies went into hiding.
And we settled down. The steward-cum-bearer, in soiled grey uniform, came to take orders for dinner. There were two options: quot;Vegetable biryani or poori-masala.quot; Expecting at least a poor cousin of the famous Malabar biryani, I opted for the former. But the Rs 20 worth item was disastrous as the cook seemed to have been in a foul mood and had put the entire chilly stock into it. With water coming out of his eyes and nose, my co-passenger, who also suffered the same dinner, noted: quot;They know we are caught inside for two days and can get away with all kinds of nonsense.quot;
This man was a freedom-fighter, all of 77 years now, who had taken part in the great Punnapra-Vayalar uprising of 1938. Did I brave police torture all those years ago to enjoy this, he must have beenasking himself.
The train reached Thrissur finally and as the attendant helped me with the luggage, he asked: quot;When will we see you again, madam?quot; Holding my hands in a gesture of thanks, I declared: quot;Not in this lifetime. I have had enough.quot;
Back home, after a shower to cleanse the body of all the railway impurities, I got down to unloading my suitcases. It was a brown creepie-crawly that jumped out first, followed by some of the infants that had gone into hiding. I realised that they had indeed translated the saying into practice. They must thank the railways for making everyone equal, at least in this journey to God8217;s Own Country!
