An hour at the Railway Platform
Last month, I was
scheduled to board the train from Shoranur railway station to Chennai Central
as my grandfather had been seriously admitted to a hospital there. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the passengers are required to arrive at the station at least an
hour before for screening and other protocols. I took a taxi and reached the
station at 8 o'clock in the evening. There were many policemen to guide the
incoming and outgoing passengers. Before the lockdown, whenever I had been at
that station there was a great rush at the ticket counter. But on that day,
just opposite to it, the counter was closed. Some trains are running, and ticket
counters are also there but not the same as they used to be.
After screening and other
procedures, I occupied a seat on a bench on the platform. It was very difficult
to keep social distancing, there were four passengers already on that bench,
including me, five. I just looked all around me, I saw many passengers here and
there. None of them have the same state of mind. Some of them were going off to
see their dear and near ones and some of them were leaving their dear and near
ones and moving to a distant place. Some of them are in a very happy mood and
some of them are very sad. Actually, a railway station is a mini replica of our
country. In other words, here we can see a symbol of national integrity
where Aadavan from Tamilnadu, Suradeep Banerjee from West Bengal, Mallu Singh
from Punjab, and Manoj Mohan from Kerala talk, laugh and gossip together without a
common mother tongue. I think a railway
station is an important place because here we can see people from all sections
and all parts of society.
Just after a few minutes,
a lady and her son came there with their heavy luggage. From the first
impression, I assumed that he was a naughty one. The naughty kid just
finished a banana and carelessly threw the skin on the platform. Within
seconds a young girl maybe a college student put her best heel on it and went
for a somersault. That scene was really fun for the travelers but not for that
girl. She looked around for the little boy who was responsible for that
incident. He left his mother and just vanished as if he were a tool in the hands
of a magician. In the meanwhile, we heard the announcement from the railway.
The lady sharpened her ear when announcements were made. We could hear
announcements in all languages at the railway station. The lady called me and
asked about the announcement, her language was Tamil. Though I understand the
language speaking was a problem. Yet I somehow manage it.
Although one or two tea
stalls were being opened at the station, with the current COVID scenario,
they were not functioning well. Only a few snacks were available there. In
front of the waiting room, just near one tea stall, I could see an emotional
scene, a mother is crying, and her daughter also wipes tears from her eyes. Mother
started talking to me and I too introduced myself. Later I came to know
that her daughter was leaving for her husband’s home.
Some people were waiting
in front of the inquiry offices to get information about how to get back to
their homes. We came to know that they were from Uttar Pradesh and had been in distress for the last two months. As the lockdown kept extending, neither they
got any job, nor stayed there. They were informed by the railway authorities that
free train service was not available at that moment, the passenger trains were already full and AC compartments were extremely high priced. I felt pity for them
but what to do?
We all waited impatiently
for the arrival of the train, ultimately, the West Coast Express bound for
Chennai arrived at the platform. Without any difficulty, I entered the
compartment. Within a few minutes, the guard has blown the whistle. Slowly the
train started moving and now the station looked somewhat deserted.
Without any doubt, we can
say that our railways make long-distance travel more comfortable at cheaper
rates. It not only reduced distances between states but also cut the geographical
isolation of the peoples and brought them closer to each other. Right before
the outbreak of coronavirus, millions of people were traveling by railways day
by day for picnics, pilgrimage, business, education, and many other purposes.
Railways have passenger trains for ordinary people, express and mail for the
middle class, super-fast and air-conditioned for the more affluent, and goods
trains for carrying goods. Railways play a major role in the advancement and
progress of a nation. In times of natural disasters, their services are
laudable. Railways act as the arteries of our country, its importance can be
revealed from the fact that it has a separate minister as well as a separate
budget.
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