Ek Lamba Safar
A Journey from Kashmir to Kanyakumari
It’s a pure black sky today in Jammu with the stars embedded in it like beautiful glittery pearls. The Jammu Tawi station is dimly lit by old electric bulbs with the digital clock displaying 23:30 on its faded screen. The local shop vendors on the platform are packing up for the day while the passengers with their heavy eyes are waiting for their train to arrive. After a long wait, a shrill voice bring them back to life with the much-awaited announcement, “Yatri-Gan Kripya dhyan dein, gaadi kramank ek teen che ek aath Himsagar Express thodi hi der mein platform kramank ek pe aa rahi hai (Passengers please pay attention, train number 13618 Himsagar Express is arriving on platform number one).” The passengers suddenly start huddling up on the platform to welcome the Himsagar express, which, according to standard Indian Railway timings, arrives 45 minutes late from its scheduled arrival.
Madhusudhan, a man in his mid-40s is going back and forth the platform asking passengers for B1 coach. The TT, with a stern look on his face, guides him, “B1 coach? Engine se panchva dabba. Bhagiye varna train nikal jayegi (B1 coach? It is the fifth coach from the engine. Run otherwise you’ll miss the train).” As soon as he boards the three-tier AC compartment, a wave of relief dawns upon him. The coach is completely empty and feels like a cradle as the wheels of the train starts moving slowly. Madhusudhan cannot be more satisfied and decides to make the most of this opportunity to have a sound sleep before passengers start crowding the compartment.
While Madhusudhan had just started dreaming about the food his wife must have packed in the tiffin for the journey, a group of 3 boys disturbs his sleep by boarding into the same compartment from Pathankot junction. The excitement in their talks and actions makes Madhusudhan really irritated and he gets up and says, “Hello! Hello! Yes, aap hi. Time dekha hai? Aadhi raat ho rahi hai. Khud ko nahi sona toh dusron ko toh sone dijiye (Hello! Hello! Yes, you guys. Have you looked at the time? It is midnight. It’s okay if you don’t want to sleep but let others sleep).”
The boys look at each other and settle down at their respective seats without uttering a single word after that. The boys and Madhusudhan had a sound sleep until the vendors started flooding the compartment with their peculiar “Chai Chai” calls.
Madhusuhan opens his eyes to look around and finds that the boys are still fast asleep and any new passenger hasn’t boarded the compartment yet. He freshens up and starts opening his luggage to check if his dreams about food are going to come true. The boys are also up by now and staring at Madhusudhan struggling with the boxes his wife has packed for him. Madhusudhan looks at the boys and says, “Slept well last night? Ye lo ghar ka khana kha lo. Lamba safar hai. Vaise naam kya hai tumhara?(Here have some homemade food. It’s a long journey. Anyway, what are your names?).” One boy while accepting the food says, “Myself Naman. These are my friends Rohan and Palash. Sorry for yesterday night, sir.” Madhusudhan laughs and starts checking his phone for the latest news update in The Hindu. Suddenly a big smile pops on his face when he reads the news out loud, “Women of all ages can enter Sabarimala Temple, rules Supreme Court.”
He looks at the boys for their reaction and when he gets nothing in return, he starts again, “I am toh very happy today. Feels like our nation is going in the right direction. This case had to be taken care of. Sabar ka fal meetha hi hota hai. What do you say humare India ke naujawanon? (Patience bears its own fruits. What do you say India’s young?).” Naman, one of the boys, replies, “Sir we don’t have any idea about the Sabarimala temple and are not aware about the rules followed there. But aapne agar gal ki hai toh we are sure that the Supreme Court has taken the correct decision.” Madhusudhan suddenly feels like the cool daddy in the house and keeps on sharing his views as to why the judgment is totally justified.
The journey goes on smoothly with the exchange of snacks between Madhusudhan and the boys. At around 10 am the train reaches the Rohtak railway station. Madhusudhan looks outside the window and says, “You know what, boys. It is very rare that our compartment is still not occupied. Ab toh aur logon ko aana chahiye iss train men kyonki ye train Sabarimala jo jaati hai (laughs jokingly) (Now more passengers should board this train as it goes to Sabarimala).”
While they were all laughing and celebrating over the judgment, a man in his mid-50s boards their compartment along with a young girl. He asks Madhusudhan, “Ye B1 hi hai na? Humari seat hai 55 aur 56 (This is B1, right? Our seats are 55 and 56).” Madhusudhan nods and makes space for them to sit as the train takes off from Rohtak. The man looks tired already but still initiates a conversation, “Namaste! Mera naam Radhe Shyam Mishra se. Ya meri beti Pihu Mishra se. Tonn kitt jave se? (My name is Radhe Shyam. This is my daughter Pihu Mishra. Where are you headed towards?).” Madhusudhan is a bit confused by his way of speaking but takes a guess, “Namaste Namaste. I am going to Kanyakumari. These boys are going to Kerala. Where are you going?” Radhe Shyam’s proud father comes out from within, “we are going to get my daughter admitted into IIM Calicut.” He doesn’t leave a chance to boast about her scoring 95 percentile in CAT examination. And in no more than 10 minutes the exchange of snacks from different states starts happening. Just like any other Indian family going on a train journey, Radhe Shyam is also over-prepared with truckloads of snacks enough for the entire coach to eat for the rest of the journey.
Madhusudhan gets back to the topic he was on before Radhe Shyam had boarded the train, “Ji, did you read today’s khushkhabri regarding the Sabarimala temple case?”
Radhe Shyam: Khushkhabri?! Good news?! What are you saying, Ji! The deity is a Brahmachari and therefore women of menstruating age should not be allowed to enter the temple as per the religious rules. How can you question God?!
Now the aura of the compartment is not the same as it was before. One can easily sense a wave of friction between Madhusudhan and Radhe Shyam.
Madhusudhan: What rubbish! It is a matter of gender discrimination. Why are women not allowed to practice their religion as they want to? Practices which were followed 1000 years ago now need to change. Desh badlega jab ye sab riwaaz badlenge (The nation will change when all these customs will change). Right, boys?
The boys, being Bhakts (devotees) of Madhusudhan reply in unison, “Yes very true. We agree with you uncle.” Radhe Shyam at this point gets a bit offended and feels overtaken by a majority of opposing views. He replies, “The nature of the temple demands a few restrictions which have to be respected instead of making it a gender discrimination issue. I have read the history of the temple. Do you even know about the deity there? Go boys, do your homework and then support your uncle on the judgment.”
As the train started accelerating its pace, the arguments also started taking a serious turn with Madhusudhan and Radhe Shyam entering into a verbal battle.
Madhusudhan: You are going to IIM Calicut, na? Your daughter and other students there will surely feel it is the correct decision that the Supreme Court has passed. It is because of people like you who support gender inequality that the women in India are still suffering and the economic growth is so slow. Itna socha hai kabhi aapne? Kaash tum bhi apni beti jitna padhe hote (Have you ever thought this through? Wish you had also studied as much as your daughter.)
Radhe Shyam: Manne terese zyada socha hai. Meri soch badi hai. (I have thought this over more that you. My thinking is far better than yours.) I am getting my daughter admitted to IIM which clearly shows I do not support gender discrimination. I want the women to be on the same level as men. Par manne lage hai aapko aastha ya bhakti ke baare men ekdum jaankari nahi hai (But I strongly feel that you don’t understand the meaning of devotion and faith). You should learn to respect the rules of a religious place instead of mapping it to an issue of gender discrimination.
In between this battle of words, for the first time Pihu opens her mouth and politely says, “I think ye ab discussion nahi ladai ban rahi hai. You all need to calm down. Yudh ladne nahi aaye ho aap log, baat karne aaye ho. Bade log kehte hai dusro ki suno. Aap hi toh ho bade log? Bhul gaye apni baat? (I feel that this discussion is turning into a war now. Elders tell us that we should listen to others. You are the elders here. You forgot your own words?)”
Nobody pays attention to her and they keep continuing with their talk until she insists to her dad that he should take some rest as it’s been 2 hours since he has been talking continuously. Radhe Shyam is totally exhausted by now and tells the boys and Madhusudhan, “Why should I waste my energy on all this when you all are not ready to understand? I am going to sleep. Do some research by then and I hope tab tak bhagwan tum logon ko buddhi de (I hope God gives you some wisdom while I rest)”. Boys get relieved that finally he is going to sleep and they can plan their Kerala trip now. Madhusudhan is constantly showing his agitation by making a lot of noise while making his bed or while talking to his wife over the call. He finally goes to sleep with a visible anger on his face. The boys are now in full-fledged trip planning mode. Pihu also goes to sleep and the compartment after a long 2.5 hours becomes peaceful again with nobody uttering a word.
The afternoon passes by and Radhe Shyam gets up after a deep sleep. When he opens his eyes, he sees Madhusudhan staring at him and gets afraid.
Radhe Shyam: Manne marne ka plan hai kya (Are you planning to kill me)? Anyway, did you read the history of the temple? Can’t believe the facts? Now you are on my side, na? The boys will automatically follow you, hahahhaa!!
Madhusudhan: I don’t have to read to take sides. I know my facts and no sane person will support you leaving alone the boys.
It was not even 5 minutes since they both had woken up, the political battle starts gaining its pace again and doesn’t halt until the train stops at Vijayawada junction at around 7 pm.
Naman breaks the heated discussion by loudly waking his friends up, “Arre! the train will stop for 15 minutes here. Come, let’s grab some food”. The boys get off on the platform while Radhe Shyam and Madhusudhan welcome the seventh passenger to their compartment who has just boarded the train. Radhe Shyam whispers in Madhusudhan’s ears, “Now let’s ask our fellow traveler his views on this issue. I am sure your eyes will be opened after other people say the same thing as I have been saying”. Radhe Shyam and Madhusudhan observe the passenger settling down on the side lower berth. He looks like he is in his mid-30s and is wearing the attire which Sabarimala devotees wear while undergoing their month-long fasts. He settles down finally and greets all, “Namaskaram! My name is Kalyan Reddy. Very long journey for you all? Coming from the North?” Madhusudhan says with much pride, “Yes. Coming from Jammu. This gentleman is coming from Haryana. You are from Vijayawada? You must speak Tamil na?” Kalyan replies furiously, “You North Indians think that all South Indians speak Tamil. Do you even know which language is spoken in Andhra Pradesh or Kerala or Karnataka?” Radhe Shyam quickly interrupts in between, “I know. I know. In Kerala, they speak Malayalam there. Madhusudhan you should at least know this?!”
Madhusudhan: Well I might be wrong in this but you just know about Malayalam because your daughter is going to study in Kerala. Oh yes and talking about Kerala, why don’t you display your vast knowledge about the Sabarimala temple to Mr. Kalyan? I am sure he will love to listen to it!
Radhe Shyam: Yes, why not! So Mr. Kalyan…It seems like you are a pilgrim traveling to Sabarimala temple. Am I correct?
Kalyan: Yes, I have been visiting the temple for years. We worship lord Ayappan for his blessings. And while waiting at the station, I just read the news about the Supreme Court judgment which came as a big shock to me. What do they know about the deity that they have passed this judgment!
Radhe Shyam looks at Madhusudhan with a smile so wide that makes Madhusudhan angrier.
Kalyan keeps on sharing his views without even being prompted about the issue, “We will not let a single woman enter the temple. We will strike against the court as this is letting down the faith in the name of constitution.”
Radhe Shyam: I agree. I agree. But you will be amazed that our Mr. Madhusudhan here kind of supports the judgment!
Kalyan stares at Madhusudhan and says, “You guys think that you are very liberal and must have named this issue as a matter of gender inequality. There are so many temples where men cannot enter. Even Muslim women are not allowed to enter a Masjid. Why are you not talking about gender equality in those cases? Go fight for those men and women too.” The boys aren’t able to take the fact that Kalyan is accusing Madhusudhan and in reply Naman says, “Madhusudhan is talking about the practices which have looked down upon women for ages. He supports the judgment so that people like you can understand its importance”. The discussion gets more intense with every comment from each person in the compartment. Madhusudhan offers his reasoning while Kalyan and Radhe Shyam keep challenging him by quoting different examples and even calling him an atheist.
At around 10 pm, when everyone is exhausted from shouting and accusing each other, the train stops at Nellore station in Andhra Pradesh. They all decide to get down at the platform and continue their discussion as none of them want to give others a chance to prove themselves and their claims right. As they stood talking on the platform, a little away from the train, Madhusudhan notices that the train has started moving. He shouts, “Train chal gayi haiiiiiiiii (Train has started moving)!” They all run to catch the now moving train and somehow manage to finally board it. All of them are panting by now and trying to catch hold of their breaths. They are feeling completely drained out owing to their heated arguments and debate. While they were still trying to sink in the sudden realization that they might have missed the train because of their arguments, they overhear two women in the next compartment talking loudly about one of their son’s marriage.
Woman 1: Nowadays it is so hard to find a good girl from our own community. Right, Ji? The girl we have looked for hopefully has a good family background. I have asked my Chacha Ji to get the entire biodata of the girl’s family. Only after thoroughly knowing about the family can we fix the marriage. And we cannot even trust what Chacha Ji says, as he will just try to prove that his information is 100% correct and that I should not dig further. This is such a hard task, Jassi!
Woman 2: Haanji Pammi, tussi sahi kehre ho. You are right. These days we cannot just believe what one person says. We have to look from all perspectives before fixing a marriage. I would suggest slowing down and enquiring from as many people about her family background. You can ask your Shammi bhaiya also. He tends to delve deeper into such matters and researches well about family backgrounds and histories. He will surely not try to prove his sources right like Chacha Ji does. He is very reliable in this case.
As they both keep on continuing their discussion on their son’s marriage, Pihu (the silent observer throughout the journey) gets up from her seat and says, “Do you hear those two women talking loudly about how they should fix their son’s rishta (marriage proposal) by ‘examining’ the girl and her family in and out. They are taking it as a full-time research project. Now think of the day-long argument you all have been engaged in. Do any bells ring in your head? Do you find any connectivity here? Yes, papa, tell me? Yes, Madhusudhan uncle and Kalyan bhaiya? Naman, Rohan, and Palash, what do you think about this whole discussion?”
Naman looks at his friends and they all share a look exposing a sense of guilt about what happened in the past 12 hours. Even Madhusudhan and Radhe Shyam exchange a look that shows comprehension and discernment. Kalyan takes time to understand why everyone is suddenly so silent and not accusing each other of their views. He feels strange but then he also realizes the lesson which everyone has taken for themselves from those two random, loud Punjabi women. Their faces reflect a sense of deep realization about something as they all, without uttering a word, go back to their seats to sleep for the night. Pihu observes all of them and finally goes to the two ladies and says, “Thank you, Aunty! Kaash hum jitni mehnat rishtey tay karne mein lagate hain, utni hi mehnat koi political discussion karne mein aur dusron ki raay sunne mein lagate (Wish we put the same efforts in forming our opinions and listening to others as we put in fixing a marriage in our families.) ” They both look at each other startled while Pihu leaves from there and settles down on her seat to start reading her book. After a silence that lasted for five minutes, the women go back to chatting about the characters in their favorite daily soap.
About the Story
When two (or more) individuals participate in an argument, there are often two ways in which they can choose between to anticipate what the journey of their discourse would be like. I say ‘choose’ because it is the conscious decision of the individuals to follow either of the paths. The first one is like a busy road during peak office hours. We can also call it a path which most Demagogues (political leaders who appeal to the desires and prejudices of people) relate to. They opt to choose this path by assuming a political argument as a win or loss game and therefore while fighting this battle, they forget the real issue at hand and the long term implications of their judgments. The second path is like a deserted street with very few pedestrians on it but is definitely a better path to experience the journey towards a healthy political argument. It is where Democracy prevails and shows the fruits of a democratic way of argumentation. As suggested by the word ‘democratic’, it involves both sides to keep their personal perspectives aside while listening to what others have to say or offer and think through evidence that might falsify their previously held claims. The story makes the readers go back and forth through these two pathways and lets them decide which one is more fruitful to carry out an argument — especially a political argument — in any setting.
The story is about a 66-hour long train journey of Himsagar Express from Jammu to Kanyakumari with Madhusudhan, Radhe Shyam and his daughter Pihu, Naman and his friends, and Kalyan on board. What could have been a typical Indian Railways safar turns into a Phir Hera Pheri version 2.0 when all these passengers hailing from different parts of the country end up being in the middle of an unforeseen and intense political discussion on the recent Supreme Court verdict to allow all women’s entry in the world-renowned Sabarimala temple.
About the author
Medha Ojha is currently a Young India Fellow at Ashoka University who graduated as an Engineer from the Vellore Institute of Technology. She is on her road to explore a completely new career in her life which she has always aspired for. A social worker by heart, she loves listening to new people and their stories. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new cities, languages, and cuisines with her family and friends.
