Kalka train station was basic - it had a few chairs which were empty and some rooms with lights switched on. Other than that, the place was dark. we were the only foreigners over there. We got a few stares from some people as we paced up and down in the dark, trying to figure out where we should head to. In the end, we decided to head into one of the rooms which was lit up because it felt safer. There were a couple of rooms and we went into the third-class room which was free instead of the first-class room whereby we will have to pay based on the number of hours that we stayed in there.
Many people were already resting in the room and we settled for a corner seat, in hope that nobody will notice us because we were at the corner. Of course, everyone who entered that room ever now and then stared at us at least once. There were whispers, murmurs and obvious pointing at us. Nobody really smiled but I did not dare to smile as well. I was afraid. The people who entered the room were noticeably the darker Indians (presumely the Southern Indians) and dressed simply and plainly.
People who came seemed really well-prepared to spend the night at the train station. They had pillows and large blankets which they laid on the floor and to cover themselves. The parents will rock the children to sleep before falling asleep themselves. The power of love from parents. As time passed, the number of people in the room grew and space became limited. Swee Geok and I were still stuck to the same corner chair, hugging out big backpacks.
When dawn arrived, I was glad to get out of that cramped place and to enter into the train to catch a wink. I had booked the first-class seats for ourselves and the train was really clean and luxurious. The people who boarded our cabin were all doned in seemingly expensive tailor-made suits. Their children were well-dressed and had thick coats to protect them from the cold. Everyone dressed elaborately and none of those who were in the same room as us at the train station followed us into that cabin.
After a few hours of sleep, I was woken up the sound of utensils clanking on the plates. Breakfast was ready to be served. Newspapers were given out to everyone so that they can read and eat at the same time and I was glad to see that we were given an English version of the newspapers!
Breakfast meal 1
Second meal on the menu for breakfast
Reading the newspaper
After breakfast, I stared out of the window. Where exactly was I passing through? My train drove past very gloomy places. I wondered if it was the fog or the smog that made the places look so depressing. Cows and wildboars strolled in landfills. In fact, the whole town seemed like a landfill. Rubbish was strewn everywhere. The kids were running around naked in the cold outside. A little toddler was squatting down on the floor, in the open, washing his eyes over a small basin of what looked like recycled water. As my train stopped for awhile, curious onlookers outside came close to the train and counted the number of wheels the train had. How many of us even care about that? There were obviously no proper sanitation and no proper care for the children. I wondered how dangerous it was if the kids had just ran in front of the train, not knowing that a train was coming.
I looked at the kids in the same cabin as me and I thought of how lucky they were compared to the kids outside. How is it that everyone ifrom the same country can have such a wide rich-poor gap? How is it that some are so rich that they can be travelling in a first class cabon while others are living a life of poverty and not even able to fulfil their basic needs in life? Life is indeed unfair.
Maybe this girl felt the same way as me
As our train grew closer to New Delhi train station, I realised what I had passed through. Those were slums that were set up on the outskirts of Delhi illegally so that they can stay near Delhi and find work over there without having to pay too much. So that was what it was like in a developing country, a sight that I will never be able to see in a small and developed Singapore.
No comments:
Post a Comment