Hijda and a Train Journey
September 21 2008
Amritsar Jn
A great weekend in Amritsar was coming to an end. We had left Gurgaon on friday evening, took the Chhattisgarh Express from Nizamuddin station and reached Amritsar the next morning. We visited the famous Golden Temple, Durgiana Temple, Wagha border and saw the the flag ceremony. The next morning we again went to the Golden Temple, had food in the langaar, bought some souvenirs; a Kirpan, and then visited the Jallianwala Bagh before starting our return journey to Delhi।
Once again we were sitting in the same Chhattisgarh Express. It was only 4:00 PM and the departure time was 04:15. we started playing cards to pass time. This 'we' consisted of myself, Rahul, Gokul and Kishore. Since the train was starting from Amritsar Jn, it was almost empty. In our compartment we were the only passengers. We were enjoying the game when we heard the loud 'clapping' sound!
All of us would have clapped or at least heard the clapping sound many times in our life. And there won't be anyone amongst us who don't like to hear an applause. We would have applauded in sheer joy or to appreciate others. But, the same sound, when it comes somewhere near you in the Indian Railways, many of us get a worried look. It could mean only one thing - a member of the 'third gender' is somewhere near you!
I don't have anything against them in general. But when they start taking advantage of their ... (well what to say.. I hope you know what I mean) and demand money from me, I hate them. Why should I give money? They can do some work and earn it. What they are doing is another form of beggary. I don't give money to a beggar, then why should I give them...?
However, I have read about the discrimination that these people have to face everyday. The lack of decent employment opportunities, education and health force them to begging and even prostitution. What else can they do...?
Since I have encountered them many times while I was in Mumbai and during many train journeys, I know how to handle them. If you want to save yourself from any sort of embarrassment, give them a 5 rupee note or coin, they'll be on their way! And if you don't want to become poorer by 5 RS, then be bold and tell them 'Sorry'. (but be ready for an argument and to face anything!)
Coming back to the story, within a few minutes the person appeared in our compartment and said...
"Aye Rajaaa.. chal paisa de..." (something similar to "Hey handsome... give me money")
Gokul and Kishore were the sitting near the window so they did not have any problem. Myself and Rahul were the unfortunate ones. We pretended to be unaware of the person and continued our game.
Then she poked on my shoulder and said... "Aye Hero.. mein thum se hi baat kar raha hoon...Chal paisa de" ("I am talking to your only hero, give me some money")
I looked up and said "Jaayiye, idar kuch nahi milega..." (Go away, you wont get anything from here)
She asked, "khyun hero... Tere mooch toh Anil Kapoor ke tara diktha hey... lekin tere dil acha nahi hey. Thum se mein paise nahi loongi.. Mujhe woh hero dega..." (Why hero, you look like a film star, yet your heart is not good.. Now I dont want your money.. he will give me the money)
She shifted her attention to Kishore. She started telling him about an incident about someone treating her very badly when he could have just told her "sorry...no money". She continued about her sad situation to Kishore who just stared at her wondering "what the hell is she saying, I dont even know HINDI!"
At last I got up and took a 5 Rs coin from my pocket and gave it to her. She took it happily and kept her hand on my head and said her usual blessing note and left. After she left, we discussed about such people and their status in our society and our encounter with them. Soon we forgot about her and once again we were busy with our game.
After some time, a policeman (a sikh) came into the compartment and looked at us and then went forward. He came back in 2 minutes and asked..
"where are u going?"
I said "Delhi"
"What were you doing in Amritsar?"
someone said "we came for a weekend trip and now we are going back now"
Then he said "I need to check your luggage... take out your bags.." We were happy to obey since we did not have anything to worry. He opened all the bags and pulled out everything one by one. He checked everything thoroughly, even told Others to remove their shoes and asked to turn it over. The whole place was a mess, but no one complained.
Actually we were happy that nowadays policemen were doing their jobs properly and if they continued like this, there wont be blasts all over the country. We understood that he would be under pressure from the top.
He asked a few more question and we answered them and even showed our IDs. He kept on looking above the upper berth and under the seats.
I was a bit alarmed that we didn't check for anything under the berth before settling on our seats! Anyways there was nothing dangerous lying there and we started packing our things one by one. Then, he saw the small Kirpan.
"Yeh khya hey...?" (What is this?)
I explained that its just a Kirpan, a small gift for my friend in office. I hoped that, being a Sikh he would understand. He took the knife from my hand and examined it. Wrapped it again and sat down.
"Mein ne pehale hi poocha tha na..? kuch galat saaaman toh nahi hey na?" (I asked you earlier itself whether you are not carrying anything illegal right?)
"Sir ji yeah galat samaan thodi hey? (Sir.. it is not anything illegal) Its just a smal Kirpan! We bought it from the Golden Temple as a small souvenir..."
"You are not supposed to take this with you!"
I was shocked. "Khyaa sir ji.. Amritsar mein sab ke paas Kirpan hey.. (Why is it sir? Everyone in Amritsar carries a Kirpan) Why shouldn't we keep it inside our bag. we are not even keeping it in our pocket. What harm is it going to do inside the bag?"
He kept on saying "You shouldn't have done it. You should not carry such things while traveling in train..."
Then someone among us said "people carry small pen knives for cutting fruits while traveling.. Is it also wrong?"
He didn't say anything. He asked "do you have any receipt for this..?"
I was getting a bit irritated and said "sir ji Gurudwara ke saamne, road side dukhan waala parchi dega khya?" (How can you expect a road side vendor near the Gurudwara to give us reciept for this?)
He again repeated "you are not supposed to carry it with you..."
I was almost heartbroken to see the Kirpan taken away from us in the last moment. Then as a last try I tried to explain..
"Sir ji, we came all the way from Delhi to see your place, was saw the Golden Temple and everything and while returning as memento we bought this from your place. Unfortunately we did not get any receipt for this and we are not going to misuse this in any way... Please allow us to take it to our home..."
Then he said.. "even if I allow, some other officer might catch you and you will be in trouble.."
Then I said "Ok sir.. take it.. you take it with you.. we consider we did not have the luck to have this"
He was not moving from there. He said that he cannot take it with him. I asked him to tell us what to do then.
"Chalo .. ab thume patha hoga khyaa karna hey... Jaldi kuch de do..." (Ok. You know what you should do... Give it soon whatever it is!)
$%#%@@#$%^$%^%$^ - This was what I wanted to call him at that moment. Just 2 days back the whole nation saluted the hero Mohan Chand Sharma who sacrificed his life fighting against terrorists. And here this bugger....!
All the searching, all the mess he created.. everything was for making some out of us! Such a crook!
No more 'sir ji' for this bugger!
"Aap bolo..." (you tell me)
"Arey thume patha hey... jaldi jaldi kuch de do. Aur ye sab andar daalo.." (You know how much to give.. make it quick.. and put all of this inside); He was pointing at the dresses lying around.
I took out a 50 Rs and kept it in his hand. He was looking somewhere else ... but the length and breadth of the note didn't match his expectation. He looked down and saw it was only 50!
"Yeah khya hey? 50....??? (whats this? 50?)
200/- se kam mein letha hi nahi hoon... Jaldi karo, jaldi karo..." (I dont take anything lesser than 200.. Come on. quick.. quick)
200........????????
"I bought it for 100 Rs. And you are asking for 200? Are you kidding? You do one thing.. you keep it with yourself..."
The train started moving, I looked sadly at the Kirpan...
"Chalo jo bhi hey... lekin 50 se kuch nahi hoga.." (whatever.. but just this 50 wont do)
Once again I looked at the Kirpan, I couldn't think of losing it in this last moment. Once again I opened my purse. Luckily, only a 50 Rs was visible to him and he said.. "chalo de de.." (Ok.. give it) The bugger took it....., gave back the Kirpan and left.
For some time we didn't say anything...
Kishore didn't understand most of the conversation because he didn't know HINDI!
Gokul and Rahul were furious!!
And I didn't know what to think!!!
Rahul was explaining what had happened to Kishore. They started cursing the policeman and their whole department. I was still wondering why I gave him the money. Actually everything happened in just 5 or 6 minutes and the train was leaving and I didn't want to lose the Kirpan.
I realized that till the moment I gave him the money there was no 'galat saaman' with us. But now I felt like I was smuggling some illegal weapon in Chhattisgarh Express!
The others were still cursing the policeman. I was seriously wondering now who was the real 'HIJDA'?
The one who came in VIOLET sari and YELLOW blouse and said "Aye Rajaaa.. chal paisa de..."
or the one who came in Khaki "... thume patha hoga khyaa karna hey... Jaldi kuch de do..."
Or was it me...?
Amritsar Jn
A great weekend in Amritsar was coming to an end. We had left Gurgaon on friday evening, took the Chhattisgarh Express from Nizamuddin station and reached Amritsar the next morning. We visited the famous Golden Temple, Durgiana Temple, Wagha border and saw the the flag ceremony. The next morning we again went to the Golden Temple, had food in the langaar, bought some souvenirs; a Kirpan, and then visited the Jallianwala Bagh before starting our return journey to Delhi।
Once again we were sitting in the same Chhattisgarh Express. It was only 4:00 PM and the departure time was 04:15. we started playing cards to pass time. This 'we' consisted of myself, Rahul, Gokul and Kishore. Since the train was starting from Amritsar Jn, it was almost empty. In our compartment we were the only passengers. We were enjoying the game when we heard the loud 'clapping' sound!
All of us would have clapped or at least heard the clapping sound many times in our life. And there won't be anyone amongst us who don't like to hear an applause. We would have applauded in sheer joy or to appreciate others. But, the same sound, when it comes somewhere near you in the Indian Railways, many of us get a worried look. It could mean only one thing - a member of the 'third gender' is somewhere near you!
I don't have anything against them in general. But when they start taking advantage of their ... (well what to say.. I hope you know what I mean) and demand money from me, I hate them. Why should I give money? They can do some work and earn it. What they are doing is another form of beggary. I don't give money to a beggar, then why should I give them...?
However, I have read about the discrimination that these people have to face everyday. The lack of decent employment opportunities, education and health force them to begging and even prostitution. What else can they do...?
Since I have encountered them many times while I was in Mumbai and during many train journeys, I know how to handle them. If you want to save yourself from any sort of embarrassment, give them a 5 rupee note or coin, they'll be on their way! And if you don't want to become poorer by 5 RS, then be bold and tell them 'Sorry'. (but be ready for an argument and to face anything!)
Coming back to the story, within a few minutes the person appeared in our compartment and said...
"Aye Rajaaa.. chal paisa de..." (something similar to "Hey handsome... give me money")
Gokul and Kishore were the sitting near the window so they did not have any problem. Myself and Rahul were the unfortunate ones. We pretended to be unaware of the person and continued our game.
Then she poked on my shoulder and said... "Aye Hero.. mein thum se hi baat kar raha hoon...Chal paisa de" ("I am talking to your only hero, give me some money")
I looked up and said "Jaayiye, idar kuch nahi milega..." (Go away, you wont get anything from here)
She asked, "khyun hero... Tere mooch toh Anil Kapoor ke tara diktha hey... lekin tere dil acha nahi hey. Thum se mein paise nahi loongi.. Mujhe woh hero dega..." (Why hero, you look like a film star, yet your heart is not good.. Now I dont want your money.. he will give me the money)
She shifted her attention to Kishore. She started telling him about an incident about someone treating her very badly when he could have just told her "sorry...no money". She continued about her sad situation to Kishore who just stared at her wondering "what the hell is she saying, I dont even know HINDI!"
At last I got up and took a 5 Rs coin from my pocket and gave it to her. She took it happily and kept her hand on my head and said her usual blessing note and left. After she left, we discussed about such people and their status in our society and our encounter with them. Soon we forgot about her and once again we were busy with our game.
After some time, a policeman (a sikh) came into the compartment and looked at us and then went forward. He came back in 2 minutes and asked..
"where are u going?"
I said "Delhi"
"What were you doing in Amritsar?"
someone said "we came for a weekend trip and now we are going back now"
Then he said "I need to check your luggage... take out your bags.." We were happy to obey since we did not have anything to worry. He opened all the bags and pulled out everything one by one. He checked everything thoroughly, even told Others to remove their shoes and asked to turn it over. The whole place was a mess, but no one complained.
Actually we were happy that nowadays policemen were doing their jobs properly and if they continued like this, there wont be blasts all over the country. We understood that he would be under pressure from the top.
He asked a few more question and we answered them and even showed our IDs. He kept on looking above the upper berth and under the seats.
I was a bit alarmed that we didn't check for anything under the berth before settling on our seats! Anyways there was nothing dangerous lying there and we started packing our things one by one. Then, he saw the small Kirpan.
"Yeh khya hey...?" (What is this?)
I explained that its just a Kirpan, a small gift for my friend in office. I hoped that, being a Sikh he would understand. He took the knife from my hand and examined it. Wrapped it again and sat down.
"Mein ne pehale hi poocha tha na..? kuch galat saaaman toh nahi hey na?" (I asked you earlier itself whether you are not carrying anything illegal right?)
"Sir ji yeah galat samaan thodi hey? (Sir.. it is not anything illegal) Its just a smal Kirpan! We bought it from the Golden Temple as a small souvenir..."
"You are not supposed to take this with you!"
I was shocked. "Khyaa sir ji.. Amritsar mein sab ke paas Kirpan hey.. (Why is it sir? Everyone in Amritsar carries a Kirpan) Why shouldn't we keep it inside our bag. we are not even keeping it in our pocket. What harm is it going to do inside the bag?"
He kept on saying "You shouldn't have done it. You should not carry such things while traveling in train..."
Then someone among us said "people carry small pen knives for cutting fruits while traveling.. Is it also wrong?"
He didn't say anything. He asked "do you have any receipt for this..?"
I was getting a bit irritated and said "sir ji Gurudwara ke saamne, road side dukhan waala parchi dega khya?" (How can you expect a road side vendor near the Gurudwara to give us reciept for this?)
He again repeated "you are not supposed to carry it with you..."
I was almost heartbroken to see the Kirpan taken away from us in the last moment. Then as a last try I tried to explain..
"Sir ji, we came all the way from Delhi to see your place, was saw the Golden Temple and everything and while returning as memento we bought this from your place. Unfortunately we did not get any receipt for this and we are not going to misuse this in any way... Please allow us to take it to our home..."
Then he said.. "even if I allow, some other officer might catch you and you will be in trouble.."
Then I said "Ok sir.. take it.. you take it with you.. we consider we did not have the luck to have this"
He was not moving from there. He said that he cannot take it with him. I asked him to tell us what to do then.
"Chalo .. ab thume patha hoga khyaa karna hey... Jaldi kuch de do..." (Ok. You know what you should do... Give it soon whatever it is!)
$%#%@@#$%^$%^%$^ - This was what I wanted to call him at that moment. Just 2 days back the whole nation saluted the hero Mohan Chand Sharma who sacrificed his life fighting against terrorists. And here this bugger....!
All the searching, all the mess he created.. everything was for making some out of us! Such a crook!
No more 'sir ji' for this bugger!
"Aap bolo..." (you tell me)
"Arey thume patha hey... jaldi jaldi kuch de do. Aur ye sab andar daalo.." (You know how much to give.. make it quick.. and put all of this inside); He was pointing at the dresses lying around.
I took out a 50 Rs and kept it in his hand. He was looking somewhere else ... but the length and breadth of the note didn't match his expectation. He looked down and saw it was only 50!
"Yeah khya hey? 50....??? (whats this? 50?)
200/- se kam mein letha hi nahi hoon... Jaldi karo, jaldi karo..." (I dont take anything lesser than 200.. Come on. quick.. quick)
200........????????
"I bought it for 100 Rs. And you are asking for 200? Are you kidding? You do one thing.. you keep it with yourself..."
The train started moving, I looked sadly at the Kirpan...
"Chalo jo bhi hey... lekin 50 se kuch nahi hoga.." (whatever.. but just this 50 wont do)
Once again I looked at the Kirpan, I couldn't think of losing it in this last moment. Once again I opened my purse. Luckily, only a 50 Rs was visible to him and he said.. "chalo de de.." (Ok.. give it) The bugger took it....., gave back the Kirpan and left.
For some time we didn't say anything...
Kishore didn't understand most of the conversation because he didn't know HINDI!
Gokul and Rahul were furious!!
And I didn't know what to think!!!
Rahul was explaining what had happened to Kishore. They started cursing the policeman and their whole department. I was still wondering why I gave him the money. Actually everything happened in just 5 or 6 minutes and the train was leaving and I didn't want to lose the Kirpan.
I realized that till the moment I gave him the money there was no 'galat saaman' with us. But now I felt like I was smuggling some illegal weapon in Chhattisgarh Express!
The others were still cursing the policeman. I was seriously wondering now who was the real 'HIJDA'?
The one who came in VIOLET sari and YELLOW blouse and said "Aye Rajaaa.. chal paisa de..."
or the one who came in Khaki "... thume patha hoga khyaa karna hey... Jaldi kuch de do..."
Or was it me...?
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