Hobby and Job

It was about thirty years ago, I was in service and had to travel to BagDogra a place in northeastern India. I was then residing in Kanpur, an industrial town in Uttar Pradesh, India. Most of my journeys were on account of Official duty and short notice. It was one lucky journey wherein I could get a reservation for my train travel. Most of the journeys were unreserved and were many times painful. It was fortunately in October and the weather was pleasant. Travels in summer in this part of the country are demanding. One of my colleagues had joined me in the journey. The train would reach around midday at Kanpur station. The travel time was around 20 Hrs. The train reached the station an hour late, we somehow managed to get into the compartment. The whole station was full of people and all the compartments were full. Many people were standing in the pathways, the births which could seat three were packed with five or six people. Many were sitting on the top berths. The whole train in plain words was overloaded. Although we entered the compartment we could reach our designated berths only after reaching the next station after the TTE( Train Ticket Examiner) came. We settled into our berths. We were carrying our food. We had our lunch and wanted to stretch out a bit. However, there was no room as many other people were also sitting. TTE was not able to move them. It was very common during the day, only at night one could get to sleep and to our surprise many times there would be somebody sitting near your feet. You had to adjust. Those were the days. Though it was first class coupe ( which I believe is now discontinued.) with accommodation for four about ten people were there. Opposite us, a young boy and a girl of Foreign origin were sitting.

About three hours into the journey after crossing Allahabad, most other people moved out leaving the coupe to the four legal occupants. I could see the relief in the eyes of the foreigners. We got to introduce each other and started talking. Both were from the Netherlands. They were in love and had chosen to travel through India for about two months. The boy was studying Civil Engineering and the girl pursuing English literature. Both were good at conversing in English and did not show any reservations or inhibitions. They accounted for details of how they met, their likes and dislikes etc. They were very happy that they chose India for their trip. They had been to Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur and Agra and now were headed to Guwahati.

I was curious to know about the financing for the trip. The boy and girl both were staying away from their parents. They were supported by scholarships and the payments from odd jobs they undertook. On prodding the boy about how they financed, the boy said that he would clean the automobiles in a garage on Saturdays and Sundays. The amount earned over the year he had saved and that is what he is using for the trip. The girl used to work as a clerk in the library on weekends and on holidays and the earnings she had saved for this trip. Each of them had put in about 800 Pounds. They have barely met the total requirements and were on a string budget.

As the train picked pace and night arrived, our discussions also ended and all of us went to sleep. I could not somehow sleep. All along I was wondering about the economic differences between the developed and developing/undeveloped countries. In our country, people are engaged in garages for cleaning the vehicles and they do it day in and day out even without holidays, yet they barely meet their needs from their earnings, let alone saving and travel abroad.

Whenever I had taken my scooter to the service centre, much to my displeasure I had seen urchins cleaning the vehicle. Many times I had argued with the owner. He will patiently listen and then tell me "Sir, if I don't employ them there are two things that will happen. One, They will starve. Two they will become street rogues fighting, stealing etc.,. Life is cruel sir, reality and wishes are like zenith and nadir."

Even I wondered, with a decent salary drawn from a PSU how many times have I ventured into a trip. Probably in my lifetime, I won't be able to see all that this couple would be seeing with their savings. Will we ever be able to live like these people? Will the Rupee ever be equal to Pound or Dollar? Will the inequalities ever vanish? My thoughts faded as I drifted into sleep.