A Journal of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya

established a relation with me.’
‘I was amazed. Even the station master
of Quetta did not appear to be so bad
to me now. His face was hard; his eyes
were cold. They were scary. But the same
eyes now looked moist to me. The same
face looked relaxed. When I met him he
said laughing, “Raka Masih, you must be
very bored! From tomorrow, your duty
begins. There will be a load of just eight
wagons. There is an acclivity ahead. The
engine cannot pull more than those many
wagons. You have to drive the goods train
at a slow speed. The tracks are old. If
there is a derailment, it will be a bigger
problem. Even the passenger trains have
to be driven at a slow speed. It is a
meter gauge track. The driver has to be
very careful’’.’
‘I will be very careful, sir,’ I said.
‘Definitely. Safety is not merely a
word; it is a part of the whole
system.’ The station master said.
‘Yes sir,’ I only said.
‘With the engine there is also a water
tanker. There are two small villages on
the way. People there are in dire need
of water. The shortage of water makes
people weep. The stations are small, so
you will get a run through signal. But
if you want, you can stop the train there
for one or two minutes. The rule says
that you have to take the load without
stopping. But for humanitarian reasons,
you can stop your goods train. The people
there are extremely poor and illiterate.
And on top of it, nature is hard on them.’
‘I will keep that in mind, sir,’ I said.
‘Raka Masih, it is not an order, but
simply a request.’
‘Sir, I’ll consider it an order for the
sake of humanity.’
‘Thank you. Though some drivers do
not stop their freight trains and their water
tanker comes back full. Their attitude is
really strange.’
‘I respect you sentiments, sir.’
‘Thank you. I find that your intentions
are good,’ the station master said.
‘Did you start the next day with a
load of eight wagons?’ someone asked.
‘Not eight, but only seven wagons.
It was a goods train, a goods train with
seven wagons. There were wooden sleepers
in all the seven wagons. At the end of
it there was the guard’s break van. The
guard’s name was Ramlal. He explained
to me that those people there were hungry,
savage and uncivilized. They were ready
to die for water. To avoid that problem
the easiest thing would be to run through
those stations. We are supposed to reach
the load. We are not there to supply water
to the villages.’
‘It was my first day. I kissed my cross
88 :: January-March 2012