Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Train rage
I go by train everyday from Dahisar to Churchgate. Those familiar with packed local trains, would already have seen the hordes of people who sit on the roof of the train. That there are so many deaths due to electrocution (If I recall right it's 18 kV DC) does'nt bother them the least. These groups are usually up to antics which are beyond the thin line separating bravado and foolishness. What with them ducking beneath the live electric line to go to the other side or hanging on the gutter with a foot tucked in above the window grill.
The place where this incident happened is a spot just before Andheri station. There is a row of slums on the East side of the track and there's a lame man who resides in one of those. He's usually seen in the morning with a group of people sitting in a small clearing outside their houses.
It so happened that the rooftop travellers been teasing and mocking this lame guy for some time, when the train usually halts at this spot due to a signal. It usually ended with both sides cursing each other and their female blood relations. Today for the first time, the lame guy came out with a stick in his hand and almost climbed up halfway towards the roof with clear intent to get revenge. When he could'nt manage he slithered down and before you know it, he picked up a huge stone and hurled it onto the people above. Then the entire group of people including ladies from the slums had come out and stones turned into missiles, endangering people in the compartment entrances below.
It was raw, animal vengeance. Set me thinking. What is the trigger for an intent to kill or maim brutally? Was this also due to class divide between the haves and the have-nots? Discontent surfacing and manifesting itself in violence? Or is it just a remnant of times long ago when fights for survival were the way forward. We pride ourselves for the fact that we are "human". Self-delusion?
