Two Railways Poem by santhana louis

Sealdah to Bashirhat/Hasnabad
morning 7.40 EMU local and in every shuttles
I mean, a cheap 2 Hrs. journey by train
you may wonder - ‘yes, what's fun'

it touches Dum Dum and up to Barasat,
one may not find much difference;
Bashirhat is close to porous Eastern border
highly populous, due to past refugees influx

small traders will fill the train
just as grass-hoppers' holocaust
no one objects, it has become a tradition
to let them live the ‘on the running train'

now, you will realize, the crowd is chocking full
salesmen will be freely moving around
every things is available on train, sabji,
chai, nasta, mithai, roti, puri, muri, katchori

cell, watches, cds, maps, textile, insurance, ‘jadi butti',
even orders taken and delivery at next halt
entire market is at your command, travelling alongside
please don't be annoyed -testimony of abject poverty, all around.

once, in the Ranaghat line, with memory-loaded Yamaha,
a small music troupe boarded with Hi- fi and battery
two hours non-stop Hindi, Bangla numbers - live show,
in no other Railway, such value additions for II class coaches

the plight of the local people would move anyone to tears
struggling to fight hunger in honest & dignified manner
travel in any direction - Krishnagar, Katwa, Gede, Naihati, Kalyani
Baruipur, Canning, Kakdwip, Habra, Bangaon, Budge Budge or Dankuni

story remains the same - the dense rail network,
is the real lifeline for hapless masses.


All old metro, suburban stations, are shabby and encroached
trading thriving on every inch of the platforms & overhead bridges

any prudent man from this cluster
when travelling southwards or to Mumbai or elsewhere
will hold the local Zonal Railways as ruthless & heartless
to the common mans' causes

by keeping the station premises so clean and vacant…….
AND NOT
just in the way, their Kolkata railways accommodates…..


Louis Santhana