Opinion | Columnists
Nameless and faceless
The chaotic scenes at an Indian railway station are deeply ingrained in the memories of all of us who have used this means of transport. What strikes one time and again is the sheer density of the crowds, with almost every passenger seen off by a number of relatives and friends.
- By Vanaja Rao, Stone Editor
- Published: 23:35 December 4, 2008
The chaotic scenes at an Indian railway station are deeply ingrained in the memories of all of us who have used this means of transport. What strikes one time and again is the sheer density of the crowds, with almost every passenger seen off by a number of relatives and friends. It is rare for someone to undertake this journey without a send-off party. Jostling to make one's way through this sea of humanity is a daunting task, with one usually carried along with the tide, hopefully pointed in the right direction.
Considering this is the normal scenario, the terrorist attack at the Chatrapati Shivaji railway terminus in Mumbai must have resulted in sheer chaos. Here people from all walks of life cross paths. The scenes of the aftermath of the massacre bore mute testimony to the innocent lives lost: People of humble origin, with their belongings comprising goods tied up in bundles, trying to outpace their attackers across platforms strewn with discarded shoes.
There has been much criticism of the fact that television channels concentrated on the mayhem at the Taj and Oberoi hotels and only occasionally crossed over to the siege of Nariman House. Needless to say, all the victims of this horrific tragedy must be mourned, but not some at the expense of others, who seem to have slipped beneath the radar of public attention. But it is the next of kin of this section of the population that will find it the hardest to pick up the pieces and get on with the business of living. No insurance pay-outs, no gratuity, no life savings that they can dip into. They are the ones who had been living a hand-to-mouth existence anyway and their loss will mean a family that starves for want of a breadwinner.
The relative of one such victim has recounted his despair in the face of insurmountable financial problems only compounded by the loss of loved ones. He speaks of the shame of not having the money to pay for the burial of the five members of his family that he lost. But he also speaks of his gratitude to his neighbours in the run-down shantytown where he lives, those who came to his rescue, pitching in with the little they had to ensure that his loved ones were given a decent burial - something he could not afford.
His voice chokes with the humiliation of having to admit this but he is still numb with grief. This exposure of his dire straits makes the viewer feel his anguish, well aware that this is no ploy for sympathy but a simple outpouring of a grief-stricken heart.
Then there's the story of the cleaner, recounted in Gulf News, whose only mistake was being hospitable to a stranger. The wife of the man gunned down in cold blood on his own doorstep states a simple truth: "In our culture, we do not turn away anyone who comes to the door, regardless of the time of day." And then the shocking disclosure that his family will probably not receive any compensation from the institution where he worked, simply because he did not die in the course of duty or on its premises.
Voices
Even as news presenters cry themselves hoarse asking, 'Where do we go from here?', "How can Mumbai heal?", the voices I hear in my head are of those who lived under straitened circumstances, for whom the cost of a railway ticket was far beyond their reach and a luxury to be indulged in only when absolutely necessary. So, their trip to the railway terminus to undertake a journey that day represented the investment of a huge part of their meagre salaries, something that they must have viewed as a compulsion or duty they could not ignore.
And as the haunting images are thrown up again and again on TV screens, I pay silent tribute to those nameless, faceless victims of evil incarnate.
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