The other day while crossing the subway in one of the metro stations, I saw a man peeing 2 feet away from where people walked. Not a single person stopped to complain.
While traveling in a metro, I have found puke on the floor on 3 occasions now. Someone must have overeaten and felt unwell in the stuffed underground metro and have thrown up. While I sympathize with the person, I don’t understand how the person just got off the train and walked away without informing the authorities to ensure it was cleaned up. People made a face, but no one really did anything about it.
But what happened today surpasses everything. I was on the train when I saw a bunch of women and children get in the train. One of the women sat next to me, a toddler in her arms. A few minutes before the train started, much to the horror of everyone, the woman pulled down the child’s pants, instructing the child to pee right inside the metro compartment. The child obliged. Within minutes, there was a pool of water on the floor. The woman looked unperturbed.
People, myself included, watched in horror as the episode unfolded. I felt like retching. Unable to control myself, I confronted the woman. To which she argued about “What was I supposed to do? Get off the train? The child would have peed anyway”. People got some entertainment for the next few minutes, some even smirked and made a face. Worse, a man joined the argument, supporting the woman and alleging how I could behave so insensitively with a child. Still, not another person had spoken up. Finding support in numbers, the woman and the man (a stranger to the woman I think) kept shouting, arguing, and asking for sympathy from other passengers, asking them “How could this woman behave this way with a little child. The child had already done what she had to do, what was my fault in this”.
I haven’t gotten myself into a confrontation with strangers for a while now, and I don’t know what I could have done differently. First, it was a deliberate attempt by the mother, not an “accident” like she kept claiming to get sympathy. And to see something happening and people watching silently, having some drama and fun it in their otherwise boring life, I couldn’t imagine things have come down to this. Was I wrong in raising my voice? Could I be a silent spectator and watch as the woman instructed the child to pee right in the metro compartment? And a man, a rather creepy one indeed, telling others what an insensitive woman I was to misbehave with another woman and her child?
I wish I had taken a cab today. The reason I didn’t is because metro is fast, economic, and environmentally friendly. But is it conducive for everyone to let in people who have no civic sense? And for a society that reacts at the slightest provocation with slogans of “cholbe na cholbe na” (won’t do, won’t do), a city that has seen three bandhs in the last 3 months, for a society that is vocal and opinionated about everything from politics to football, I wonder if the people had lost their voices when I was the only one confronting the woman.
I won’t really conclude by saying something like “India has gone down to the dogs”, or “No improvement can happen in Kolkata”, and I insist you don’t do it either. Perhaps the metros should have public restrooms. Maybe such actions should be reported and heavily fined? Or maybe you could argue, “But what could the poor woman do? She cannot afford diapers, and she could not afford to get off the train”.
I don’t really know. All I can say is, I am deeply disappointed and disturbed.
sunshine
16 comments:
The root cause of this is public ownership. Government owns the metro and government doesn't care. If there were competing companies running competing metro services, the competition would serve as an incentive to attract passengers by improving quality(cleanliness included). At the very least, if one person owns the train, he would care about it. If Govt/Everyone owns it, no one cares. As simple as that.
well I feel, you did a wrong by confronting the lady.
This is the India of our modern times.
People are murdered in full public glare, or molested or raped but one is not supposed to open his/her mouth.
I personally experienced an incident like this, when in a very over crowded bus, someone puked. It was an OMG moment, I can never forget.
I sometimes think, if we cannot act civil in public, than how would we ever become a good society
Padmanabhan, do you think privatizing amenities will inculcate civic sense into people? It might solve the problem partially though, but what about the broader picture?
Tushar, even after 8 hours of the incident, you don't know how disgusted I feel. Every time I think of it, I want to throw up. More than the act itself, it was the imagination that someone can actually do something like that in public and get away with sympathies of fellow passengers !!!
definitely the lower strata cannot afford diapers, atleast they can be sane enough to have some civic sense which is so badly lacking. I mean is it asking for too much to maintain a decent sense of hygeine? I think we have a long way to go! Nothing can be done but to "grin and bear it"
Don't these Metro rails have a toilet in them?
It is indeed a sad situation and to witness the hardships people go through.
I'm glad you confronted the woman. Whether you "won" or not does not even matter. Next time she tries this, she will at least remember that this sort of behaviour is good. Good that you confronted her, and did so gracefully. As long as you know when to say "meh, fuck it" and move along, all is fine. You don't need to go confronting people all the time, and from the looks of it you aren't. So no biggie this time :)
As for the root cause, it's a combination of lack of education, poverty and poorly maintained metros and care-free attitude of the government.
IMHO, Consideration is not something that is easily enforceable. It is something that is imbibed at a young age.
Mr. Irrelevant
Was I wrong in raising my voice?
- .... in India ... YES
Could I be a silent spectator and watch as the woman instructed the child to pee right in the metro compartment?
- .... same answer again
unless the difference between the rich and poor in India does not narrow down, nothing can change.
unless the society as a whole try to narrow this economic difference themselves, nothing can change.
And it is very naive to imagine that a person with no education, no money should think in the same way as an educated, well off person.
I do not support what happened. But just for a moment with a cool head, put yourself in that woman's place. If you had no education, no money to buy diapers, and had a kid in the same situation as this one, then I doubt you would have done anything different.
So, the only solution that I can think of is to have "some" level of equality in society. Why are the Nordic countries, the best place to live ? The answer is good and balance society. And why do they have a balanced society ? Because all the basic requirements for a decent living are fulfilled and promised to each and every citizen.
I find it hard to imagine such kind of thing happening in such a big and diverse country like India even in the next 50-100 years.
With this my lord ... I rest my case in peace :)
P.S: I do have an alternate solution: Dictatorship !!
//do you think privatizing amenities will inculcate civic sense into people?
Nope. Will having punishment for crimes inculcate compassion into people? But it will reduce crime. People respond to incentives. A private party would have an incentive to keep the train clean and a hefty fine would create an incentive for people to behave.
It might solve the problem partially though, but what about the broader picture?
You mean the attitude of those people? Well, no idea...
Okay, deep breath.
Years back, I have seen "this" mom holding the child over empty tracks and asking him to pee, so this is a natural progression. I felt like confronting, but was too disgusted to do it. Glad you did, but I am not surprised by the reaction.
The basic problem is not that they dont care (well, they certainly dont), but the lack of awareness, or in better words, not seeing why this is bad. The people living above our flat in Kolkata throw trash from the balcony to the open trashbin 4 stories below, and mostly lacking an impeccable aim, end up scattering it all over, including some nasty stuff landing in our balcony. There are some guys living in the flat beside, who formed a rock band, and would practice their loud stuff all day. I was horrified, but I was told not to protest for the sake of neighborhood peace ("tora to chole jabi, erai bipod-e apod-e amader dekhbe"). Examples galore.
Its not about government ownership. And certainly not about metro. "We" are just too selfish. When you end up fighting with a million people for every damn thing, you lose that perspective. You see invisibly enemies everywhere, and you try to be assertive in your own stupid way.
And no, Kolkata metro does not have any toilets. That has been a real problem. But think of it, if there were any, would they be any more usable than the ones at Sealdah?
Urgh! The answer is simple- she has to get down at a station! What is more important - everybody's health or her time?
It's very depressing to know that people smirked and sounded interested but did not come forward to join your arguement supporting you. Very clever of her to play the 'child semtiment'...
I am still thinking what else could you have done, sadly I have no answers.
About increasing the ticket fare, making sure that a better strata of people alone travel, I must say, that's just wishful thinking... Hop over to my space and read the latest post, it explains what I am trying to say here...
I can well understand your plight.
You were absolutely right in saying something.
Atleast you DID something, better than all the APATHETIC people who have written comments and also who say nothing. If everybody cared, this would not happen!
it is a really really sad thing about our country- lack of civic sense. It does not matter which strata of society you belng to, everyboddoes it.
I have always gotten into fights with people- in buses, trains, post offices- wherever- because I spoke. And yes, people said the same things to me as to you.
But if my speaking up can make a bus 1/10 times less dirty, I will speak up. And I do- unfortunately, much to the consternation of the people with me, like my parents.
Who try to keep dragging me away as I bellow my heart out.
But I do it. All the time. Somebody has to care enough to do it.
Well, I am glad you said something. I believe if even one person speaks about it, someone might take notice and may be think twice before doing any such thing later.
I had scolded one girl for buying samosas from someone in the train and throwing the remaining pieces and the paper it came in through the window. Her answer was "Where else can I throw it?" We really need to have trash cans inside the trains in first place in order for such people to not have these excuses.
Complete lack of civil sense is something we as a community need to develop, but I think not speaking about it is never going to help, even though we know they do not care.
the post is inspiring.
You have done exactly what I would have done or normally do these days.
Recently while waiting for my turn at a hospital, I saw a guy in 22-25 age group sitting opposite me, peeling big chunks of dead skin from his feet which were healed after some ailment. Within no time the carpet was full of his waste and the scene was horrible to watch. I felt like puking then & there. I kept watching in dismay but he didn't raise his head, too busy I guess.
All others were watching too but no one said anything.
At last I had to open my mouth. It was a public place and not his bedroom. In turn, he questioned me, "tumko kya takleef hai?".
The arguments & voices raised and some staff came to see what the matter was. I made sure that he gets a handful of doze from staff & the doctor.
2 days back at Churchgate station I saw a man spitting just under a huge hoarding which said "Do not spit". I stopped him, showed him the board and smiled... w/o uttering a word. Poor guy... felt awkward when he saw other passengers also noticed & smiled. I think the message was conveyed.
I do not know how we can improve or educate ppl when our educated class also doesn't feel anything from peeing on roadside. They do not wait or look for a urinal, they think it's their birthright to pee like that.
When I see college going, smart English speaking, elite city students eating candy and w/o even looking for a trash-can throw the wrapper, I feel pain. I have seen ppl sitting in Merc throwing empty ice-cream cups on the roads.
Do you think they gonna learn anything?
No, never.
Then how can we blame the so called poor or uneducated class?
These civic sense has to be instilled right from the beginning and has to start from home at root level. Or ppl like us should do what we are doing.
Nice post, anyway. Spoke my mind. :-)
my sympathies wid u :(
This is why I hate to travel..
yes i havent had the guts to confront anyone yet :(, am glad u did!
hopefully she remmebers it next time!!
No answers to how we can solve this issue!
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