My first days in railway service!

Ha Ha !

Was suddenly lifted back in memory to 1972 and my first line box at Shahabad. That Box I preserved. My wife just 20 yrs of age , found it very intriguing just as much I did, but I had more experience of seeing the seniors' boxes and , of course the trolley-man with his red turban in place, always gently guided.

From 1970 to 72 it used to be food from line boxes of my seniors which kept me on track!

What a wonderful tradition we had..the senior should always feed and take care of the junior!

My CE used to make sure that I get my cup of tea from his saloon! This tradition we followed throughout our service.

Yes, it is difficult not to get emotional and deeply miss my colleagues, innocent gang men I spent time with in railways.

I am truly grateful for this article

the HINDU, Open Page

the HINDU, Sunday OPEN PAGE, August 28, 2011

We went online much before the computers came

Mrs. Prema Ramakrishnan
The Hindu

The phrase “being online” is very much in vogue today in this age of computers. If you are at work on your computer, you are online. But

I can tell you it was very much part of the railway parlance at a time

when nobody had even heard of computers !

Our husbands were right ‘on track' when we used the phrase. That is

they were travelling on train on work. When people visited us or called

on the phone to speak to them, we said they were ‘on line !' In the railways, everybody understood.

It strikes me as funny how the more things change, the more they

are the same!

Another peculiar feature of this on line trip was the line-box —almost

a kind of lifeline, without which nobody set off on a tour. What kind of box was this, you might ask. What were its contents to make it so important? Your brain cells don't have to go into overdrive guessing.

One not only had to think out of the box but eat out of it, too! Yes, it

was the grocery box containing all the ingredients necessary for

one's very survival — a simple dal-chaval meal!

My husband's work entailed inspecting the tracks and bridges, camping

in the middle of nowhere. So the best insurance was to carry all that

was necessary for cooking breakfast and the two meals of the day,

besides the morning coffee or tea. To make sure that nothing was left

out, I had written out the list and pasted it on the kitchen wall, making

it easy for me to pack the box even at a moment's notice which was the case often. The officers travelled in a carriage which had the kitchen equipment, cutlery and crockery.

A new bride had come to visit us and we were chatting happily when

the phone rang from out of the blue. My husband called from office

to say that an accident had happened and that he was leaving right

away and I had to pack his clothes and line-box. The lady wanted to

stay back and take a look at what I was putting in the box!

I first packed his suitcase in the bedroom (for which I had a list in

the cupboard) while she waited in the living room. When I was done,

she followed me to the kitchen to see me working on the line-box.

I opened various tins and bottles on my kitchen shelf and filled

mustard, haldi, salt and masalas in small, Nescafe tins or honey

bottles. The bigger items like atta, oil, rice and dal went into milk

powder tins. All these and a cloth bag containing whatever

vegetables I had — mostly potatoes, onions, brinjal, ginger and

green chillies — went into the box. Sometimes, other officials

would be invited to share a meal. The plucky peons would find

some little market to pick up the vegetables if the stock ran out

and would manage to find the daily quota of milk and if it was

not available, use the milk powder that I had put in. Plastic had

not arrived.

Just when I looked up to check the list, the chap who was to

accompany my husband arrived to take away the things!

After he left, my friend shook her head and said, “Oh! my God!

Do I do this every time in an emergency? I'll go bonkers!”

I assured her. “You will become an expert very soon. We

Railway wives did it, so will you!”

She sat there looking as if the skies had fallen. I told her to cheer up.

As railway people, we had our moments of happiness —travelling,

seeing new places, having fairly comfortable houses to live in and nice neighbours. “When we count our blessings, we begin to see the rainbows.” I finished. She took heart, got up and made her way home

in a very reflective mood.

Now you know what going online meant for us. Living a life on line

from out of a line-box!

(The writer's email id is prema_ramakrishnan@hotmail.com)

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