I am a singer in Indian Railways & survive on passenger’s largesse. I was born in a poor family which didn’t have a single penny as its savings. I was brought up in trains and Railway Stations. In my childhood my mother told me that this was the consequence of the misdeeds done by me in my previous birth. I don’t know where she is & where the rest of my family members are. As far as I remember I had three siblings & a father who was always drunk. I don’t know when I was born & what my age is. My companions tell me that I am at least 16.
As the means of satisfying my hunger I had the options to sweep the train compartments or to sing in it. I couldn’t polish shoes or sell tea & other stuff because all these required some money to start with & I didn’t had any. I chose to sing because I had heard a lot of songs. Since the day I started I have no self respect. Most of the people scold me & tell me to move forward, some give me a rupee or two.
On that night as usual I was tired up singing whole day & received only 14 rupees till then. It was 7:30 in the evening & I was on Habibganj Railway Station. The Habibganj-Kurla Express was about to leave. I was uncertain whether to catch it or not. At last I decided to go with it & try my songs in front of its passengers. In the train I kept moving one coach to other sang songs & asked for money. I was about to enter an A.C coach when it was 10:30. Everybody in the coach was preparing his bed except a group of friends who were chatting loudly & were in no mood to sleep.
When I reached nearer to them I found that they were enjoying whisky. Most of them were already empowered by their pegs. I started singing & they all stared at me. I again expected a move forward gesture but to my surprise one of them asked me to sing some good song. I sat on the floor & started. They made a peg for me & I drank it. They all admired my song & demanded more. I sang & they made more pegs.
The scene continued till 12:00 when the T.C came & asked about what was happening. They told him that they were 25 year old college friends who met for an alumni get together at
Yaari hai eemaan mera yaar meri zindagi……
Ae maalik tere bande hum…….
Mere angane mein tumhara kya kaam hai........
Tum to thehere pardesi saath kya nibhaoge..........
Musaafir hu yaaro. Na ghar hai naa thikaana……
And lot many songs….
They also had the food packed with them. They gave it to me & asked not to shy. First time in my life I had my hunger satisfied. And the food was delicious. They didn’t sleep the whole night & all sang with me. We played lots of games. In the end they all collected 10-10 rupees each & gave me a total of Rs.110 which was equivalent to my five day begs.
At Kalyan station I was about to leave to catch my next target train. It was 7 in the morning. They all bid farewell to me & I asked what was the name of the whisky. They told me that it was “Signature”. I asked them to give me the empty bottles so that I can sell them somewhere. That night will be remembered by each one of them & I was grateful to be a part of it. I do not remember that night because of the money, whisky or food that they offered me. I remember it because of the dignity that they gave me. But the fact remains that I am a singer not at Bollywood but at Indian Railways.
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