Brian Mendonça
The romance of the railways today stands diminished as we
witness the slow ‘death’ of the coolie or porter. In its heyday no less than
Amitabh Bachchan starred as one in the Bollywood film Coolie (1983).
Time was when a railway journey would be impossible
without encountering the coolie. The coolie, a man distinctive in his red kurta
top and usually white pajamas, would be the one to happily lighten your load
and take your luggage to the train or reach it to your waiting vehicle upon arriving at your destination.
A coolie was the man to be relied on in the amorphous,
impersonal, crowded and often chaotic Indian railway station. For a
consideration he could be trusted to weave his way through the interminable throng,
while you would be content to follow like a lap dog behind him.
At the crowded CST station, Mumbai we would descend by the
local train from Navi /Mumbai and frenetically search for a coolie to take our
luggage to platform number 9 where the 12133 Mangalore Express would leave for
Margao station at 10 p.m. Even if the luggage was manageable we would want a
coolie with us to ensure that in those precious minutes we made the correct
switch of platforms and had the blessings of the resident coolie.
When it came to taking the Goa Express from Pune to Goa
recently, we patiently waited outside the main entrance for the platform to be
announced on the indicator board. With just a few minutes to go for the
scheduled departure of the train at 4.50 p.m. (late by 20 minutes) and no
indication of which platform the train was arriving, I anxiously asked several
coolies nearby which platform the Goa Express would arrive. All said with
certainty ‘Teen’ i.e. ‘3.’
With our child running high fever and several articles of
luggage in tow I felt the services of a coolie were a must. Accordingly I
engaged one but he was reluctant to commit himself and take the luggage until
the platform was announced on the indicator board. When the platform was
finally announced, with precious little time to spare, the coolie was nowhere
to be seen!
It was an epic task to haul all the luggage between us
across the over bridge down to platform 3. Without a coolie and in
stampede-like conditions we didn’t have a hope in hell. But we managed somehow
and the train came in even later than expected.
Now with the nifty new strolleys and the array of soft
luggage, travellers prefer to trail their luggage. Veteran travellers prefer to
travel light thus dispensing with the services of the coolie. At Vasco station
there are very few coolies. The straggling few are old and wizened and are
partial to a drink between trains. When I reached a group to the station, there
was a squabble among two coolies to carry the luggage. I favoured the older
coolie as he pounced on the luggage first.
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Published in Gomantak Times, Weekender, St. Inez, Goa in the weekly column 'On My Mind' on Sunday, 11 October 2015. Pix of coolie looking for work at Haridwar station, India (2012), courtesy ghummakkad(dot)wordpress.com.
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