Uparwala Hai na - There is God

Railway stations and the local trains evoke strange emotions. The former represents space and the latter, both space and time. Every visit to the railway stations is unique. Every journey in a local train is unique. I have noticed people waiting for Godot at railway stations. I have found people on unending sojourn on the local trains. I meet them and I am privileged to speak to them. All of them are very special.

After a long day, I was keen to return home and take rest. As soon as I got down from the local train I noticed three small boys; the eldest boy was struggling to lift a huge bag and two smaller boys equally struggled to put the bag on the shoulder of the eldest boy. I saw them getting down from one of the coaches of the CBY-ANND local train [CBY is station code of Khambhat that was previously called Cambay and ANND is station code of Anand]. I followed them. The boy carrying huge bag walked for 20-30 steps and put the bag on the floor of the verandah of the railway station.

"Are you coming from CBY?"

"Yes," said one of the smaller boys. The older boy looked at me. He was not ready for my question.

"Do you go to CBY to collect garbage?" [Plastic in Gujarati is called ramakdo and garbage is bhangar]

"Yes," said the older boy this time.

"Where all do you go?"

"Petlad and Nadidad," he said.

"Where do you live?"

"Here," he said and added "not on station. On the other side of the station." The other side of the station is a big slum and poorest of the poor of the city live there.

"Are you brothers or cousins?"

"No, we are not relatives. We are friends," said the older boy. He was continuously spitting saliva generated by flavoured betel nut chewing. [In India flavoured betel nut has various forms. The popular form is called pan masala or gutka.]

"We will now pick garbage here," said one of the two younger boys.

"Is it not late?" I said. It was 7:30 PM.

"No, we pick garbage till 3 AM," the small boy said and added "We will go to Nadiad, Mehmdabad, and Ahmedabad."

"Tonight !," I was surprised.

"Yes," he said.

"You work entire night. When do you sleep?" I asked.

"We start working at 12 Noon," the older boy said.

The younger boy murmured, "I am feeling hungry."

"Where would you eat?"

"A vehicle comes to distribute food," he said. Large number of homeless people live in front of the railway station and in the night many people distribute food. There are social groups that collect 'left over' food of community feast and distribute among the homeless. There are local religious institutions that distribute food to the homeless. The distribution of food at the railway station starts at 8 PM and continues till late night.

"What do you do with this?" I said indicating towards the scrap in the huge plastic bag.

"We give it to a seth (trader)," the older boy said.

"How much money did you receive?"

"I receive Rs200/- per day," said older boy.

"We receive Rs 50/-," said a younger boy and he touched the second younger boy as a mark of inclusion.

"What about you mummy-papa?"

"They work," said older boy.

"I do not have mother," said younger boy. Only one of the two younger boys was talking. The second one was listening. The older boy was still spitting. The younger ones were not chewing anything.

"I am sorry," I said.

"Do you give money to your father?" I asked older boy.

"I give only Rs50/- to my father. Rest of the money I keep with me," he said.

"Why do you keep money with yourself?"

"If I give all the money to my father he will spend it on the betel nuts [the word used was masala]. Today, in the morning he did not offer me tea. I save money for myself," he said.

"How do you save money?"

"I give it to a shopkeeper," he said. He sounded very similar to homeless people I interviewed in Lucknow in 2012-13.

"Does he returns money whenever you demand?"

"Yes," he said.

"Does he deducts some amount?"

"No," he said.

"I have saved Rs 4000/-," said younger boy.

"I have saved Rs 6000/- ," said older boy.

"How do you know?"

"The shopkeeper keeps record of the amount we deposit. He writes it in a book," he said.

"Do you know counting?"

"The shop keeper keeps count of money," he said and after a small pause added, "upar wala hai na - there is God."