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This picture was taken by Shubhranka Mondal, a postgraduate student in the International Development Department.
Traveling ‘cattle class’ is a phrase most commonly used by India’s burgeoning rich and mobile middle-class citizens. Traveling ‘cattle class’ involves a journey in a near colonial era train with open windows—through which you can watch and even feel the monsoon rain. It involve waking up in the morning and seeing strangers sleeping by your feet—mostly local passengers traveling without tickets to a nearby destination to earn their daily bread.
Economists would call them wage earners. Sociologist would probably stratify them according to their castes. Anthropologists would probably pick on their mating habits and so would political scientists on their minimal power.
Probably only kids would enjoy things as they were. For travelling cattle class includes interaction with a varied mix of people—for these wage earners also include toy sellers, sweetmeat sellers, spiced Indian snacks sellers and people selling a paraphernalia of things each morning inside the train. Do adults enjoy the same? Probably a few do.
This picture 'Journeys' stands in stark contrast to this. The photo was taken in one of those rather expensive and relatively fast moving trains in India. Most middle class parents in India think it is unsafe for female travellers to journey alone overnight on trains carrying the ‘cattle classes.’ My parents were no exception. I don’t remember when I took this picture. I only remember, it was one of those regular trips back to college after the summer break.
It was early in the morning, it was monsoon season and it had rained the previous night. The train was passing through one of the most gorgeous tribal belts of east India.
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