Tundla Junction and the Trash Burning Porters
We had just experienced the grandeur of the fabled Taj Mahal. It had been my third or fourth visit and yet I was still left in wonder after seeing the exquisite white marble tomb. But now, it was just after dark as our taxi crawled through traffic into a train station just west of Agra : Tundla Junction. Other than the street lights that lined the entrance to the train station, everything was in darkness. The power was out at the station and travelers bustled around the entrance toting bags and wrapped tightly in jackets and chaders (a kind of shawl) to keep warm against the late December chill that was setting in. There was nothing overly concerning about the situation since we were used to occasional power outages during Indian city life. We found our platform, sat down and waited. Then we waited and waited again, but our overnight train to Varanasi never came.
As it turned out, every two hours we would find out that our train was delayed another two hours. The clock slowly crept towards midnight and the temperature steadily dropped. Eventually the power had clicked back on, but there was no heat on the platform nor in any of the waiting rooms. At one point I joined the ring of porters huddled under the staircase who had gathered paper waste to build a fire. The flames quickly consumed the paper and while the warmth was welcome it was fleeting.
There were swarms of noisy, chattering birds in the rafters of the awnings over the platforms. They were clearly just as sleepless as we were. My family had set up shop in a waiting room when some seating had become available, but the screen door did nothing to keep out the damp cold that wormed its way through our layers of clothing. It was too cold to sleep. The best thing to do to keep warm was to pace the platform and drink inordinate amounts of chai. But leaving the waiting room for a walk or a 5 Rupee chai risked a volley of bird poop and returning to the family with a white polkadot jacket. It was a miserable and exhausting night.
Photo by Claudette Bleijenberg
Relief finally came in the daylight when our 12-hour-delayed train chugged into the station at 7a.m. I had never been so thankful for the 2ft wide moving bed in that heated train car. I was asleep in seconds. The following morning, the newspaper said temperatures in Agra had been around 34 degrees (1.5 in Celcius).
It was indeed a miserable and exhausting night full of crushed hope after crushed hope everytime we learned our train was further delayed and we were therefore forced to wait in the cold a little longer. I know I am being dramatic but I think that helps to prove my point. For me, I just had to wait a little longer for relief. I knew relief would be there eventually. Or, my family could have just gone to a hotel with a warm bed and traveled another day. It was an inconvenience. I know to the western mind time wasting and inconvenience are some of the gravest sins you can commit against someone else, but in the grand scheme of things that was all it was: inconvenience and a story to tell.
I look back and I think of the porters on the platform who experience the cold day in and day out throughout winter and then again through the unforgiving heat of Indian summer. And I think of the adults and children at the train station who patrol the platforms asking for alms and charity. For many of them they never got the relief of a blanket on a heated train. It gave me a lot of perspective on the blessings in my life that I often take for granted. Another time I remember pulling away from a bus station as I headed back to boarding school one February and I saw a bony man with no pants on, wearing a dirty, torn shirt. His whole body shook from the cold. He clutched a paper cup of chai in both hands close to his face absorbing all the warmth he could from it. I think of him from time to time and pray for him. I am thankful that someone gave him that chai. Who in your life can you give “a cup of chai” to, so to speak? Is there someone you drive past everyday on your way to work that clearly needs help? Maybe you know a family that is struggling or a co-worker that clearly needs support but is too afraid to ask. Support does not always have to be money. It could be time or words or action. What is God laying on your heart to do? And do you have the courage to do it? If not, ask Him for the courage and He will supply.
Just days ago, in a time of need, a stranger gifted my family with a “cup of chai,” that absolutely stunned us and melted our eyes to tears. The undeserved generosity of this gentleman humbled us and words could not adequately describe our gratitude in the moment. God is kind to us in ways we never expect. Maybe God is calling you to be generous to someone else in need. I pray that I have the heart to reciprocate the generosity I have received when the time comes.
If you are traveling to India, budget in generosity. The few extra dollars you might spend on an autorickshaw, street food or souvenirs will stretch much farther into meaningful rupees for the seller. Buy an extra cup of chai or plate of food for someone. Or, maybe you decide to stay home and not travel. Even so, remember “Freely you have received; freely give.” Jesus said that (Matt 10:8). Afterall, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” And who said that? That was Jesus too (Acts 20:35). I guarantee it’s true and I dare you to try.
Until next time. Safe travels friends!
Seth
