We have raised our voice many times and we have fought for the rights of many. But these are the people who we never care for, although they foster the connections amongst people and reunite the separated.
Didn’t get who I was talking about? I am talking about the Loco Pilots or the Train Drivers as we know them. The men and women who brave all conditions and keep the railways running. I have seen an attitude in that people towards these sophisticated and skilled drivers.
Be it night or day, while you enjoy a sumptuous meal and a cool and cosy atmosphere in your coaches and sleep peacefully, these professionals are wide awake in the dead of night or braving the heat on a sunny afternoon with the train passing through the woods, landscapes, villages and yet not complain.
You might feel that I am being too sympathetic. But sit back and think. Why am I raising this question, when we’re engulfed by many other issues of national and local importance? I have often felt about this and chose to write an article.
I very well remember when I first told one of my teachers of my desire to join the Railways, the first thing she said was “Don’t become a driver”.
She might have said that as a joke but do we look down upon them? Certainly not. There are wrong notions about a train driver because people are either ignorant, or they just go by what others say.
A Railway driver is as qualified as a pilot, or an engineer, yet people are hesitant. Their job demands good analytical and judgement skills just like any other job and they have to work much harder to attain the best position within their profession. You have a lot of sites to tell you about the entire process, one such being IRFCA.
This brings to my mind another incident. Once during my internship in a newspaper, I had gone to cover a school function where the principal of the school was very proudly talking about the alumni and their placements. He happened to mention a student who was inducted as a pilot with Indigo. I wondered – Would he have the same enthusiasm if one of his students was inducted as a driver in the Railways?
The answer would be NO. The reason – Very Simple. Because we look down upon the very term ‘Driver’ and consider it an undignified job.
If you ever google for the qualifications and the process of inducting Railway Drivers and their salaries, I am pretty sure you will not only appreciate their existence but also salute them for the odds they face when on duty.
The point I want to make here is very simple. Let’s respect those men and women who strive hard to keep our economy running and give them the position in the society that they deserve.
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