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Photo Series: How A Train In West Bengal Serves As A ‘Cheap Ambulance’

Soumyabrata Roy

Father his showing his little boy something interesting outside the window and they are sharing the laughter. This family was sitting front of my sit in the Canning Local Train. The little boy is suffering in Head injury. Dad was very worried, but the boy was looking at his father’s face occasionally, the father was showing at various funny gestures showing him trees or other trains. Date: 13 September, 2018

Father takes her sick son for treatment. Father kept his eye always on son, because he cannot stand or talk properly. Before leaving the train father wear his son the artificial legs. Date: 14 December, 2018

Krishnanagar city junction (KNJ) is one of the busiest railway stations under Eastern railways, situated in the Nadia district’s main town Krishnanagar (West Bengal, India). I travel from Tehatta (my hometown) to Krishnanagar on a bus and then catch a train from KNJ to Sealdah station. It is the cheapest and fastest mode of transport.

The travel fare from Krishnanagar to Sealdah is only Rs. 25 (Indian Rupee) which is equivalent to 0.36 US dollars. If one is careful enough, one might even save that expense by not buying a ticket and avoiding the ticket-checker.

A blind old woman is waiting for her train. Date: 13 June, 2019 Location: Dum Dum Jn, Dum Dum Station Rd, South Sinthee, Biswanath Colony, Sinthee, Kolkata, West Bengal 700030, India

We might rightly guess that even the most meticulous and law-abiding ticket checker, after checking hundreds of travellers, can overlook quite a large number of ‘miscreants’. Thousands of people of different ages, gender, religion and caste travel together huddled against one another sweating, eating, chatting together and dozing off peacefully on the shoulders of strangers, in the compartments packed up with people. In a train compartment, everyone has a different purpose for travelling.

 

A patient (leg was cut off following an accident) Going to Kolkata for routine checkup. Date: 29 June, 2019 Location: Krishnanagar, West Bengal 741101, India

Some families go to visit their relatives. Many go to the city to earn their daily bread. But, in this particular project, though, I have a more specific agenda. The sick people from the villages and suburbs go to the capital (Kolkata) to access proper treatment, and medicinal facilities, unavailable in their own ‘obscure’ localities, and the train is like an affordable and accessible ambulance (though it is without medical facilities it can at least provide fast transport). All the famous hospitals in this region are located in Kolkata city.

While his source of income is the train, Prafulla chose his blindness as a profession to survive. Date: 5 August, 2019 Location: Krishnanagar City Junction, Krishnanagar, West Bengal 741101, India

 

On the edge Date: 6 July 2019

My work is with patients in this local passenger train, for whom there is no separate compartment in this section of trains. Taking candid photographs in a congested train compartment full of people swearing and sweating, in the heat, is, however, a risky and complicated task.

Also read: Quick Byte: West Bengal’s Dobisha Is A Model Village That Our Cities Can Learn From

I, therefore, used my camera phone to minimise the risk of making my subjects aware and uncomfortably conscious. The photographs have been taken over the time period of July 2018 to June 2019. Language is not my forte and so instead of elaborating further, I would sincerely hope that my photographs will now speak for themselves.

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