FROM KARUNA TO LOCKDOWN YADAV: SHRAMIK TRAINS PLAY CRADLE TO OVER 3 DOZEN NEWBORNS

NEW DELHI: Ishwari Devi has named her daughter Karuna. Reena's son is Lockdown Yadav. The two babies share nothing in common, except the extraordinary situation they were born in: onboard Shramik Special trains during a devastating pandemic, that has a bearing on all aspects of human lives, including the names they got. "Compassion, 'seva bhav'," says Karuna's father Rajendra Yadav, explaining the name of his child when asked if 'corona', or 'coronavirus', had any influence on them while deciding the name.

"People told me to name her after the disease. How can I name her Corona when it has killed so many people and destroyed lives?" he told PTI over phone from his village in Dharampura in Chhattisgarh.

"We have named her Karuna, meaning compassion, seva bhav, which we all need during these difficult times."

Karuna was born on-board a Shramik Special train at perhaps the most difficult times that the country has seen in decades -- the COVID-19 pandemic has killed close to 7,000 people, infected nearly 2.5 lakh and upended business activities, leading to people losing their jobs and families their livelihoods.

Describing the troubled times the duo had to face back in Bhopal, where Yadav worked as a mason, he said he had no job or money on him and they were going hungry. "I thought if I leave Bhoapl then, I will be able to make it in time for her to deliver the baby at our native place. If my wife had delivered the baby in Bhopal, how would I have fed her and the child? Now, thanks to the Railways, both my wife and daughter are healthy and fine," he said.

Ishwari is one among more than three dozen women who battled hunger and unemployment in advance stages of their pregnancy and gave birth in unfamiliar conditions -- onboard a train, their babies handled by unknown co-travellers who shared their joy.

Reena, who gave birth onboard a Shramik Special train from Mumbai to Uttar Pradesh, has named her son Lockdown Yadav to forever remember the tough times he was born in.

"He was born in such a difficult situation. We want to name him Lockdown Yadav," she said.

Meena Kumbhar, 19, delivered a baby boy on an Odishabound train on June 5. The baby, the 37th child to be born on the migrant special trains, got a surprise a day later when the general manager of the East Coast Railway gifted him Rs 5,000.