Daily passengers, they are a tribe apart
DESTINED TO LEAD A LIFE ON THE ROAD, DPS MAKE SURE THEY FIND HAPPINESS IN WHATEVER THEY HAVE
You’re sure to run into them at the railway station or bus stand. They walk around, aimlessly, but with an unmistakable streak of self-assurance and all they carry is a small shoulder bag that always has one constant, their lunch box. The elite among them might even carry a briefcase. They often board a train or a bus at the eleventh hour but never miss it, mind you.
No, it’s not the railway travelling ticket (TT) examiner or the bus conductor. We’re talking about a tribe apart called the DPs or daily passengers, who some would call ‘displaced persons’. No sooner does a train or a bus come to a halt that the DPs invade the place like locusts. While you, looking at the crowd of proactive passengers thrusting their way into the train or bus, postpone your efforts to get in, there come these DPs who always manage to slip through a gap and get in, leaving you baffled.
Once inside, a DP occupies the most unlikely of places such as the bonnet, foot board, seat-rest of a bus or the luggagerack, top berth or a suitcase or a tin of a co-passenger in a train. The more inquisitive among the tribe roam about the entire train, obviously to have a good look at the pretty faces.
DPs come in all forms and types. To begin with, once in a while you come across a ‘decent’ DP, who after settling down, opens a newspaper or a book, fixes his spectacles and buries himself into the black and white of things. He’s as good as not being there as he sits in silence without a glance here or there, leave aside any comment. It’s mostly (no generalisation risked though) the private company executives, bank officials and businessmen who comprise this type.
The second kind recognises you the moment you set your eyes on them. The train may not have started and they make sure the game of cards begins. The moment they occupy their seats, out comes a neat pack of playing cards from nowhere; a passenger’s suitcase doubles up as the table and then starts the game. They play sweep and a lot of betting goes on. But that’s okay, for they don’t exactly disturb co-passengers. The maximum they do is exchange places with other passengers to be able to sit together.
The third kind is irritating. They spend the journey changing berths, passing cheap comments, picking up quarrels with hawkers, beggars, urchins and if no one else, with each other. Petty traders and daily-wagers comprise this group.
In rural areas, it’s school teachers who form a major chunk of the DPs followed by employees and health workers.
Destined to lead a life on the road, DPs make sure they find happiness in whatever they have. As they pass yet another day on the road, cracking jokes, discussing politics, playing cards and eyeing pretty faces, they remind you of the song, “Raah pe rehte hain, yaadon pe basar karte hain; khush raho ehale watan, hum to safar karte hain. (We are the move with memories for company, we wish the best for all, while we are on the go).”