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A Ganesh Nadar

Kurumbur to Bombay

Panickanadarkudieruppu

Kurumbur railway station caters to about 20 villages. It falls on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur metre gauge single track line. Tiruchendur is a famous pilgrimage town. Tirunelveli is a junction from where you can catch a train to Kanyakumari, Madurai or Madras. There is a direct train to even Bombay.

There are two trains to Madras from Tirunelveli. Kurumbur has quota tickets on both these trains. Both these trains have connecting trains from Tiruchendur. So you could buy a ticket to Madras from Kurumbur and board the connecting train there. All very convenient.

So the residents around Kurumbur were shocked when, one day, the connecting train for the Kanyakumari Express to Madras did not stop at Kurumbur.

The tea-shop near the river was abuzz with debate the next morning. DMK activist Chokkalingam said, "First this train won't stop; then, another train won't stop; finally, no trains will stop here. That's the end of our station." Everybody agreed with him.

A few villagers went to the station master who pleaded that he did not know anything. "I received a telegram saying that the train will not stop here. I have to obey orders, you must contact the DRM in Madurai or the GM in Madras."

The panchayat elections were scheduled soon after, so the railway issue took a back seat.

After the elections, S Rajarathinam advised Ganesh to send telegrams protesting against the new schedule of the train. "I have already told our school headmaster to send a few telegrams,"

S Rajarathinam

he said. Ganesh promptly dashed off a few telegrams in the name of the panchayat president, the union councillor, the managers of the surrounding banks and the Kurumbur sangam president.

The next morning, Ganesh met MRG, the head of three villages, near the river. "I have sent 20 telegrams to stop the train, why don't you compensate me from the village fund?" asked Ganesh.

"Firstly, the train is not for our village only. Anyway, you give me the receipts and I'll give you the money," said MRG and went on his way. Ganesh grimaced. He thought, "If this guy can't trust me, he can keep the money. I am not going to give him any receipts."

The railways ignored the telegrams. The villagers didn't bother. Only the people who bought the quota tickets from Kurumbur grumbled. They had to go to Nazareth, 10 km away, to board the train.

Murugesapandi approached Ganesh, "Write a letter to the railways, asking them to stop the train. Tell them that if they don't agree, we will blockade the station."

"Look here, we can't threaten the first time we write, let's try making a request instead," suggested Ganesh.

"Okay," agreed Murugesapandi.

Ganesh wrote a letter explaining that his villagers had 200 shops in Bombay and 150 shops in Madras and they were frequent travellers. The letters were typed and registered to the railway minister, union minister for youth and sports Dhanuskodi Aditan (who also happened to be the local MP), the general manager, southern railways, Madras, and the divisional railway manager in Madurai.

All the acknowledgment cards arrived in 10 days, but the acknowledgment card of the registered letter to the railway minister hasn't arrived till today. What happened to it remains a mystery.

A fortnight later, as no reply was forthcoming, Ganesh wrote another letter. In this letter, he pointed out that Kurumbur station was a part of the freedom struggle. During the struggle for independence, the villagers had set fire to the station to protest against the British rule. Murugesapandi had the letters typed on his letterpad and duly registered them, but the railways were not impressed.

Another fortnight passed. Murugiah Nadar, who had come down from Madras, was leaving that day. Ganesh had gone to the station to send him off. "I have to leave by the Nellai Express because the Kanyakumari Express has no connecting train. You know the Nellai Express takes three hours more to reach Madras? It's all your fault," said Murugiah.

"How is it my fault?" asked Ganesh.

"You are a reporter. You should've written about it in your newspaper or in your internet magazine."

The tea shop

"Both my newspaper editor and internet editor do not know where Kurumbur is and I'm sure they don't want to know," said Ganesh.

Murugesapandi was passing by on his bike. On seeing Murugiah Nadar, he stopped. "You are the union councillor for our village; why don't you do something to stop the train?" demanded Murugiah.

"Uncle, every idea I give is vetoed by Ganesh," said Murugesapandi.

"He wants to go on hunger strike and then block the track. The railways won't care if he fasts and, if he blocks the track, he'll be sent to jail. The train won't stop," said Ganesh.

"Educated people are all fools. Don't discourage him. I order you to help him arrange the hunger strike and the rail roko," said Murugiah.

"Okay, if you insist. But I still feel that at least an MLA should join us, only then will the railways take notice," said Ganesh cheerfully.

"Shut up!" said Murugiah.

"Who is paying for the notices, posters and banners?" asked Ganesh.

"I'll foot the bill, you do the job," said Murugiah. He then left for Madras.

In the evening, Murugesapandi suggested the dates for the hunger strike and the rail roko. Ganesh consulted his diary "The first is fine, but the second date is a Friday," he said.

"So what?" asked Murugesapandi.

"Nothing much, but you will be arrested on Friday. The courts are closed on Saturday and Sunday. Then, the courts will be closed for two more days because of public holidays. I'll be able to arrange your bail only after that," said Ganesh innocently.

Photographs: Ganesh Nadar                                                 more...