Railways on the culture track

The Purveyors of Destiny
A Cultural Biography of the Indian Railways
Arup K Chatterjee
Bloomsbury
321 pages; Rs 599
 
There are several books on Indian Railways (meaning mostly the history), but there is nothing quite like this. Described as a cultural biography, it is one of a kind. What’s a cultural biography? Here is an explanation from the author’s prologue: “In each of the stories and histories that follow, the Indian Railways are a character. As such, they deserve a biography, of which none exists so far… It was my desire to recreate the railways as a talking human presence — not simply the passive transporter of passengers and goods.” Therefore, it is also about the railways in literature and films, and artefacts, legends and memorabilia.
 
Other than an introduction, there are six chapters, divided thematically and chronologically: (1) Tracks of Panic (early colonial writing, 1843-83), (2) Conciliatory Carriages (more writing, 1874-1907); (3) From the Longest Bridge to the Third-Class Phenomenon (Hind Swaraj to Quit India, 1908-1947), (4) The Dumbwaiters of Partition and the Purveyors of Destiny (Independent India’s railways, 1947-64); (5) Reeling on the Rails (1964-90); and (6) Derailed to Diaspora (1990 onwards).
 
There are some lovely pictures too, including reproductions of postage stamps. Rather oddly, the choice of particular years as turning points is never explained, and all are not as obvious as 1947.  For instance, one can guess at 1843 or 1990. But the choice of 1874, as opposed to 1873, or 1964, compared to some other year in 1960s, are not that apparent.
 
This a wonderful book. The railways interface with every Indian citizen’s life. Therefore, every Indian is interested in the railways. (Incidentally, every Indian also knows how to solve the problem of the railways, a bit like knowing the solution to all the woes faced by the Indian cricket team.) In addition, most (if not all) Indians love films, though one shouldn’t generalise about literature. “The Purveyors of Destiny straddles two worlds of writing — the open-ended galaxy of nonfiction and the closed universe of academic writing… No book has so far tried to visualise the vast wealth of another industry that the railways gave birth to — the industry of thinking or representing the railways,” Mr Chatterjee writes.
 
Understandably and inevitably, the history of the evolution of railways in India lurks in the background. But with that background, this book uses a film and literature lens to weave the narrative back and forth covering a very broad sweep.  Hence, an interest in railways, films (Hindi and Bangla) and literature (English, Bangla, with a little bit of Hindi/Urdu thrown in) will make you like this book. There are nuggets Mr Chatterjee has uncovered. If you know about the railways (or literature/films), you will think of other nuggets he missed and might have used. But that criticism of omission is neither here nor there.
 
“Perhaps the academic might find fault in the lack of adequate citations — despite there being over six hundred of those already.  Writers and readers of easy-breezy nonfictions might argue the language is too contrived for them. I do not wish to drive home a strong case against either of these critics,” Mr Chatterjee says. It is not so much about the number of citations. As a reader, I did feel the language could have been simpler, more “easy-breezy”. Given the subject, and perhaps the readership, I felt it was too academic. Perhaps academic is not the word to use. It has a style of creative fiction writing in English, with an almost stream-of-consciousness kind of feel. Depending on your perspective, that is either an attraction or a deterrent.
 
Finally, a word on Okhil Chandra Sen and his letter, mentioned in the Prologue. “As most instructive anecdotes, I consider this apocryphal, without hankering after its veracity,” the author cautions. This letter was supposedly written by Okhil Chandra Sen to the Divisional Superintendent of Sahibganj in 1909, familiar to all those who know Indian railway history. This led to the introduction of toilets on trains, or so runs the assertion. 
 
This self-explanatory letter stated, “Dear Sir, I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur station and my belly is too much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore went to privy. Just I doing the nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to go off and I am running with LOTAH in one hand & DHOTI in the next when I am fall over & expose all my shocking to men & female women on platform. I am got leaved Ahmedpur station. This too much bad, if passenger go to make dung that dam guard not wait train minutes for him. I am therefore pray your honour to make big fine on that guard for public sake. Otherwise I am making big report to papers.”
 
The assertion about this letter leading to toilets on trains is not true. Upper classes began to have toilets on trains in the 1870s. Mr Chatterjee is right.  The letter is not even apocryphal, it is a fake. That’s the reason it is no longer on display at the National Railway Museum. The letter suddenly surfaced in 1929, there is no record of it having existed earlier.

The reviewer is a member of the National Institution for Transforming India Aayog