I am this office going girl from this year :) What a promotion after those never ending years of studies.Well its not over yet. But this temporary happiness of carrying a lunch box in one hand and swinging it happily back and forth and the handbag slung neatly over the other. I do it and grin and feel like I've grown tall.(That is debatable ofcourse!!) So yeah. Finally am commuting by train and that too in the elusive "Ladies Special". I call it elusive cause it arrives at the platform on dot. So naturally many ppl miss it atleast thrice a week :P. But I have mastered the art of being ON time and I dont miss it unless I consciously decide to skip it.(only when THE Boss not in station!)
Ladies spl or LS as called fondly by all ladies, is a boon given to the fairer sex.Away from all the hassles of the overcrowded peak time trains, a train where all the compartments(I mean ALL the compartments :9-car or 12-car) are available ONLY for ladies. Ha. No pointed stares from men, no accidental brush of hand from any a**h***, no teasing,no grumbling, absolutely no reason to accommodate 5 ppl in a sq.foot of space in the train! Its awesome to travel in the LS with ladies everywhere. I was initially surprised to find that this entire train for ladies runs at full capacity. Sometimes there is even scarcity of seats if you get in at later stations(from tambaram to beach). The privileged class rush to make it to this spl train in the mornings and in the evenings. After a converstaion with a fellow passenger, I found out that their office lets ladies go early so they can make it to this train in the evenings. Whoa! now thats awesome right? And there was another lady who rushed to the platform only to look at so many ladies' sad face in the platform and realize that she, like the owners of other sad faces, has missed that elusive train by minutes. Later I gathered that she had not even stopped to greet a long lost friend whom she had met accidentally on her dash to the platform. All this for the elusive!
While this twice a day service initiative is highly appreciated by the women-folk,men are not so happy. Especially about the morning service. You should look at the faces of those in the platform!! I'm sure they would be ready to kill all womenfolk at one go. I could literally hear the thoughts behind their sad/longing/angry(read kola veri) eyes of those men in the station. I happen to miss that train one day and I asked one gentleman who was eyeing the train that was speeding by in front of us. He said that its unfair to have a train specially for ladies while there is nothing like that for men. When I pointed out that "General" compartments usually carry no women in it, he replied me with a murderous stare. I agree. Five minutes in that peak time is very crucial. You enter three mins late and the boss will be waiting to ask you why you are late(when u go early, there will be noone in the office!) So missing an entire train is like a curse to men. I dont blame them cause the next train will be doubly crowded due to lack of service for 'men' for 20 full minutes.
We, ladies, talk about equality. So where is it now? Is it fair to claim equality in select areas and conveniently accept and praise this kind of initiative? Americas and Europes dont have these demarcation. So why is it that we have it in our country?
Anyway, I absolutely love it and I'm very happy and lucky to be the privileged one! :) :)
