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Dharakhoh – Nomad With a Desk Job

As your train[…] makes its way up the steep incline, a sudden curtain of silence falls on the place. Suddenly, the chirping of crickets is the loudest sound you hear and you find yourself standing on a small ridge surrounded by all sides by thick forests covering virtually every inch in sight. Start walking in the same direction as your train and after about a kilometer or so, you would come across a small hut by the trackside and peering inside you may come across Shyam Saran. Shyam Saran is a keyman, one of the gazillions that the Indian Railways employs. His job, is to keep you alive. Be it day or night, he walks the tracks from Dharakhoh to Maramjhiri – 13 kilometers uphill checking every nut, bolt and tie. He has been doing that for donkey’s years without a promotion. He doesn’t know what a multiplex is, nor does he give a damn about the Sensex crossing 10k. He cares two hoots for the Ambani brothers and is the least bit bothered about Sourav being dropped and the Lok Sabha being stalled.