One day on the train

Selected notes from a recent Chennai-Bombay train journey, straight from my diary.

0933, Renigunta station: Bald man comes through, begging.

0935, Renigunta station: Thin old man comes through, begging. His left arm looks like a 6-inch segment between the shoulder and the elbow has been removed, and the rest of the arm re-attached. It is short and crooked.

1002: Oddly bent and gaping young man comes through, begging.

1044: Old woman comes through, begging.

1113: Thin blind boy, 20 or less, comes through, begging. His grubby shirt says "Elegant Design".

1217, just left Yerraguntla: Pregnant young woman comes through, begging. Behind her, a small child, indeterminate sex, tapping my knee and pointing to the small container of dahi on my lunch tray.

1223: Old woman comes through, begging. Orange sari, pink blouse, lined poker face. Her chappals are polka dotted.

1237: Bald old man with glasses comes through, begging.

1306: Slim woman comes through, begging. Her face has been burned, so she looks like her skin has been stretched over her skull. Behind her is a man with one arm, wearing a brown shirt and green checked dhoti.

1330: Woman comes through on her haunches, sweeping the floor and begging. She wears a pink sari, has a red band in her hair and has an oddly masculine face.

1459, Guntakal station: Old man comes through, begging. He has lost one leg and is on crutches.

1541: Young woman comes through on her haunches, sweeping the floor and begging. She has a thin, sad face.

1624: Old man comes through, begging. He has the arms and hands of a child, the hands where his elbows should be.

1646: Boy with curly hair comes through on his haunches, sweeping the floor and begging. He is bare-chested and covered with dust, and uses his shirt to clean the floor.

1802: Woman comes through, begging. She wears a dark blue sari, carries a baby in a sling and a baby bottle in her hand.

1833: Boy about 10 years old comes through on his haunches, sweeping the floor and begging. His upper body is thin and bare. He uses his shirt to clean the floor.

1949: Woman in a burkha comes through, begging. She has one kid sleeping on her shoulder, his bottom overflowing over her arm. Behind her trails another kid with a tear-lined face, crying softly.