It was a fascinating journey to Hindupur, a rather rusty town on the borders of AP and karnataka, and was traversed, rather mundanely , through the trusted Indian railways.
The newly established "Machlipatnam" express sat rather smuggly on platform no 4 at yeswanthpur railway station , and closer inspection of it revealed much more cleaner coaches than one could demand of trains of these sorts.
As we settled in , i noticed something remarkable, something so profound that it really makes you wonder whether UTopia has indeed ushered into india.
An old lady, whose dress and demeanour, sadly resembled no better than that of a Ragpicker, talked rather meloncholously into her Mobile phone. So confident was she, talking into that small piece of microchip with microphones that one wondered if she hadnt used it all her life.
That, probably is new india, an india in which benifits of liberalization and competetion has more or less trickled down to the most downtrodden and worthless.
Later when train did move, it started picking up speed as it exited crowded suburbs of bangalore and within minutes we waded through lush fields and amazing deccan vegetation.
Since geo is my optional for UPSC, i scoured the landscape trying to "analyze" the landscape and make sense of topography through my newly acquired "Expertise" in Geography.
I could make out the granatic bedrocks and schists through which the line was so meticulously blasted through, something which makes you admire british for thier orderliness and discipline.
A local salesman, who apprently was now my co passenger , started picking conversation with my ever willing dad on how cheap the railway fares were.
And indeed They were!.
A local trip to hindupur about 100 kms away costs 16 rupees, much lesser than an auto fare from my home to station.
So low are the fares that it has pretty much taken out all Private Bus operators out of contention in this route. Infact, a few that operate, invite ridicule by citing fares at 75/- for the same route. About 5 times higher!.
In a country where 70% of its people live on less than 40 per day, its a crucial factor, one which endears them to thier railways.
So i wonder, at the end of it, how much can a goverment do for its people?
Goverment is perhaps the most potent weapon for poverty eradication and human upliftment out there.
It only remains to be seen, however, how far the governance improves during the reign of UPA which has now a definate mandate to it.
Already we see many reforms on anvil , like the recently bought about "integration" of Police databases across the countries.
But until it really percolates down to the ground level, wihch to be fair it has marginally, people can just hope that it keeps getting better every day.
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