After spending the weekend in Bojong Gede. I usually take the train back to Jakarta. Trains offer interesting glimpses of the life and struggles of common people, and even though they are usually crowded, the people who can only afford their cheaper fares generally enjoy them.
After elbowing one’s way to the door, a gust of hot air greets the traveler, but no one thinks of complaining. The passengers seem to accept the conditions, even when they have to stand for the entire trip. They are patient, for though the train makes frequent stops, often slowing to a snail’s pace, no one grumbles, not the vendors transporting merchandise to the city or the women who have to travel alone. The students too, are adjusted to the circumstances of the train: they do not turn away in disgust from the lower-class vendors. And though the coach floor is muddy on a rainy day, they do not hesitate to step into the coach.
I enjoy watching the small children who travel with their mothers. On steamy days they crave a cool drink, but know their mothers cannot afford to buy one. It seems that merely the feel of the cold bottle is enough to produce a smile.
Once I saw a woman carrying a child smile when someone offered her a seat. Passengers are at times entertained by a blind musician whose songs are accompanied by a “kecapi” (kind of zither) a traditional instrument. Such scenes remind me of Oshin, the main character in a Japanese serial, who always feels a sense of gratitude towards life despite the problems she encounters every day, the people on the train seem grateful for small services and pleasures.
It would not occur to them, for example, to demand that the empty coaches of another train be joined to theirs. Nor would they consider protesting if several cars of their already jammed train were uncoupled and joined to another.
Instead of grumbling, they are creative in making space – for example, by moving to the coach’s roof. They always seem to find a way to solve problems under pressing conditions. And they always seem to find the courage.
From Bisnis Indonesia, The Jakarta Post, February 25, 1993
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