Hilarious history: How a passenger's letter started toilets in Indian trains
Indian railway history is more than 170 years old. The first passenger train started operating in 1853. In British India, the First Class was reserved for sahibs to begin with. While the stations had all amenities, and some special trains had both pantry cars and toilets, for the first 50 years of operation, there were no toilets in general trains.
Matters changed on July 2, 1909, when aggrieved passenger Okhil Chandra Sen, wrote a letter to the Sahibganj Divisional office of West Bengal. His case was so strong that the move to set up toilets in train was started. How could one letter have such value? Let’s find out.
Why did Okhil Babu write the letter?
Okhil Chandra Sen was riding along after a very heavy meal on that day in July. He had to get down to relieve himself at a station since toilets were available only there. Meanwhile, the train started and went away. In his hurry, Sen tripped and fell and missed the train. This made him so angry (and embarrassed) that he immediately wrote a letter to the railway authorities in very original English. The letter has been put up as a hand-painted display at the Railway Museum in New Delhi. It has also been printed under the caption ‘Travellers’ Tales’ in the Far Eastern Economic Review, a paper of that era.
Just what did Okhil Babu write to make his letter so effective and so very funny?
The historical value of this badly written letter is immense. We have quoted the original letter below in all its ungrammatical glory.
Date: 02 – 07 – 1909
Divisional Railway Officer,
Sahibgunj,
Dear Sir,
I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur station and my belly is too much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore went to privy. Just I doing the nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to go off and I am running with ‘LOTAH’ in one hand and ‘DHOTI’ in the next when I am fall over and expose all my shocking to man and female women on platform. I am got leaved Ahmedpur station.
This too much bad, if passenger go to make dung that dam guard not wait train minutes for him. I am therefor pray your honour to make big fine on that guard for public sake. Otherwise I am making big report to papers.
Your’s faithfully servant,
Okhil Ch. Sen
As we can see, Sen only wanted the guard to be fined for not waiting for him. But the Railway Authorities must have realised that this could happen to any passenger, with equally funny, and perhaps more disastrous results. So, when we use train toilets, we need to thank Mr. Sen for his prompt reaction to what was probably the worst moment in his life.