This one is a recent experience and I have to discuss in detail to make the point, its going to be a long post and please take time to read it completely.We were recently travelling by train. We had taken the ordinary class tickets. Ordinary class compartments are always reserved and people without a valid ticket are not allowed to enter those compartments. As a standard security procedure, 2 armed RPF (Railway Police Force) officials travel in these compartments.
We took the midnight train, and it so happened that our compartment was not covered by the RPF. The train departed at the scheduled time of 12 midnight. As we reached the next station at about 1o'clock, a mob of about 150 people suddenly barged into our compartment with luggage and all. There were men, women, children and old men and women in the group and all came barging into the compartment. Some of them were even drunk, they started sitting on our reserved berths.
Since there was no RPF in that compartment, there was nobody to stop them. Of course, the lone ticket examiner was no match for a mob of 150+ strong uneducated, rogue looking crowd.
The normal capacity of a reserved compartment is 72 passengers. Obviously, all the passengers started cribbing and complaining about what was going on. As the Ticket examiner was coming to check our tickets, I could hear the amount of shouting and firing he was getting from the other passengers for not being able to control the crowd. I was feeling bad for the person because I understood that if he tries to mess with any of these "invaders", he will be beaten to pulp.
When he came to check for my ticket, I told him exactly this "I understand that you are going through a lot of difficulty due to this situation, I know you can't do anything about it since you are one person and these are 150+ people, so I know its no point shouting at you and being rude to you, but, I can't give you my ticket for checking. I do hold a valid ticket, but I will not give it for checking unless this crowd is cleared from the compartment."
Believe me, the look he had on his face was as if he was looking at an alien from another planet or an escapee from a mental asylum. I'm sure he was thinking "Where on earth did this guy get such an idea?"
I went on to say - "With so many people travelling in the compartment without ticket, it makes no sense at all for you to check my tickets. I'm travelling with family and baggage, and I definitely don't feel safe with a drunkard without ticket standing right next to me." All this while, I didn't speak one wrong word, no angry words and had a constant smile on my face.
The ticket examiner didn't know how to respond - I was not being angry, not being rude, I was actually speaking to him nicely and had still taken a standpoint. He also felt comfortable talking to me and explained the situation to me.
Apparently, he had requested for armed backup at the previous station and not received the same.
I told him, that if the crowd is not vacated at the next station, I will pull the emergency brakes chain and not allow the train to move forward.He actually told me to go ahead and do it.
At the next station, I did what I had promised, I pulled the chain. Everytime the train started moving, I would pull the chain and it would come to a halt. Meanwhile, he would try to arrange for RPF at the station. This went on for quite some time but they were not able to arrange for armed backup.
While I was pulling the chain, a few guys from the crowd started looking at me, passing comments in the local language (thinking that I didn't know the local language), glaring at me in the face, some of them started speaking rudely to me.
All this while, my only response was to keep smiling even with them. Even they were actually confused because I was not talking or fighting with any of them.
One person decided to pick a fight with me and asked what the hell I was trying to do, just then the ticket examiner came, I told him that a person was trying to pick a fight with me and the ticker examiner fired him. Again, not a word spoken from my side directly with these guys.
I had delayed the train by more than 45 minutes and still the RPF did not arrive when the engine crew decided to override the emergency brakes and the train moved on.
Again, on seeing that the chain was not working, I started laughing with my copassengers. Again this whole crowd was confused, because something I tried had failed. I was supposed to be upsed and they were supposed to laugh, but instead, I was the one laughing.
Surprisingly, at the next station, 2 armed RPF personnel boarded the compartment, and used brute force to literally kick out all the unreserved passengers out of the compartment and on the platform.
By the time things were cleared, it was already 4o'clock in the morning.
When all was settled, I myself went to the Ticket examiner and gave him my ticket for checking. Again he gave me a look which I didn't quite understand. Probably, he meant to ask "What on earth are you"
Quite a few realisations and lessons I picked up from this journey:
1. Its no point fighting with someone who doesn't have anything to lose. I could have easily lost my temper and picked up a fight with those guys, but the fact is that I didn't stand a chance even if just 3 of them decided to get physical.
2. Its no point blaming a person who is already facing problems well beyond his reach. Nobody likes to listen to his / her own problems over and over again.
3. Use the system - I understood the system in place and used it to my advantage.
4. Keep smiling - Of all the tough situations I have been in, I have learned one important lesson, people don't know how to handle a smile. Especially in a heated situation, they definitely don't know how to handle the situation if the other person starts smiling instead of fighting.
5. Last and the biggest lesson - Gandhigiri works. It totally absolutely works in real life, but if one is not brave enough, it can scare the life out of the one trying to use it. I was definitely scared about the prospects of one of the guys deciding to come back and take a revenge on me. I didn't really sleep for the rest of the journey because of the fear. But, at the end of the day, I'm happy that I was able to take a standpoint against wrongdoers and stick to it without losing my temper.
Result... The remaining journey was peaceful for the entire compartment including my people, and I discovered a strength about myself.
We took the midnight train, and it so happened that our compartment was not covered by the RPF. The train departed at the scheduled time of 12 midnight. As we reached the next station at about 1o'clock, a mob of about 150 people suddenly barged into our compartment with luggage and all. There were men, women, children and old men and women in the group and all came barging into the compartment. Some of them were even drunk, they started sitting on our reserved berths.
Since there was no RPF in that compartment, there was nobody to stop them. Of course, the lone ticket examiner was no match for a mob of 150+ strong uneducated, rogue looking crowd.
The normal capacity of a reserved compartment is 72 passengers. Obviously, all the passengers started cribbing and complaining about what was going on. As the Ticket examiner was coming to check our tickets, I could hear the amount of shouting and firing he was getting from the other passengers for not being able to control the crowd. I was feeling bad for the person because I understood that if he tries to mess with any of these "invaders", he will be beaten to pulp.
When he came to check for my ticket, I told him exactly this "I understand that you are going through a lot of difficulty due to this situation, I know you can't do anything about it since you are one person and these are 150+ people, so I know its no point shouting at you and being rude to you, but, I can't give you my ticket for checking. I do hold a valid ticket, but I will not give it for checking unless this crowd is cleared from the compartment."
Believe me, the look he had on his face was as if he was looking at an alien from another planet or an escapee from a mental asylum. I'm sure he was thinking "Where on earth did this guy get such an idea?"
I went on to say - "With so many people travelling in the compartment without ticket, it makes no sense at all for you to check my tickets. I'm travelling with family and baggage, and I definitely don't feel safe with a drunkard without ticket standing right next to me." All this while, I didn't speak one wrong word, no angry words and had a constant smile on my face.
The ticket examiner didn't know how to respond - I was not being angry, not being rude, I was actually speaking to him nicely and had still taken a standpoint. He also felt comfortable talking to me and explained the situation to me.
Apparently, he had requested for armed backup at the previous station and not received the same.
I told him, that if the crowd is not vacated at the next station, I will pull the emergency brakes chain and not allow the train to move forward.He actually told me to go ahead and do it.
At the next station, I did what I had promised, I pulled the chain. Everytime the train started moving, I would pull the chain and it would come to a halt. Meanwhile, he would try to arrange for RPF at the station. This went on for quite some time but they were not able to arrange for armed backup.
While I was pulling the chain, a few guys from the crowd started looking at me, passing comments in the local language (thinking that I didn't know the local language), glaring at me in the face, some of them started speaking rudely to me.
All this while, my only response was to keep smiling even with them. Even they were actually confused because I was not talking or fighting with any of them.
One person decided to pick a fight with me and asked what the hell I was trying to do, just then the ticket examiner came, I told him that a person was trying to pick a fight with me and the ticker examiner fired him. Again, not a word spoken from my side directly with these guys.
I had delayed the train by more than 45 minutes and still the RPF did not arrive when the engine crew decided to override the emergency brakes and the train moved on.
Again, on seeing that the chain was not working, I started laughing with my copassengers. Again this whole crowd was confused, because something I tried had failed. I was supposed to be upsed and they were supposed to laugh, but instead, I was the one laughing.
Surprisingly, at the next station, 2 armed RPF personnel boarded the compartment, and used brute force to literally kick out all the unreserved passengers out of the compartment and on the platform.
By the time things were cleared, it was already 4o'clock in the morning.
When all was settled, I myself went to the Ticket examiner and gave him my ticket for checking. Again he gave me a look which I didn't quite understand. Probably, he meant to ask "What on earth are you"
Quite a few realisations and lessons I picked up from this journey:
1. Its no point fighting with someone who doesn't have anything to lose. I could have easily lost my temper and picked up a fight with those guys, but the fact is that I didn't stand a chance even if just 3 of them decided to get physical.
2. Its no point blaming a person who is already facing problems well beyond his reach. Nobody likes to listen to his / her own problems over and over again.
3. Use the system - I understood the system in place and used it to my advantage.
4. Keep smiling - Of all the tough situations I have been in, I have learned one important lesson, people don't know how to handle a smile. Especially in a heated situation, they definitely don't know how to handle the situation if the other person starts smiling instead of fighting.
5. Last and the biggest lesson - Gandhigiri works. It totally absolutely works in real life, but if one is not brave enough, it can scare the life out of the one trying to use it. I was definitely scared about the prospects of one of the guys deciding to come back and take a revenge on me. I didn't really sleep for the rest of the journey because of the fear. But, at the end of the day, I'm happy that I was able to take a standpoint against wrongdoers and stick to it without losing my temper.
Result... The remaining journey was peaceful for the entire compartment including my people, and I discovered a strength about myself.
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