My Journey to Delhi and Back

Forbesganj: I have been to Delhi earlier. So initially when I was told to go to Delhi to attend the meeting at ISF, I was not interested at all. I have seen Lal Qila, Qutub Minar, Jantar Mantar, everything. So what’s new there to see? We were told us that the meeting is very significant as there will be people from all over the world. All over the world! On top of it, my brother Kalam is going to address a meeting! I thought that if by participating in the meeting I can share with such a big crowd the plights of being born as Nutt, I must not miss the opportunity.

A meeting was called in the community. Many women were scared and said no. Finally it was decided that Fatima, Amina and I will go from Apne Aap Forbesganj Mahila Mandal while Fatima’s mother will go on behalf of the Nutts in Nepal. Some of the men and women from the community started teasing us, “Look, there go the leaders!” We have got so used to being outside the society, that we are afraid of any close contacts outside the community. Therefore, some were very apprehensive about what are we going to talk about. So many heated discussions and debates went on in the mohallah, that at one point I got irritated and told Kalam “Leave me out!” Even Amna Bhabhi got frustrated. Only Fatima from among us said that she would go alone even if we back out. What an irony! Fatima herself could not go finally as she fell ill.

Then there was this reservation problem. We could not get any reservation to Delhi. Finally Kalam got the Tatkal tickets for us. First we had to go to Katihar by the chhoti line (narrow gauge) train. After that from Katihar, we had to take another train to Delhi. The train’s departure time was 1:3 0 am. It was a winter night; we had had to start very early to catch the train at Katihar. Though we have got our tickets reserved, when we reached there another group with the same reservation was there. We were very worried. How could we travel for two nights without sleeping? Then the ticket checker came and told us that we had been upgraded automatically to the air conditioned (AC) compartment. For the first time in our lives we had boarded an AC train! The compartment was so bright and clean! I wondered why don’t they keep the ordinary trains so clean. The people pay for the seats in those as well. Anyway, since it was an AC, there were no vendors. So we missed half the fun. And at the end of the day, we got very bored!

Any way we reached Delhi. We were put up at the Delhi Apne Aap centre at Subhash camp. The walls of the room had been painted so brightly by the children! We simply loved it. Asma, Janaki, Tinku and two young girls from Kolkata, Tamanna and Rina were already there and there was the wonderful, warm team of Delhi, Neelam, Prabha, Arati.

The first day, we took a conducted sight seeing tour around the city. The next day we went to ISF ground. My, My! The exhibition ground itself only is as big as our Forbesganj, and people dressed in traditional costumes started coming in a stream dancing, singing and cheering loudly. There were so many events going on simultaneously. It was very difficult to make out anything distinctly. But everything together made it so lively! I was walking along the ground and one group from Jharkhand was dancing and suddenly they pulled us all in.

I have heard that they are adivasis (indigenous tribes)! I was wondering, how free and fearless these women are! They are dancing with such ease. In our “society”, you are always looked down upon if you sing and dance and how they torture women in our “society”! I felt ashamed at the double standard of our “society”!

Apne Aap had a stall. Everyday, we had our duties by turn. Then there was Apne Aap’s meeting where Kalam spoke besides many others. I was crying secretly. My brother Kalam addressed such large audience! So many dignitaries were listening to his speech. All of this had been possible only because he joined Apne Aap. I liked the speech of the woman from the Badi community the most. I was so happy that so many people were thinking of and addressing our problems! Something would definitely happen. Things are going to change for us.

Then there was the beautiful puppet show by the children from the Delhi centre. The show was about police raids and how the madams go scot-free! The show was rightly named “Aparadhi Kaun?”(Who are the criminals?) The show became so popular that the children had to repeat the performance three times that day! I have seen so many dances by so many groups, so many plays and heard so many songs! They all were so different from what I have heard or seen so far! I felt sad leaving and at the same time felt very happy! Had I not come, I would have missed such great fun! I would have never imagined that such a life existed outside our Forbesganj. Main kuain ki mendhak hi rah jati (I would have remained a frog in the well).