It was a normal day for me. I was on the way home from college, late in the evening. I caught my usual Dadar - Kalyan local train. The seats were already occupied and some women had occupied doors and the passage to sit. But, I somehow managed to get some place to stand in the passage near the door. A girl was sitting next to me with a huge bag on her lap. The train started moving. Matunga Station arrived. A person boarded the train and was standing near the door. The train was nearing Sion Station. The person standing near the door asked the girl sitting down next to me to stand up giving her a reason why is she saying so? It was just because more crowd was getting in the train and she could face breathing problem and in addition other women as usual could yell at her for sitting. The girl unlike others obeyed her, and got up. They both exchanged smiles and this aroused a conversation...
The person asked the girl "Are you coming from a trip?" She replied politely, “Yes, I had been to Ooty". They both went on chatting asking questions about each other. The girl asked the person same question which she had just replied “What do you do?". The person replied, "I spread information on AIDS awareness in slums.” All females in the passage who were overhearing their conversation were stunned with this answer. They were not shocked with the word AIDS, they were annoyed because of the person who was taking about it. The person who just dared to say it was a Eunuch/Transgender.
I, standing next to the girl thought, Is it true or is she bluffing??? Eunuchs are mostly ill-treated. Most of the people make faces when they are around. When such people get in our train compartments, most of the females pass nasty comments. They are avoided, ignored, insulted, hated… I always had thought that such people don't have anything to do, except begging in front of people for money. I thought that we normal people haven't left any profession for them. None of us would like to have such people as a friend, colleague or even as an acquaintance. Some people do not even like them standing close to them. So, I was curious to know Is it true? If yes, how they handle this job?? It would be really difficult for them to make people listen to them??
I was about to ask these questions and the girl coincidently asked the same, "Are u serious? Do people listen to what you say?"
The person smiled and said, "I work with an association, run by our community, to spread the awareness of a disease i.e. AIDS. We go door to door in slums making people aware of it. Yes, it’s a tough job for us, as people don't accept us easily. When we knock their door, they shut it on our face just seeing us without giving us a chance to utter a single word. Most of them think, we are beggars as many people like us do that. Some are scared of us. Out of 100 people, 85 are such who neglect us, but rest 15 considers us HUMANS. In our profession, we don't try to make people forcibly listen to us. It is very difficult to convince people who completely disrespect you or even not contemplate you. Many like me were not even accepted by our parents, so how do we expect others to accept us?? But who make an attempt to listen what we are saying, we convey them are messages happily."
Now, most of them in the train were listening to what the person was talking as her voice was loud. Miracle one would say, but yes, the compartment was almost silent, listening to her. The girl and I were so engrossed in her talk that we didn't realize the next station was ours. We both went to the other door, and I shouted from the other end, "What’s your name?" The person answered happily, "NOORIE!”. We got down from the train and waved her Good Bye.
Noorie's talks would have really left an impact on some who heard her and I was one of them too. Noorie unknowingly has taught me something. She taught me How to value life? We are lucky that we are born normal. Our problems are really tiny as compared to what Noorie has faced. Negligence and Avoidance, this is what she has experienced since birth and one should be that tough to fight all the problems in life instead of crying over it. I felt, my problems are nothing in front of this.
This all happened in one of my bad phases, may be that’s the reason, this incident has influenced me. Surely, I will remember Noorie all my life.
