The first realization of class often comes to us while traveling by train. The divide appears in the form of the general or unreserved compartment, followed by sleeper, then third AC, second AC, and finally first AC.
People traveling on the same train, at the same speed, reach their destination at the same time, yet their journeys are entirely different. As children, we hardly understand the difference in experience, but we do know one thing- pay more, and you move up the classes. Most of our childhood journeys were spent in sleeper class with our parents, carrying food and water for the entire trip.
In those days, traveling in AC compartments was considered the ultimate luxury, and flying in an airplane was nothing short of a dream. Our parents spent their entire youth traveling in general compartments. For them, luxury meant unnecessary expense for short-lived comfort-something they could easily avoid and save instead.
The belief that “money saved is money earned” never allowed them to enjoy pleasure without guilt.
Later, when we stepped out of our hometown: a remote, desolate dot on the map and experienced life in its fuller sense, our hard-earned money slowly dissolved those invisible class divisions. The first thing we wanted to do was show our parents this side of the world.
Their first journey in a first-class compartment, their first domestic and then international flight, their first meal at a five-star hotel, their first expensive watch, their first piece of jewelry without a festival, their first vacation without any occasion—all of it came with hesitation and the familiar words: “Iski kya zarurat thi?” (“Was this really necessary?”).
We have seen them hesitate while approaching a government officer, a receptionist, a service provider, or anyone who carried authority, spoke English, or appeared sophisticated. This hesitation was never a sign of low confidence or inferiority; it was a memory of rejection rooted in class. They had been dismissed too often because of their clothes, their appearance, their accent.
Now, when they see how the world treats us with respect and sincerity, they say very little. Sometimes their eyes moisten; sometimes they light up.
In those moments, it becomes difficult to tell who feels a deeper sense of fulfillment us or our parents.
We are now that class which separates their past from present.
