In and Out
Any space whether it be a room, railway compartment a country or province; a territory has in it the potential of being fought over by animals, plants, microorganisms and even, or should we say more so by humans.
When I was a teenage student at Pilani my late elder brother dispatched me to Lucknow where my father who we called Baba was posted as the Conservator of Forests (Research and Development Circle). This was because Baba had returned from Romania after attending an international poplar conference and had brought for each of us a ‘Raketa’ watch and a terylene shirt and I was to go to collect them.The journey, usually an unreserved one was full of uncertainties, comprising of going for 6 hours by bus to Kashmiri Gate Interstate Bus Terminus at Delhi, followed by auto rickshaw to the old Delhi railway station and further by overnight train to Lucknow. We used to carry our baggage in steel trunks.
Now an unreserved 3rd class compartment had no grills in the windows. A coolie charged ₹10 for prying it up when it was opened slightly and pushing the trunk in against the strong physical resistance by the passengers who were already packed in the compartment. He then pushed me in through the window and as soon as I had entered I joined the other passengers in not letting a new entry from succeeding in crowding the compartment further.
I was reminded of this territorial instinct when I read in the newspaper recently that an Indian origin Britisher who is highly placed in the government had, now that she is in with a citizenship, joined the popular chorus discouraging others from gaining that great local advantage; understandably from the point of view of crowding of space, their economic concerns and comfort.