A Small Letter,Big Change

Okhil Chandra Sen wrote this letter to the Sahibganj divisional railway office in 1909. It is on display at the Railway Museum in New Delhi. It was also reproduced under the caption "Travelers' Tales" in the Far Eastern Economic Review

Okhil Babu's letter to the Railway Department :

"I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur station and my belly is too much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore went to privy. Just I doing the nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to go off and I am running with 'lotah' in one hand and 'dhoti' in the next when I am fall over and expose all my shocking to man and female women on plateform. I am got leaved at Ahmedpur station.

This too much bad, if passenger go to make dung that dam guard not wait train five minutes for him. I am therefore pray your honour to make big fine on that guard for public sake. Otherwise I am making big report to papers."

Any guesses why this letter was of historic value?
It apparently led to the introduction of toilets on trains.

Source:Cool Deepz Blog

Comments

raghav said…
interesting .. very interesting !!

another classic case of 'butterfly effect' huh .. had the guard not blown the whistle we would not have had teh loo in the trains .. ! *grin*
5:49 PM, April 18, 2007
Ajith Prasad Balakrishnan said…
mmm..good dig into the history :)
9:46 PM, April 18, 2007
confessing7girl said…
like this one!!!!! really good!! :D
4:35 PM, April 20, 2007
Compulsive Net Addict said…
I like the butterfly effect take on it [:)]

Who thought there was such a story behind the loo's in trains ? :)
9:31 AM, May 01, 2007
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