DELHI RAILWAY STATION ( RESEARCH )

NEW DELHI RAILWAY STATION

The first glimpse of the station is captured in this picture. Located between Paharganj and Ajmeri Gate is a very important junction called the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS). What we saw was not unexpected. Passengers hurdling in and out from all directions, auto wallas ramming into eachother as if that was normal, kullis dressed in red asking passengers to help carry their luggage, little kids afraid of being part of the entire commotion and then there was us, standing in the middle of all this, very inspired already to further take on to our research!

                                               The most prominent factor we saw at the station:

                                                 

Coolies 

 Like we have baskets to keep our groceries in when we are shopping and trolleys to keep heavy luggage before we catch our flight, similarly, we have people dressed in red who work as human carry bags for other people. They are labelled as "Kullis." There is a fixed amount that they ask for when they are given baggage to carry, but it varies depending on the distance and how influential the customer is, in other words, how well the customer can bargain. This is their way of living life and it is ironic how other humans including us very conveniently put our load on a poor man's back and prefer him carrying it rather us. But it is also true that if we do not do so, they will not be able to earn their money and survive.

Let us roll back a few years...
A Coolie (cooli, cooly, kuli, quli, koelie) during the 19th and early 20th century, was a term used for an unskilled labourer, mainly from the Indian subcontinent or Southern China. Today it is also a racial slur for people from Asia, particularly in South Africa. This trend was known as the Coolie Trade which started after Slave trade was put to an end. It was mainly under the influence of the Britishers.