2 days ago
A Labourer Faces Death on a Sweltering Bus Journey
Ram Kumar is riding a bus home on a brutally hot day.
The bus is old, dirty, noisy, and uncomfortable.
Ram becomes very sick and lies on the floor, but nobody notices him.
He feels weak, confused, and afraid that he may die.
While the bus continues moving, he remembers his family and his difficult life.
He worries about leaving his wife and child without protection or money.
He looks at the religious figures near the driver and wonders why the gods are not helping him.
The story shows how a poor and unnoticed person can face suffering alone.
Ram Kumar boards a private bus traveling from Dera Mandi to Inhauna in extreme heat.
The damaged, overcrowded bus becomes an oppressive setting of noise, dirt, and neglect.
Feeling severely ill, Ram lies unnoticed on the metal floor as fellow passengers argue around him.
As he approaches death, he reflects on his responsibilities as a husband and father.
The story questions fate, karma, poverty, divine indifference, and the anonymity of labourers’ deaths.
- Who
- Ram Kumar, a labourer in his thirties, is the central character.
- What
- He becomes critically ill and appears to be approaching death during a bus journey.
- Where
- On a private bus traveling from Dera Mandi in southwest New Delhi to Inhauna in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh.
- When
- At 4 p.m. on May 12, 2025, during extreme summer heat.
- Why
- He is trying to travel home, but the excerpt does not identify the specific reason for his journey.
Key facts
- Work
- Excerpt from “A Necessary Travel” in Walking, Wandering, Wayfaring
- Author
- Chitra Gopalakrishnan
- Publisher
- Penprints
- Bus capacity
- 48 seats
- Temperature
- 45 degrees Celsius, feeling closer to 50 degrees
- Departure and destination
- Dera Mandi to Inhauna in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh
- Central concern
- The isolation, vulnerability, and mortality of a poor labourer
Quotes
Ram Kumar
A labourer travelling home who is suffering in the bus and feels ignored by fellow passengers.
“Why aren’t the people around me curious about why I am on the floor?”
scroll.in
Sources
Related news
Ajanta Paul’s Stories Find Infinite Worlds in Ordinary Lives
RTC Bus Driver Suffers Heart Attack While Driving
Ten Books For The Strange Quiet Feeling Of Being Stuck
Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyyat, the Rains, and Writing About Death
Gurgaon Floods Leave School Buses Stranded, Parents Rescue Children
62-Year-Old Dies After Alleged Push From Mumbai Local
BJP MLA Anil Sharma Dies After Prolonged Illness, Yogi Mourns
UP Minister Visits Ankit Baliyan Family, Promises Strict Action
UP Launches Outsource Corporation With Expanded Worker Protections
Uttar Pradesh Expands Free E-Tricycle Scheme for Divyang Students
Uttar Pradesh Launches UPCOS for Outsourced Workers’ Security
