Monday, 9 am, it is time. In one hand, he carries a broom. In the other, a bucket, a mug and a wet cloth. He begins with the floor. Once that’s done, he looks up at the statue of the bespectacled man, touches his feet. He then climbs on the pedestal, washes the statue, cleaning every inch with a piece of cloth.
Every day of his life, Ram Nath Ram does what he calls “Mahatma’s work”. And every Monday, this is his homage to Gandhi.
With October 2 marking the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Ram, a Group D Senior Safai Karamchari with the Railways, is one of the thousands of workers who define ground zero of Swachh Bharat, the national cleanliness campaign that turns four in five days.
Ram’s work place is Motihari Railway Station where, on April 15, 1917, Gandhi stepped off a train in Champaran to be met by thousands of aggrieved indigo farmers, setting off a series of events which would lead him to stay in the area for several months, be arrested, fight for their rights, and launch the Champaran Satyagraha.
Among the regulars at the station, there is much debate on the spot where Gandhi’s foot first landed. “But in my head, every metre is a step he took. I am proud that I clean the ground he walked on,” says Ram.
The 46-year-old’s day begins at 6 am and ends 12 hours later, except for an hour’s break between noon and 1 pm. He begins with the public restrooms, four in all, using the same broom, bucket and cloth but with the addition of a mop and phenyl. He sweeps the floor, then cleans it and the urinals with phenyl, water and the mop. Then there are the three waiting halls, including one for VIPs, and two platforms, where he repeats the routine until his grey uniform is stained with sweat.
Ram first came to the station as a casual labourer in 1996. Eight years later, he was made “permanent”. There were four other permanent staffers at the time, he says. Today, he is the only government safai karamchari left — the ten others with him are contracted to Shree Gajanand India, a private company.
He speaks to them with authority, barking out orders, his years of experience telling. “Why are you stopping now? Take a break after the Muzaffarpur train comes. Not till then,” he shouts at two.
Gandhi, meanwhile, is a presence on the walls of “Bapudham Motihari Railway Station”, too. Every inch is covered with murals of events in his life, photographs describing the Champaran movement, copies of letters, and a giant TV screen that switches between railway timetables and Swachh Bharat videos.
At 10.15 am, a train from Muzaffarpur pulls in, bringing a gust of wind and chaos. Ram waits next to a drinking water station he has just cleaned, watching people carelessly crumple and throw packets of plastic. “This is the mindset we have to change. Why do people think that someone else will be there to clean up after them? Gandhi told everyone to begin with themselves,” he says.
Over the years, Ram has earned respect. As he walks briskly around, he is greeted by administrative staff, policemen, and shopkeepers. Some shake his hand, others hug him. In 1996, he earned Rs 750 a month. In 2004, when he became a government employee, he got Rs 8,000. After several pay commission revisions, he now earns Rs 32,000 a month.
“I am a Valmiki, and I know India is not perfect. But even this respect that I get, is because of my work, and Bapu. If he hadn’t shown the way for Dalits and the poor, even this would have been impossible,” he says.