Crossing forests and empty plateaus, slicing the night with its fiery eye... The train goes on its appointed journeys, bearing hope, longing, sadness and achievement of hundreds of people. From his driver’s seat in the train, Sureshkumar G has seen the beauty and terror of life and death in equal measure.
A loco pilot for over 30 years, he crystallises his experiences in a collection of poems, brought out by Poorna Publications, Kozhikode. Released in Ernakulam recently, Enginemuriyil piranna kavithakal has 59 short poems—of his childhood home, past loves, people, journeys and other coordinates of daily living. The train and the rain are leitmotifs. “The train, because I’ve been driving it for so long and the rain, because I love it,” he says.
“While you are in the engine cabin, there’s just noise, the rail track and the vast expanse of nothingness ahead. There’s a lot of time to think and reflect and it works well for the poetically inclined,” he says. Sureshkumar has always been interested in writing; the very first time he got his work published was when he was a student at the SB College Changanassery. Through his years of diploma in mechanical engineering (from Kottayam) and later, post diploma in maintenance engineering (from Bangalore), his love for language and writing survived.
He joined as an assistant loco pilot in 1989 in Kollam. And since his posting in Ernakulam South, he has been operating the Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Erode and Guruvayur routes. “For a loco pilot, experience in a particular section is very important. Though the route may be the same, no two days are the same in the life of a loco pilot. Each day brings a whole new set of people, and different experiences.”
Some of the experiences have been gut-wrenching; he has witnessed people end their lives on the tracks. “There’s nothing to do, but watch helplessly. The train moves ahead at least 250 metres before it stops. Most often, we see a life ending right in front of our eyes.” However, there have been moments of immense joy, as well, when he has been able to avert an accident. “Some times, when you see a person on the tracks from a distance, you can make out from their body language and by intuition.”
Once, at Mararikkulam, he saw a child who was on the track. “He looked about three and he was too close. There was no way that the train would stop, and those moments were the worst in my life. However, in the nick of time, the child crawled away from the tracks. I was by then in a state, so full of anger and worry and helplessness. But the child, looked at me and smiled and that is one of the best moments of my life. I will never forget it.”
Writing happens after a trip, when he gets time off. “I will keep writing, but it is when somebody reads my works that it feels complete.”
Enginemuriyil Piranna Kavithakal will be available in book shops in Kerala. It is priced at ₹115.
