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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Fifty Five: The Agra-Jhansi Express – a black and white travel picture story > The Agra-Jhansi Express, Agra, India, 2008
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27-MAR-2008

The Agra-Jhansi Express, Agra, India, 2008

This image is the turning point of the picture story. All that goes before is prelude. All that follows is the journey and its aftermath. The train itself makes its appearance. Horn blasting, it rumbles towards us on the tracks we first noted in the previous image. Incongruously, two young men scamper across the tracks just in front of it, something we would rarely see in an American or European train station. The men who wait patiently on the platform just above them provide a counterpoint. We wonder if these train dodgers will make it in time – they not only must cross the tracks but also haul themselves up on to the platform. The image prompts us to wonder why they take such risks. That is part of the nature of India itself. What may seem risky behavior to a Westerner may be everyday living to these young Agrans.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/160s f/5.6 at 88.8mm iso100 full exif

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Phil Douglis25-Apr-2008 19:07
You both speak of the value of human lives in a country such as India, where there are a billion people, and so many of them live in poverty, illness, and malnutrition. I have made a number of images such as this one, showing people taking chances with their lives that we in the west would probably not take. Yet let us remember that people in India are conditioned to such things as racing across train tracks and highways. They do it every day and have become skilled at it. I was almost killed just crossing the street in Varanasi because I was used to the flow of traffic. But in India, people do get accustomed to such things as train speeds and traffic flow and what seems like a death defying act to us, might simply be life as usual to them. And yes, Tim -- life matters just as much to people everywhere. Everyone I met in India seemed to get just as much out of living as I do.
Tim May25-Apr-2008 18:13
All of your images from the recent trip make me wonder about the value of life in India. It is so easy to see the masses of people and think that live isn't precious in such an over crowded country. But for each individual, I imagine, life matters.
JSWaters25-Apr-2008 04:45
I think you take such chances with your life when you are constantly reminded that it is possibly less than meaningful.
Jenene
Phil Douglis21-Apr-2008 18:15
As well they should, Alina. People seem to take chances with their lives in India all the time. I saw in on the roads, and I see it here, too.
Alina21-Apr-2008 09:43
They make me upset!
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