‘Mere peeche ’ trolley bags

With a Hindi phrase, coolies hand over work to next in line; sadly people are being replaced by a pair of wheels

This is a free facility provided to the staffers.

BENGALURU: In the 1983 film Coolie, there is a famous dialogue by the main lead  played Amitabh Bachchan when he introduces himself to a rich, arrogant traveller (played by Suresh Oberoi). He says Mazdoor ka paseena sookhne se pehle, uski mazdoori mil jani chahiye janaab (coolies should get their dues without any delay, before the sweat dries, sir).

1&2. Allah Bakash takes a bus for his 25-km ride to work 3&4 He puts on his uniform, one which he has been wearing for 44 years, and waits for custom
5. He meets his fellow porters and friends

Today, the real coolies have lost the dues to trolley bags and escalators, yet many still continue to work with all sincerity. Allah Bakash, a coolie with badge number 99, has been serving at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station for more than 44 years. The 62-year-old now earns about `200 to `300 a day, lifting luggage of the passengers. “I used to earn about `4,000 a week,” he says.
He works from 11.30 am to 8 am the following day. “There’s no fixed time. We can come and leave anytime. Sometimes, when I see trains coming in, I stay back.”

6. Bakash  waits at a stretch assigned to him, senior porters are given this privilege 7&8. Bakash finds a customer 9&10. He freshens up at a platform after tiring hours and rests with a tea break

The coolies stand in a queue as the train arrives on the platform. If the person who stands first fails to reach and carry all luggage, he calls out ‘mere peeche’ to the coolie next in the line to lift the luggage.
In 1960s, he started working at the station with his brother. “My brother was a coolie here. That’s how I got the job and started working with him. He passed away a few years ago.” Bakash lives with his family of six children, four girls and two boys. “They work too as factory workers or domestic help. We are about ten people in the family. I used to live behind Shantala Silk House in Majestic.”  

12.  Bakash with Shah Rukh Khan, a young coolie 13&14. Day winds down and Bakash rests at his regular spot, outside stalls 15&16. He retires for the day at porter’s restroom on platform 6;

Now, he lives near Kengeri. He commutes about 25 kilometres every day to Majestic for work in a bus because he cannot afford the rent in the city anymore. “The government promises insurance but nothing has been done yet,” he says.Ask how he lifts luggages in his old age, he says, “Kya karein, majboori hai (What else can I do?).”