Ladies Coach

Yog and me took a few long Metro rides in Delhi recently. Somewhere during one such ride, there was an announcement on the intercom, warning men not to enter the Ladies Coach.

Yog wanted to know, “Mama, why is there a ladies coach in the train?”

“If any lady who is travelling alone, without any male member, feels unsafe, she can choose to ride in the Ladies coach.” was my reply.

Yog instantly put his next question, “So where is the Male coach?”

I had never thought about this so I just shrugged my shoulders indicating that such a thing did not exist.

This prompted Yog to dig deeper, “But, what if, a Man who is travelling alone feels unsafe, then where will he go?”

In my heart, I felt pride, love and gratitude to know that my little boy looked at the world as an equal playing field. In his eyes, he did not consider anyone weaker or stronger. All those emotions in my heart but I still didn’t have an answer for his question.

I kept quite for a while. I knew, Yog was still thinking about the Ladies coach.

Shortly, he asked me a follow up question, “What if a Lady is travelling with a small boy? How will the boy travel alone if the Lady goes in the Ladies coach?” I was thankful that I knew the answer to this. I said, “Ladies can take their young children with them into the Ladies coach.”

Thankfully, Yog did not ask more questions about the Ladies coach. Yog seemed to be content knowing that the children were safe with their Mommies. The men just have to figure out their way to travel without a dedicated Men’s coach.

All the Best to all the Men!
Until the next Q&A…