Verbatim pasting an email forwarded to me in an alias. Haven’t verified the truthfullness, but thought worth sharing…
Okhil Babu’s letter to the Railway Department:
“I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur station and my belly is too
much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore went to privy. Just I doing
the nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to go off and I am
running with ‘lotah’ in one hand and ‘dhoti’ in the next when I am fall
over and expose all my shocking to man and female women on plateform. I
am got leaved at Ahmedpur station.This too much bad, if passenger go to make dung that dam guard not wait
train five minutes for him. I am therefore pray your honour to make big
fine on that guard for public sake. Otherwise I am making big report! to
papers.”Okhil Chandra Sen wrote this letter to the Sahibganj divisional railway
office in 1909. It is on display at the Railway Museum in New Delhi.
It was also reproduced under the caption “Travelers’ Tales” in the Far
Eastern Economic Review. Any guesses why this letter was of historic value?
It apparently led to the introduction of toilets on trains
This is what I call the power of feedback!