Window to the Past

Today was an absolutely ordinary day apart from the fact that India won the Tri-series. It was a close match and a good one, parts of which I saw in the office canteen. My folks at home are crazy about Cricket, my Dada (Grand-dad) for one watches it with a sort of feverish excitement and Dadi (Grand-mum) is not to be left behind, although she watches only if India is playing. Anyway, I didnt want to write about the game today, I had something else on my mind. This here was an Email sent to me some time back and I loved it. Well I am not putting it up over here just because its one of the funniest forwards sent to me but also because I genuinely want to thank Okhil Babu for standing up against the 'Dam Guard who not wait five minutes'. I cannot express how grateful I am to this man and I don't know what I'd do otherwise (I dare not imagine) :)

This apparently is a true story from Indian Railways.

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?
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. It apparently led to the introduction of toilets on trains