1890

This photograph is titled “Bengal-Nagpur Railway Construction, Photograph No.29” and is by Townshend. This picture seems to be showing the ways of life in a railroad village caused by the construction of this railway line. Initially viewing it, one can easily see that there are a lot of people on the road that goes through the village as well as on the sides of the road. These people are wearing different assortments of simple white or grey linens; however, none of them are wearing any intricate and detailed pieces of clothing, which indicates that this village is filled of only workers and the non-elites. The men, the workers, are only wearing clothing that covers their bottom half. Conversely, the women are fully covered and have their heads covered. One can see from the people hanging out on the side of the roads that they are exhausted and tired, probably from working all day constructing the railroad. In the background of this photograph one can also see the huts and the baskets of either linens or supplies being carried on top of some people’s heads. In the distance there are also cattle and horses shown. On the right side of the photograph, one can see that the outlined dirt pathway for the railroad is already laid out. Looking even further behind this, one can see that they are cutting down trees to clear the way for the railway. From these observations, I can deduce that the conditions in this railroad village are harsh and strenuous. I also can conclude that the railroads were constructed by the Indians and not at all by any colonials or white people. What I wonder is where the officers or managers of this construction lived. Did they live in a separate village, or did they live in nicer huts in this railroad village? I also wonder where did these people come from? Were they all from the same tribe/region, or did they all come from different areas?