0:00:02 > 0:00:06This programme contains some strong language
0:00:06 > 0:00:08SHE READS ALOUD IN DIALECT
0:00:09 > 0:00:13This boy can't hear the lesson, but he's too shy to tell the teacher.
0:00:13 > 0:00:20He's behind in his studies and without an operation on his ear
0:00:20 > 0:00:24he will probably go completely deaf.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27But in rural India, where the poor have little access
0:00:27 > 0:00:34to medical facilities, there is a unique way of providing treatment to the sick and hope to the disabled.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45It's based on the simple concept that if the people
0:00:45 > 0:00:49cannot reach a hospital, then the hospital should reach the people.
0:01:08 > 0:01:15This is the story of a train, a very special train - the Lifeline Express.
0:01:18 > 0:01:24The train is known as "The magic train".
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Hundreds of poor people
0:01:27 > 0:01:31who are disabled, who've never seen a doctor, they come.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35They're so trusting. They'll come with a little packet of vegetables,
0:01:35 > 0:01:37of flowers and put it in your hand.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41"Yours is a magic train.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45We have come for magic. Make the miracle."
0:01:55 > 0:01:59The Lifeline Express was the world's first hospital on rails.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04With two fully equipped operating theatres, treatment rooms, offices
0:02:04 > 0:02:07and accommodation for the Lifeline crew,
0:02:07 > 0:02:13it uses 70,000 kilometres of Indian railway track to reach the remotest corners of the country,
0:02:13 > 0:02:19bringing free treatment and state of the art surgery to India's rural poor.
0:02:24 > 0:02:25The train was the brainchild
0:02:25 > 0:02:29of Sir John Wilson, a British campaigner for the disabled
0:02:29 > 0:02:34who founded Impact India, the charity which runs the train.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38With the help of the railways and the Government, volunteers and sponsorship,
0:02:38 > 0:02:43to date it has treated over half a million rural people all over India.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49Each mission is a complex exercise in planning and diplomacy.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55The Lifeline Express has its own permanent six man staff
0:02:55 > 0:02:59and they travel with the train and they live on the train.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07The leader of the Lifeline team is Colonel Vishwan, retired.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14And the location for this Lifeline project and home to the Colonel
0:03:14 > 0:03:18for the next month, is the small District town of Mandsor
0:03:18 > 0:03:21in Madhya Pradesh, slap in the middle of India.
0:03:33 > 0:03:40And soon, from all over the country, volunteer doctors and surgeons will converge on Mandsor.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Over the next four weeks, they'll perform hundreds of operations
0:03:45 > 0:03:50and thousands of health screenings right here on platform number two.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52And it's all for free.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00The Lifeline Express will change some lives forever.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05And it all begins with a promotion, country style.
0:04:05 > 0:04:06MAN SHOUTS IN DIALECT
0:04:18 > 0:04:21In villages around the district, the first priority
0:04:21 > 0:04:24is to make people aware of the train and get the message out.
0:04:40 > 0:04:47After a two day journey, the Lifeline Express slipped into Mandsor Station almost unnoticed.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15Each week, a different specialist team of volunteer surgeons will travel here to operate.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18First ears, then the polio surgeries.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22In the third week cleft lips, and finally the eye surgeries.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27And it's all taking place on a train in a station in the middle of India.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44Padliya Lalmua is typical of over 200 scattered villages in the district
0:05:44 > 0:05:47just fifty kilometres from the town of Mandsor.
0:05:51 > 0:05:57Eleven year old Dashrath is the third child of an extended farming family and he's going deaf.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04The family own their own house and a field, some goats and a bullock,
0:06:04 > 0:06:08and though it's a hard life, they're not on the bread line.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Dashrath's hearing started to deteriorate after a series of infections,
0:06:17 > 0:06:22since when, his father says, nothing seems to have worked.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20With a referral from his doctor, Dashrath heads for the Lifeline Express.
0:07:20 > 0:07:26It's just an hour and a half by bike across country but it may be the journey of a lifetime.
0:07:33 > 0:07:40Sanskar Gardens, normally a marriage venue, has become a registration and screening centre for the train.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Dashrath is one of over a thousand would-be patients
0:07:46 > 0:07:52with ear, nose and throat problems who have turned up on this, the first day of the Lifeline mission.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56But only a minority can ever be operated on.
0:07:56 > 0:08:02And that decision is made by the volunteer surgeons who have come from Delhi.
0:08:02 > 0:08:08They will screen every one of the hopeful patients, but there are just four days of surgeries
0:08:08 > 0:08:10so the odds are not in Dashrath's favour.
0:09:05 > 0:09:11After the ten minute examination, Dashrath has been approved for surgery on one of his ears.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16He now has a file, a number and the operation is fixed for the following day.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21He'll stay here overnight in the makeshift ward in the marriage hall.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24And in the morning he'll get his operation.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43On board the Lifeline Express, the team of top Delhi surgeons and anaesthetists
0:09:43 > 0:09:45are waiting for their first patients.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50Dr Vikash Malhotra and the team are aiming to operate
0:09:50 > 0:09:54on a lot of patients today, but he's quietly confident.
0:10:30 > 0:10:36By the time Dashrath reaches the train the temperature on the platform is already over 40 degrees.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40The heat is building up to the summer monsoon rains.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54Perhaps it's nerves or the medicine or the heat, but Dashrath is feeling sick.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21On the train, the ear operations have begun.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23The most complicated procedures are first on the list
0:11:23 > 0:11:28and Dr Vikash and his surgical team have set a target for the week.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54At 4pm, after waiting on the burning station platform for five hours,
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Dashrath's feeling much better.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00Today, he's going to have one eardrum repaired
0:12:00 > 0:12:04and the other one will have to wait until he's a little older.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21Through this microscope I can see the small hole in his eardrum.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25What we will be doing is just putting some chemical
0:12:25 > 0:12:30along the margins of this hole and sealing it with a paper patch.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02The operation was successful and the prognosis is that,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05in just a few weeks, Dashrath's hearing will be nearly back to normal.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21It was a typical day for all departments of the Lifeline Express.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26Dashrath's surgery was just one of 25 ear operations today,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30and the surgical team are confident of meeting their target
0:13:30 > 0:13:33before the handover at the end of the week.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43But bad news is coming in on the TV.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47Events in the bordering state of Rajasthan are about to cause a major problem
0:13:47 > 0:13:51that could upset all of their plans.
0:13:51 > 0:13:57A minority caste are demanding tribal status and calling for better education and better jobs.
0:13:57 > 0:14:03They're known as the Gujjars and they've blockaded the main railway line between Bombay and Delhi.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06The disruption has caused the cancellation of hundreds of trains
0:14:06 > 0:14:09including all the doctors' tickets from Delhi.
0:14:09 > 0:14:16It's a major headache for the Colonel and it's put the polio surgeries planned for next week in jeopardy.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27No trains. The doctors who left the day before yesterday, remember, they're still in Bhopal.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Although the trains are still running on the branch line through Mandsor,
0:14:33 > 0:14:39with the main line closed and the surgeons stuck in Delhi, the polio operations cannot begin.
0:14:45 > 0:14:51Dashrath was lucky that his passage through the Lifeline system went according to plan.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53And by the end of the first week,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56the surgeons had almost reached their target of 100.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01But with the rail network in chaos, no-one knows what's going to happen next week.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20Today, according to the astrologers, is the most auspicious day for a marriage.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Tonight, in every village across Mandsor district, there's a wedding.
0:15:24 > 0:15:32Brides on horses, grooms on tractors, it's a time when the whole community shares in the celebrations.
0:15:36 > 0:15:42Whatever your caste or religion, it's a matter of honour to ensure your daughters are married off.
0:15:42 > 0:15:50Marriages in rural India are traditional, arranged early and normally with a dowry attached.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00But for those who are poor and disabled, the prospects of marriage are far from good.
0:16:10 > 0:16:1540 kilometres south of Mandsor town lies the village of Daloda.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20Like many places in India, it bears the legacy of the polio virus.
0:16:20 > 0:16:26Once upon a time, almost a third of all polio cases in the world were in India.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30But today that's been reduced to a just a few hundred new cases a year
0:16:30 > 0:16:35and soon it will be eliminated completely.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40Sapna is 17 years old and she lives with her family here in Daloda.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45But since the age of two, she's been disabled as a result of polio.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Between the chai shop and the tractor repair shop,
0:18:09 > 0:18:14lives Bharat, a six year old boy who cannot walk at all.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18His family is poor, his father unemployed.
0:19:10 > 0:19:16Treatment on the Lifeline Express may be Bharat's only chance to see a top specialist
0:19:16 > 0:19:18and to get an operation.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24So his father is taking him on the train to see Mr Meena,
0:19:24 > 0:19:28an orthotist and prosthetics specialist in Mandsor.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33His recommendation could help Bharat see the polio surgeon for a screening.
0:19:33 > 0:19:39But they don't know what, if anything, an operation might achieve or if there is any hope of a cure.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03At Sanskar gardens, the polio screenings have begun.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09It's an opportunity for a new prognosis from a top surgeon
0:20:09 > 0:20:13like Professor Agarwal from Lucknow Medical College.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18He's an esteemed paediatric specialist and teacher and the leader of the team.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23And he's the first of the polio doctors to make it through the blockade.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29Over the next two days, he'll screen hundreds of disabled people
0:20:29 > 0:20:34to see who is suitable for orthopaedic surgery and who is not.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Bharat has come to Mr Meena for a screening.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45He's hoping to get a referral letter from him for the Lifeline train.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48But it's turning out to be much more intense than expected.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49By midday, Sapna has been accepted for an operation by Professor Agarwal.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51But there are conditions.
0:21:52 > 0:21:58She'll be in theatre tomorrow, only if all the doctors arrive in Mandsor and the professor is insisting
0:21:58 > 0:22:04that his patients are moved from the converted marriage hall to the district hospital.
0:22:04 > 0:22:10And, after a day of screenings, he's called a meeting with the organisers on the train.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35You are the responsible person and you are responsible.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37You understand my point?
0:22:37 > 0:22:41I don't share any responsibility on this issue.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Colonel has asked me to come from Lucknow.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47You know how much travel that is?
0:22:50 > 0:22:5628 hours I have travelled by train, only for one cause, to do good work
0:22:56 > 0:22:58for the poor people.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05The district hospital in Mandsor serves almost a million people.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09It's short of beds and short of doctors.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13But, somehow, the Lifeline Express works its magic
0:23:13 > 0:23:18and they manage to clear a ward for Professor Agarwal's polio patients.
0:23:18 > 0:23:25With a referral letter from the physio, Bharat's hoping for an operation that will make him walk.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22I am sorry, I have nothing to offer.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26The point is, it's God's will
0:24:26 > 0:24:30and if it is God's will, we cannot stop it.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32So don't keep attachment.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36The emotions are very disturbing.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Just make him happy as far as possible.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48Bharat has finally been diagnosed properly, with myopathy, not polio.
0:24:48 > 0:24:55Under a harsh regime of physiotherapy in the coming years, he may yet gain the ability to walk.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58But it will take a miracle to cure the boy.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17GUNFIRE
0:25:17 > 0:25:20The Gujjar protest has taken a violent turn.
0:25:20 > 0:25:27The main railway track remains blocked by 60,000 angry protestors and with so many trains cancelled,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29the Government has sent in the troops.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36So far, 39 people have been killed, and it doesn't bode well for the Lifeline train.
0:25:45 > 0:25:5324 hours after screening, and despite the protests, Sapna is in pre-op on the Lifeline Express.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57By bringing the doctors on lengthy detours and avoiding the rail blockade,
0:25:57 > 0:26:01the Colonel has managed to scramble a skeleton team for Dr Agarwal.
0:26:01 > 0:26:08So now he can operate on the village girl from Daloda, for whom the stakes could hardly be higher.
0:26:31 > 0:26:37Professor Agarwal typifies many of the volunteer surgeons who join the Lifeline Express -
0:26:37 > 0:26:43taking time off from big city hospitals or private practices to work with the poor for free.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46And this is his tenth year.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16And I'm very God fearing.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Every time I feel somebody's watching.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22If I do something wrong,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24don't think that nobody's watching.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46Over the next three days, Sapna and 19 more polio patients
0:27:46 > 0:27:50were operated on by Dr Agarwal and his skeleton team.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55It may take some time before their plaster casts are removed permanently,
0:27:55 > 0:27:57and only then will they find out
0:27:57 > 0:28:00whether their operations have been successful
0:28:00 > 0:28:03and whether they'll ever walk normally again.
0:28:16 > 0:28:22As the project reaches its halfway point, the Gujjar demonstrations are still causing disruption.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26The surgeons are coming from Lucknow and the anaesthetists we're trying to get
0:28:26 > 0:28:32from Madhya Pradesh only, either from Bhopal or Indore or any of the medical colleges.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37That effort is on. The only thing, we realised yesterday, they'll not be able to make it, so we are...
0:28:37 > 0:28:42Colonel Vishwan faces the problem of how to get his polio surgeons home
0:28:42 > 0:28:45and to get the plastic surgeons to the Lifeline train.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50All planes are full and the alternative routes are overbooked.
0:29:05 > 0:29:1050 kilometres north of Mandsor town, on the edge of Sabakehda village,
0:29:10 > 0:29:13lives a small community at the bottom of the economic ladder.
0:29:19 > 0:29:25Deeply religious, illiterate and dirt poor, they live a hand-to-mouth existence.
0:29:30 > 0:29:37Mohan Lal's family were delighted when their first baby, the boy Shiva, was born to them.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39But all was not well.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Shiva was born with a cleft lip.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26For Shiva's family, news of the Lifeline Express
0:30:26 > 0:30:30has given them hope of an operation to rectify the cleft lip.
0:30:33 > 0:30:39So, having successfully passed a local screening at their primary health centre,
0:30:39 > 0:30:44the whole family heads for Mandsor station and the Lifeline train.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51There are no guarantees he'll get his operation, but they believe that Shiva is a God,
0:30:51 > 0:30:57and that he's blessed, and that the doctors on the train will change his life forever.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19At Sanskar gardens, the lip screenings have started.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23Dr Faisal is one of the three plastic surgeons who have finally made it
0:31:23 > 0:31:28to Mandsor after a circuitous, 36-hour train journey.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34With only a few hours sleep, he now has to screen
0:31:34 > 0:31:37hundreds of would-be patients for corrective lip surgery.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41And Shiva is in the first batch who are waiting to see him.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47For Shiva, corrective surgery on his lip
0:31:47 > 0:31:51would be completely unthinkable, had it not been for the Lifeline train...
0:31:53 > 0:31:57..yet some Indians believe that such surgery is undesirable
0:31:57 > 0:32:01because the body you are blessed with is the gift of God.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39Amongst the peoples of India, religious beliefs and observances
0:32:39 > 0:32:40are central to life.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45Whether Hindu or Buddhist, Sikh or Muslim,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48all believe that life is sacred.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51And its strictest adherents are the Jains.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58Nimbod is an old established village in the south of the district,
0:32:58 > 0:33:00and home to a large community of Jains.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08They believe that all life, no matter how small, is worthy of respect.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11THE CHILDREN SING LOUDLY
0:33:12 > 0:33:16Orthodox followers wear a mask,
0:33:16 > 0:33:20so they will not swallow any living creature or insect.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26Eleven-year-old Vishal comes from a typical Jain family
0:33:26 > 0:33:28who have lived in this village for generations.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31BELL RINGS
0:33:33 > 0:33:39Vishal was also born with a cleft lip, but it never used to bother him.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Tomorrow, Vishal and his father will travel to Mandsor,
0:34:56 > 0:34:59hoping to get an operation on his cleft lip.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27Despite the Gujjar troubles and all the train cancellations,
0:35:27 > 0:35:31so far, the project has completed 99 surgeries.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33And with the colonel's emergency planning,
0:35:33 > 0:35:38nearly all the medical volunteers eventually arrived.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41So today is the first day of the cleft lip surgeries
0:35:41 > 0:35:43for Doctor Faisal and his team.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49I have been on the Lifeline in previous two projects,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51and I love to come here.
0:35:51 > 0:35:57Every time Colonel Sahib calls us, I am the first one to volunteer,
0:35:57 > 0:36:01and I'm always enthusiastic to come here and do some work.
0:36:01 > 0:36:06But that work is suddenly interrupted by a new crisis.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11At Mandsor district hospital, the entire staff have gone on strike,
0:36:11 > 0:36:13because somebody hit a doctor.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15The police have moved in with riot gear,
0:36:15 > 0:36:18as such incidents can easily escalate,
0:36:18 > 0:36:23and until the crowd disperses, the hospital is closed.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29But at Sanskar Gardens, the clock is ticking away at the surgeon's time,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32so the screenings must continue.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38Vishal's operation has been approved, along with baby Shiva.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41BABY CRIES
0:36:45 > 0:36:47But with no medical staff willing to work
0:36:47 > 0:36:49until the demonstrators have been dispersed,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52even the ambulance has been locked in,
0:36:52 > 0:36:56and now the Lifeline patients are stranded.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04The ambulance, which was coming from the hospital,
0:37:04 > 0:37:08was supposed to bring the patients from the transit camp to the train.
0:37:10 > 0:37:13That is...er...really making us...
0:37:13 > 0:37:15a bit problematic.
0:37:18 > 0:37:23A couple of hours later, the hospital protest is over, so Vishal and Shiva
0:37:23 > 0:37:27can be delivered to the operating theatre on the Lifeline Express.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30SHIVA CRIES
0:37:41 > 0:37:46Finally, Dr Faisal and some of the best plastic surgeons in India
0:37:46 > 0:37:51can use their expertise, and work their magic.
0:37:51 > 0:37:56Each surgery may take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes,
0:37:56 > 0:37:57if everything were all right,
0:37:57 > 0:38:01and for Shiva's father, it's an anxious wait.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06If there is any inadequate muscle repair,
0:38:06 > 0:38:11it's going to give a very unhealthy scar, and the child
0:38:11 > 0:38:14might not get another chance to get a revision done. OK?
0:38:14 > 0:38:18And if the muscle repair is right,
0:38:18 > 0:38:22the pieces of the two parts of the lip
0:38:22 > 0:38:25will automatically fall in the normal positions.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28It's like a jigsaw.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32- DOCTOR SPEAKS IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE - Vishal.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37There is muscle suppression inside.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58Baby Shiva is brought to his father.
0:38:58 > 0:39:03It's ten o'clock, and he's already the sixth operation of the morning,
0:39:03 > 0:39:06and Vishal is out of surgery too.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09All today's patients have been transformed
0:39:09 > 0:39:13by the Lifeline experience, and so too have the volunteer doctors.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16It's very difficult, it's very difficult.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19But when it's good, it's always worthwhile.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23Small children used to bring paintings and drawings for me
0:39:23 > 0:39:29when they were operated, and... the love and affection that you get
0:39:29 > 0:39:32from such kind of patients is just fantastic,
0:39:32 > 0:39:36I mean... I cannot express that in words.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44SHIVA CRIES
0:39:45 > 0:39:50After 48 hours, baby Shiva and Vishal Jain have their scars examined,
0:39:50 > 0:39:53their plasters changed, and if Doctor Faisal approves,
0:39:53 > 0:39:55they can go home.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12For baby Shiva and his family,
0:40:12 > 0:40:17it wasn't just Doctor Faisal who made Shiva well, it was their God.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23So the family is making a pilgrimage to a holy shrine
0:40:23 > 0:40:27to offer their prayers for Shiva's salvation.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30- DOCTOR:- Religious? Yes, I am religious.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33Everyone in India is religious!
0:40:33 > 0:40:36- Yes, everybody is religious! - Underlined and...!
0:40:36 > 0:40:37They're praying God.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49Vishal Jain will suffer no more jibes at school.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53His self confidence will grow, and his faith has been strengthened.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00THUNDERCLAP
0:41:00 > 0:41:03In an isolated area of the countryside,
0:41:03 > 0:41:08Shiva and the family have begun their observances at the holy shrine.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16A local shaman has been engaged to conduct the ceremony.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20Shiva's family believe that his operation was only possible
0:41:20 > 0:41:24by divine intervention, and that he really IS a God.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Tonight, by offering up their thanks,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34they pray the Gods will bless his life forever.
0:41:46 > 0:41:52For the train staff, it's been three weeks of continual operations.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54In the last four days alone, the plastic surgeons
0:41:54 > 0:41:57have completed over 50 lip operations.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01Now the plan is that they leave in the morning,
0:42:01 > 0:42:04and the eye surgeons should be arriving by train from Delhi...
0:42:06 > 0:42:08..God willing.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15THEY SING
0:42:19 > 0:42:21Tonight In Sabakheda village,
0:42:21 > 0:42:2673-year-old Mangunath and his wife Gajribai are celebrating.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35They're almost blind with cataracts.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38They're penniless, with no possessions, no home, no children,
0:42:38 > 0:42:42and they rely on an extended family to support them.
0:42:45 > 0:42:51But tonight, they're happy. They've both got doctor's letters
0:42:51 > 0:42:54for an eye operation on the Lifeline Express.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34HE GROANS
0:43:55 > 0:43:58At Sanskar Gardens, the response to the Lifeline Express
0:43:58 > 0:44:00is almost overwhelming.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07Thousands have turned up for the eye screenings,
0:44:07 > 0:44:10with every kind of eye problem, from children with squints,
0:44:10 > 0:44:12to the totally blind.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24For Mangu and his wife,
0:44:24 > 0:44:28this is probably their last opportunity for eye treatment.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31They're old and confused, but with a little help,
0:44:31 > 0:44:34they make their way through the screening process.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45Without an operation, Mangu and Gajribai face a future
0:44:45 > 0:44:50where they can't possibly work and will have to depend on charity alone.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01Outside, the crowd has grown so large that it threatens to overwhelm
0:45:01 > 0:45:03the volunteers and security,
0:45:03 > 0:45:06and the police have to be called in to keep order.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15The main line between Mumbai and Delhi is still blocked,
0:45:15 > 0:45:19and the Gujjar protests have now spread to Mandsor.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22THEY CHANT ANGRILY
0:45:28 > 0:45:32Now, the colonel is having to find ever more inventive routes
0:45:32 > 0:45:37to bypass the blockade and to make sure the doctors get here on time.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44A few of the eye surgeons have made it from Delhi,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47but there's still no sign of any anaesthetists.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52Heading the team is Doctor Zia.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56I'm a practicing strabismologist and a neuro-ophthalmologist.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59Strabismologist is a squint specialist.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02That's my area of specialization and training.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05And after the age of 40 - this is for senile cataract -
0:46:05 > 0:46:08after the age of 40, they start getting opaque,
0:46:08 > 0:46:10so that is what we basically call a cataract.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14Something that comes in the way. Cataract means "waterfall" in Latin,
0:46:14 > 0:46:17"cataracta," from the waterfall. Something white
0:46:17 > 0:46:21that comes in front of the eye, waterfall in front of the eye. That's what it means.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29Cataracts are the world's leading cause of blindness.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33Some estimates are that almost 20 million Indians suffer from it.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37- But it is curable.- ..E...S...L...
0:46:39 > 0:46:42So, Doctor Zia and her two senior surgeons
0:46:42 > 0:46:46are getting on with as many of the cataract screenings as possible,
0:46:46 > 0:46:47without a full team.
0:46:47 > 0:46:52They're hoping that medical support will arrive tomorrow
0:46:52 > 0:46:55in time for the surgeries.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07Mangu and Gajribai are here to get their blood pressure checked,
0:47:07 > 0:47:12and for their final pre-op examination by Doctor Zia.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15As the head of the team, only she can decide
0:47:15 > 0:47:18if they'll get their operations or not.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08Gajribai is through, but Mangu's tests
0:48:08 > 0:48:11show he has high blood pressure, and Doctor Zia is worried
0:48:11 > 0:48:15it might cause complications if she were to operate.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39Mangu's operation is off, and Doctor Zia
0:48:39 > 0:48:42is growing increasingly concerned that if the anaesthetists
0:48:42 > 0:48:47don't get here soon, there will be no eye operations at all.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52As tensions begin to mount on the train,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55there's more bad news for the colonel.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59Faced with a long and uncertain train journey from Delhi,
0:48:59 > 0:49:02the anaesthetists have pulled out.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09So the situation on the train has gone critical.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13Without them, Doctor Zia cannot operate.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25Luckily, the colonel has persuaded an old friend, Doctor Tripathi,
0:49:25 > 0:49:29a semi-retired anaesthetist from Mandsor, to step in.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33But the problem is, he can only work part time.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09I am out of this after this. No, I'm not into this.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11No, it's not I, your Caesarean...
0:50:11 > 0:50:15It's a camp, it's a national level camp, it's got to be done properly.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18We cannot do it without anaesthetic cover. It's for them to discuss.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20You discuss this with them.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25I'm not irritated.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30I don't want to talk any further.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32Talk it over with them.
0:50:34 > 0:50:35Talk it over with them.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37- Bye.- Absolutely.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Even with the blockade on the main line from Delhi,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19local train services through Mandsor are still unaffected.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25The Lifeline project is in its last week.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27The Gujjars are in talks with the government,
0:51:27 > 0:51:30and there is hope of a settlement soon.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34But on platform number two,
0:51:34 > 0:51:38the Lifeline Express is faced with abandoning the cataract surgeries
0:51:38 > 0:51:42unless the colonel can find more anaesthetists
0:51:42 > 0:51:46and negotiate a truce between Doctor Zia and Doctor Tripathi.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06THUNDERCLAP
0:52:09 > 0:52:11Tonight, the first of the monsoon rains
0:52:11 > 0:52:15bring some relief from the intense heat.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18STORM RAGES THROUGHOUT
0:52:38 > 0:52:41Gajribai will have her operation in the morning,
0:52:41 > 0:52:44but if Mangu loses his sight,
0:52:44 > 0:52:46then she will have to become the breadwinner...
0:52:48 > 0:52:53..and for this dignified old man, it's a harsh reality to face.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39After a busy night of phone calls,
0:53:39 > 0:53:42the colonel's determined efforts have paid off.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45Doctor Zia and Doctor Tripathi have reached an accord,
0:53:45 > 0:53:48and two more anaesthetists have been secured,
0:53:48 > 0:53:51so tomorrow, the eye surgeries can begin.
0:54:06 > 0:54:11Gajribai had pleaded for her operation to be given to Mangu,
0:54:11 > 0:54:14but she was told it wasn't safe for him...
0:54:16 > 0:54:19..so her operation is next on the list.
0:54:27 > 0:54:31Doctor Zia has had to scale down the number of operations to 150,
0:54:31 > 0:54:34because she still doesn't have a full team.
0:54:34 > 0:54:40Nevertheless, this is her first day of surgery, so she's happy again.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43DOCTOR ZIA SINGS IN HER OWN LANGUAGE
0:54:53 > 0:54:56SHE CONTINUES SINGING
0:55:07 > 0:55:11Under local anaesthetic, and using state-of-the-art surgery,
0:55:11 > 0:55:15Gajribai will get back the vision in one of her eyes.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18But she also knows her husband will slowly go blind.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28Helpless people, you know, who have come with expectations.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30Something is promised to them.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34It doesn't really matter to them what we think or what we do,
0:55:34 > 0:55:38what matters to them is that they have a problem,
0:55:38 > 0:55:41and they have come here with hope.
0:55:41 > 0:55:42God knows, they suffer a lot.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52Gajribai's operation was successful, and in a few weeks' time,
0:55:52 > 0:55:55she will be able to see clearly enough to work again.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03Over the last month, the Lifeline Express
0:56:03 > 0:56:06has performed its minor miracles.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10Thanks to the volunteer surgeons, doctors and nurses,
0:56:10 > 0:56:14thousands more lives have been touched by the magic train.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25In four days, the plastic surgeons
0:56:25 > 0:56:28performed more than 55 cleft-lip surgeries.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30Vishal's scar is healing well,
0:56:30 > 0:56:34and Doctor Faisal even got to operate on a God.
0:56:34 > 0:56:39Dashrath was just one of 80 ear surgeries on the train,
0:56:39 > 0:56:42and thanks to the operation, he can hear better,
0:56:42 > 0:56:44and now he's doing really well at school.
0:56:46 > 0:56:51Doctor Agarwal and his team performed 19 polio surgeries,
0:56:51 > 0:56:55including Sapna's operation. Now she's out of plaster,
0:56:55 > 0:56:59but it will be months before she'll be able to walk
0:56:59 > 0:57:01without the aid of a crutch.
0:57:01 > 0:57:07Doctor Zia and her team eventually operated on 148 cataract patients.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11Gajribai was lucky, but Mangu was not.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16Despite all the problems, the Lifeline Express
0:57:16 > 0:57:19managed to screen thousands of people
0:57:19 > 0:57:25and performed over 300 operations, which have changed peoples lives.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28Now Gajribai has decided it would be best
0:57:28 > 0:57:31if she and Mangu move back to the village where they were born,
0:57:31 > 0:57:33to their native place,
0:57:33 > 0:57:38and the Lifeline Express is also moving on to its next mission,
0:57:38 > 0:57:40a thousand miles away from Mandsor,
0:57:40 > 0:57:44but where the people share the same hopes and the same dreams of a cure.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49The train has become the symbol of a miracle.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52A hope.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55And when it goes away, we've had people sleeping,
0:57:55 > 0:57:59lying on the sleepers, won't let the train go away.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03"Don't go away. My mother is sick, my father is sick."
0:58:03 > 0:58:04They don't know what to do.
0:58:04 > 0:58:06This train is blessed.
0:58:06 > 0:58:10Somebody is up there, watching us, telling us what to do.
0:58:41 > 0:58:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:44 > 0:58:47Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk