'Look Between Y And I': Railways Ministry Joins The Viral Trend And How

The world of social media is always rife with niche trends. The most recent meme is the “look between x and y on your keyboard” trend, which started in May 2021 on 4Chan, a social network where users stay anonymous. If you vertically look between X and Y on your keyword, you will find the word F, which is a short form of a common curse word. Now people are coming up with their own versions of this meme. Most recently, the Railway Ministry also hopped on the trend.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Railways posted on X, “Rail Passenger: Who can dial 139? Railways: Look at your keyboard between Y and I.” The letter between Y and I is U, which is short for “You”. The 139 is the Indian Railways helpline number for customer queries. One can use this number to check train schedules, ask for fare details or clear doubts about their PNR number. It is also used as a public grievance helpline. Unlike most helplines, the 139 is not a toll-free number and callers are charged Rs 2 per minute.

With the above-mentioned post, the ministry encouraged passengers to utilise the helpline for their queries to get accurate information. However, it is important to note that 139 is not an emergency helpline number required for safety or security issues. For emergencies, one must dial 182, which is operated by the Railway Protection Force (RPF). People can use 182 to report suspicious activity or criminal offences on railway premises such as theft or harassment.

Mumbai Police also joined the Railway Ministry in this trend. On Tuesday, the law enforcement agency shared an infographic on Instagram that read, “Who should you turn to in an emergency? Look between Q and R on your keyboard.” The letters between Q and R form “We”. Here the Mumbai police is inviting the citizens to seek assistance from police when they are in need.

This post has over 16,000 likes. One of the most liked comments on the post read, “Ohh ok (look between R and U on your keyboard)”. The “TY” between R and U stands for “Thank You”. Another person wrote, “The social media manager of this page should be given hike for this and every single creativity.”

It will be interesting to find out how other agencies adapt this meme to promote public interest messages.