Rukawat ke liye khed hai

Life is unpredictable especially in a city like Mumbai. You may leave one morning and never return or if you do, it may be on a hospital stretcher. That is what happened to a young girl who fell off a train yesterday afternoon. I was on a train bound for CST when it suddenly stopped, minutes before reaching Ghatkopar. A couple of women were squabbling over standing space near the door, but they fell silent. Everyone started moving away from the door. Two men then jumped in holding an unconscious girl. She was badly bruised and had a head injury. She probably fell off the other ladies compartment. The women started complaining that they did not want a "body" in their compartment. The men asked them to shut up. The train then rolled into Ghatkopar station and the men unloaded the "body" onto the platform and ran off.... probably to get help, probably to get away from it all... who knows. The train moved on and the women were back to squabbling over standing space.

Local Trained

Local train travel in Mumbai is inevitable even though we now have the option of calling a radio taxi service. Sitting in an AC cab doesn't reduce the frustration of getting stuck in traffic jams and taking too long to get to your destination. So I prefer taking the local trains when I need to travel to Thane or Kalyan from town.

Most of the time due to the heat, I just fall asleep. But sometimes I stay awake and experience the cacaphony around. Fish mongers and chinese-goods sellers jostling for space at the entrance; fat middle aged women wanting to sit on the fourth seat squeezing the breath out of the other three in the bargain; people sqabbling over standing space at corners where you can lean a little and rest your back. As soon as a station arrives, the noise levels go up drastically. People jump in even before people have gotten off. Several fights ensue for exactly 10 seconds and then the train starts off again. The newcomers want to know where you will get off, so that they can sit in your place later. Once your seat is booked, they will stand right over your head... you belong to them... they own you till you get up and get off... dare someone else even ask you your destination and they will jump in to defend their territory.

In case you are unlucky and haven't got space to sit, you may give a sad, puppy like expression to all those seated around. Someone might have pity on you and offer their seat... only for a little while. As soon as you sit down, they will drop all their belongings(including a large bag weighing about a ton) on your lap and start adjusting their hair or dress... depending on what is in more disarray(don't even think of complaining about the loose hair or food particles that may fall on you). Now you might think that you were better off standing. Don't worry! Within 5 minutes (once the hair or dress is properly adjusted), the owner of the seat will claim it back. Now that you are indebted to this person, you may need to hold on to the one-ton bag while you stand.

After all this, when you get off the train, you feel reborn... free to breath fresh(?) air again. Even though I have travelled on local trains for several years, I haven't lost my sense of wonder for this city's lifeline... not yet!