Tales From Mumbai Local: My 300 Crore love-affair.
Tales From Mumbai Local: My 300 Crore Love Affair | Views are personal.
I return to blogspot, now very rarely. I love writing and expressing my thoughts. But I hardly get the time to take a breather. This whole week I was in college from 8am in the morning to 8pm in the night. We had an interesting activity, about which I shall talk about later in this post. But, yes a fairly hectic schedule to which I have become accustomed to. In other words, I often see myself call this as a part of life.
But am I enjoying this chapter of my life? I have mixed feelings about it. Some days don't turn out to be like how you plan the day to be. No matter how much planning you do, you end up making last minute changes- because of something or someone.
For example, the other day, it was pouring quiet heavily in the region where I stay. I had to leave from my place exactly with the margin of 20-30 minutes to reach the closest station. But, I didn't find a single auto to take me there. And after a long period of struggle, I found one. But I missed my daily local.
So, in a nutshell, you might not know what new life throws at you. I learnt a key lesson here that day- Do not be frustrated at life, accept it as a boon of god, and carry on. When did I become so preachy?
Everyday sitting in the Mumbai locals - I have created a particular routine for myself. Except for passing internal judgements on people, I occasionally smile at a few familiar faces, and listen to the same track of music (List: Angel- Chanmina, Kill V.Maim- Grimes, BloodSucker- Hospicemane, Shiv Tandav Strotam- Usha Mohan, Electric Hurtz- Mindless Self Indulgence, and Deadly Valentine- Charlotte Gainsberg). I don't know if you have heard these artist. I mostly listen to music from the ASEAN+5 diaspora. I hate caucasian music. It's like they don't want to talk about anything but that one high school romance they had with a senior 20 centuries ago.
Other than this, I have a lot of time to chill and reflect on myself and my day. So I keep my mind preoccupied in that. Like I said, some days don't go by smoothly. Life becomes interesting only when there is some mirch masala in it.
Here's a list of events that I have witnessed in the Mumbai Local, which is now like my second home.
1. Poverty Mafia
As I type this, I am reminded about the nameless faces of two-three individuals whom I encounter everyday boarding my train. These people are minors, deaf and mute, too old to take care of themselves, and crippled with diseases. In the times we are living in, and thanks to mainstream media like Crime Petrol and Savdhan India, our minds are full of suspicion. But sometimes, we not entirely wrong. These people whom we shall dub as Poverty Mafia - often board and de-board from common stations notorious for such goons to operate. They even board first class compartments to sell their products. As someone who has a soft heart for children and old people, the first thought that comes to mind is: oh god why?.
I was travelling back home and was sitting in a compartment fairly empty. This girl boards the train from, maybe Mahim Station. She was selling flowers. I was happily texting my gang of friends on Instagram when she looked into my phone and innocently asked : Didi, yeh hotel hain? she was talking about the cartoonish wallpaper which was of a swimming pool. I don't remember what I said afterwards to her. But I remember, a fellow passenger and I smiling at each other with her saying to me "how unfortunate this kid is not going to school."
2. Yeh First Class Hain!
Just like anywhere else in the country, even Mumbaikars pay a premium to sit in the first class compartment. For me, first class compartments are generally less crowded and I feel safe. It has often occurred to me that the concepts of second class/first class is archaic. I won't dwell much into this thought. Because as I wrote this piece I had some clarity in my head over this. Having a first class compartment is exactly like premium economy in airlines. "Shouldn't all passengers be treated equally?" is nonsense argument. People pay a higher amount of money to receive a particular treatment and environment. It is the same case as that of Local trains.
Routine checks on who sits in these local trains have increased. I have been stopped and asked for my ticket. Luckily, I have never forgotten to get the tickets in advance. Some people, first time travellers, might not be so lucky. A couple of weeks ago, I boarded a slow train to Borivali. A few stations later, a family with teenage boys entered the ladies first class compartment. No one said anything to them. As per law, children below the age of 18 years can travel in Ladies compartment accompanied by their mothers. However, little these fellows know that they were in the wrong compartment. A special check officer had asked them to de-board at Ville Parle and they were asked to pay a fine (which was a good big chunky sum of money).
When I was in my undergrad and was travelling in the local, a couple of women entered the first class compartment. A woman looked nervous, and after analysing these women from top to bottom, she yelled "Yeh First Class Hain!". The women quickly and quietly left the compartment and rushed to the second class compartment. This very act made me wonder, if it was correct on the part of the lady to say what she said, the other ladies were obviously at fault for entering a compartment they did not pay for.
But yeah, comments like "Yeh First Class Hain" instantly puts me under a dilemma.
3. "SIDE. SIDE. SIDE. UNCLE SIDE. EXCUSE ME SIDE"
RANT ON TRAIN ETIQUETTES.
Local trains are working on a different tangent all together. You form a sense of understanding, without even speaking anything to the strangers around you. Once they know your routine : how you sit in the same spot, at what time you board the train, how long you stand to take that spot. They will welcome you into their gang. Now, formation of groups is something I have only noticed aunties and old uncles doing. In some train, uncles sing songs and other bhajans. In some trains aunties will be dancing, vibing and sometimes cursing either at each other, or their own respective families. They have such good gossip and it's the epitome of storytelling. There's nothing that can beat them at this!
As someone who is pretty large but petite, I want to stretch my legs. And this one time, I was stretching my legs and my shoes were touching a pure white Kurti of a woman sitting in front of me. Oh god, it was completely unintentional. I was daydreaming! This aunty, alright, gives me this look. I thought to myself, that she will haunt me till 7 of my lifetimes. I apologised to her later. This was an example of me being clumsy.
We often get lost in our thoughts, right? Like sometimes we are so pre-occupied with our worldly woes that we forget to live in the moment. But hey, that shouldn't happen at the cost of others. Last Friday night, I was returning home. The train had just stopped at the station and everyone (mostly office-goers) were in a rush. A woman, on her phone, was happily walking slowly and then she stopped at junction from where everyone had to pass through. She just stopped walking and was busy chatting with whomever was on the other side of the phone. I was being polite when I said "excuse me" to her. She paid no heed to me. I had to physically tap on her shoulder to give me the way. Moreover, some people do walk slowly. It gets annoying after a point. But what can you do in this?
Basic train etiquettes also include not putting your dirty feet on the opposite berth for support. A lot of aunties put their non-pedicured feet on the berth opposite to there's. I find it extremely disgusting. At times , they even touch and brush their feet with their own hands. Can this practice please be stopped? It's unhygienic and personally sends shivers down my spine.
4. Train Rukne ke baad utrega kya?
The next time someone asks you that question. Say YES. Mumbaikar's are crazy. We are constantly looking at ways to save time. But at what costs? It has been widely reported that the level of the train and platforms are not at all equal. This results to a lot of accidents- with people falling in between that gap. So it's okay to wait for the train to stop and get out. But ensure that you are standing near the gate of the train before your station arrives and do not get up at last minute especially during peak hours.
Do not cross the tracks at night. Always use a foot-over-bridge. People have lost their lives performing such stunts.
Lastly, if you think I have missed on to some details- kindly write down in the comment section and share your experiences.
Until Next Time.
Huzzah!
