I was in Mumbai over the weekend. I had to board a bus from Bandra at 9:00 PM back to Goa. So I boarded a fast local from Church Gate to Bandra at about 8:00 PM. And that was the biggest mistake of my life!
I was smug about getting a seat at Church Gate and had a HUGE bag which was kept on one of the overhead racks. Bandra was about five or six stops away, so I was busy SMSing people left, right, and center.
The train stopped at Dadar.
"Bandra next station hai kya?"
"Haan. Aapko utarna hai kya?"
"Haan"
"To aap baithe kyun hue hain yahaan. Nikalna shuru kariye warna utar nahin paayenge"
I got up -- my bum was not even an inch away from the seat and poof -- someone else's butt was warming the wooden plank. I managed to pull my bag from the overhead rack... and that's all I managed to do. I was stuck! Literally stuck!
"Arre itna bada bag lekar kahaan chad gaye"
"Bhai sahab kahaan utarna hai aapko"
"Bhaiyya Bandra utarna hai"
"Arre toh dhakka maaro -- aise nahin utar paoge Bandra"
Shoving and heaving my way from out of the sitting area to the area right in front of the door I realized what I had just done. I had moved from an area with a packing fraction of 0.99 to an area with a packing fraction of 1.00!
Suddenly everyone in the compartment knew that there's an idiot with a huge bag on his head who was supposed to get off at Bandra and who still hasn't reached the door. Can you beat it -- I was just three feet away from the door!
"Bhai sahab -- so rahe the kya abhi tak, pehle utarna shuru karna chahiye tha na!"
Everyone around me was trying to inch me closer to the door. It's not like people were not trying -- but no one could fucking move! No one! It was a deadlock! Never in my life could I have imagined that so many people could squeeze into so little space.
I wasn't sure whether the sweat on my skin was mine or of the ten people I was in close contact with. I had to follow a seemingly dismembered elbow up to an arm up to a shoulder to a face to figure out who was hooked onto my arm with all his weight. The bugger was actually sleeping with all his weight hooked onto my arm -- bloody hooker!
Bandra came and went. More people got onto the train. Yes -- MORE PEOPLE!
Then finally, when Andheri came a BIG push from behind helped me traverse the last three feet to the door. I was out -- freedom at last!
I rushed back to Bandra on a fast local in the opposite direction, which was thankfully empty.
I just don't know what to make of my journey. Should I be amused about the state of affairs? Should I brush it off as "Life"? Should I be apathatic?
Why do people still come to Mumbai? Go back! No place -- house full!
I agree that there is no place left in Mumbai, you have no option but to come Mumbai, if MNCs setting up offices here.
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm doing my summer internship in Bombay these days and I've ended up spending more on cabs than actually eating out or having fun during weekends. I fell ill a couple of days back and since then a local train journey is the last thing I want to do while going to work. Even the women's compartment is jam-packed. I really pity the men. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteI'm no fan of the Mumbai locals either but frankly, all said and done, next year I would rather be placed in Mumbai than Delhi. That place just scares me. I have travelled only twice in Delhi and both times have been a victim of disgusting men in buses and the railway station trying to grope me. On the other hand, I've travelled innumerable times in the locals and crowded places in Bombay and not once have felt uncomfortable.
Bomaby might be overwhelming but it sure isn't scary.
Sarika
http://pleiades.blurty.com
Heh! The women's compartments are worse. If you're lucky enough to get a seat, you'll have 10 people asking you where you're going to get off so they can take your place. And it's a hierarchy! Those who are sitting, have the first right to the window seat depending on how close they are to the window. So if the person sitting next to the window gets up, the next person will take over the seat and everyone else will scoot closer. Only then, can a standing person sit! And woe be you, if you stand at the wrong exit. Whether you like it or not, you'll be forced to get off. Something similar happened to me and when i finally got off at my station, I remember just standing there and giggling. Must have been near hysterical!
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's such a tension. I saw two women fighting over how much space the other was taking— with her hand on the pole!
But if you have to travel by train in Mumbai, go first class. You can purchase a pass that works out cheaper if you're a frequent traveller.
Cheers!
mumbai - mumbai karke darao nahi! I have travelled on locals ...if you had a bag you should have travelled by bus or should have taken a cab! saving company's money or what ? :P
ReplyDeletewell ...life teaches us all...if u think it is hard to beleive that u were just 3ft away rom the door, then try the samething again for dadar at six where despite of getting off people push u back into the train.
ReplyDeletewell ...life teaches us all...if u think it is hard to beleive that u were just 3ft away rom the door, then try the samething again for dadar at six where despite of getting off people push u back into the train.
ReplyDeleteI remember going to mumbai in 1994 i was in 9 th standard . I travelled around th city with my family in locals and buses and the expeience was such that I nevr even apply for jobs in Mumbai. Because even if your office is for 8 hours u would be out for 12 hours getting back to home or ur hide out bcoz home is more decent..
ReplyDeleteSarika is right. Mumbai is the best place to be as far as work is concerned. Workplace is like a workplace here - professional. I agree, the train situation is bad, but it still is the fastest way to traverse a city so large. The Bandra incident will teach you to never travel on a train during the rush hour with luggage. The fact that you managed to make it to the bus in time despite missing your station and getting off several stations later is a testimony in itself. Had you gone by the road instead of train from Andheri to Bandra, it would have taken atleast 45 to 60 mins instead of 14 mins.
ReplyDeleteThere's a book called Local By Jaideep Verma about a guy who decides to live on the local trains
ReplyDeleteGood stuff!