Train choot rahi hai kya?

How often do we get to hear this age old phrase when we are buzzing off in the times of urgency, rushing past people, unaware of how/where are we hitting them on the way. While at those times, our real answer could have been "no", here, anywhere near the Mumbai Stations, no one would dare ask that question, because the answer is obviously "yes".

Well, its been quite some time now that i have been travelling by the Mumbai locals, and although it was a little difficult in the starting, i slowly got adjusted to the pushing and squeezing that one has to do here everyday for the sake of an entry into the heavily crowded train. I wouldn't be exaggerating if i said that the Mumbai local is a site to watch itself, apart from the famous beaches, markets, hangouts. As it is, the western line is heavily crowded, and i happen to be blessed with the commute there.

The day begins with the anxiety that one is late, and just have just landed himself/herself into peak hours. And, then the real trouble begins. Rushing to the station, one can see a huge queue at the ticket counter, filled with people, anxiously waiting for their turn. Once you cross the first hurdle, you land up on the platform, and the real story starts here :) Annoucement of the next local sounds like "Platform number 2 pe aane wali local churchate jaayegi. 9 dabbe ki ye dheemi local sab stations pe rukegi". Now, begins the game. There are two kinds of trains, slow or fast. The fast one halts at major stations only, whereas the slow one is more user-friendly, because it picks up people from each and every station. Another way how these trains can be categorized is "the 9 compartment one" and the "12 compartment one". If you happen to buy a season ticket, which is a fancy name for the monthly pass, for the first class, you tend to believe that you would now be relaxed and can easily get a place to sit. Your dreams hit reality when the first time you "try" to enter the first class compartment, with your pass nicely tugged inside. I say "try" because you wouldn't essentially succeed in it, for the amount of rush and attitude the first class compartment has. Don't know if mumbaites would subscribe to my opinion, but i feel that the public travelling by the first class starts believing that since they have paid a much bigger amount, they deserve all the choices, including the one to not let anyone else get in.

That was how i missed my train, when i wanted to get into the first class compartment for the first time. Next train came, and i could board it, in the second class though :) "so much for service". Now, the struggle i was talking about doesn't end when the train's arrival is announced. What happens next is the event of finding out whether its a 9-compartment one or a 12-compartment one. Now, this because the first class coaches for the two come at two different stops, nicely marked in stripes on the bars on the platform. So, having located the suitable location of entry (sounds like a war right?), you wait for the target, and when it appears, managing getting hit by the jumping passengers, you make a dash for entry, forgetting about the existence of your stuff as well as your body, just to get inside somehow. Phew! Somehow, if you manage to get in (after 2-3 trains have passed by), you make an attempt to reach a less crowded portion of the coach. Believe me, in 99% of the cases, there isn't any. So, there you are, hanging, struggling/trapped between bodies from all sides, saving your stuff and your wallet (yeah, theft is another famous thing in mumbai). Even then, if you do manage to find a place where there is a 1 inch gap between you and your nearest neighbour, when you check out the approaching station's name, you realize that yours is the next one, and then begins another fight, to reach to the door :) Asking people if they happen to get down at the same station as yours, you make a dash for the door (lest you want to take a joy ride to nariman point at the extreme end of mumbai), and then when the train stops, push push push, and jump out to the platform, and make a run for the queue that takes you out of the station.

And, when you repeat the same process while coming back in the evening, all you want to do on reaching home is lie down and sleep. And thats why i say "Mumbai is fun sans the travel"

Any readers wondering if there could be some alternate modes of commute, are requested to buzz off the idea from their mind, for I have been the victim once, having waited for 2 hrs in a bus for a 10 km journey :) So, all in all, the train saves the time, and hence is preferred by most people, and the result is what i told you, RUSH!

A Happy Moment...and thereafter...

After a long time, I lived a happy moment. And time has stopped ever since. I mean, the good times appear to be back, albeit for a short period.

It all started when I went to Mumbai to start with my eight week long summer internship. A welcome change from the routine ifs and buts of college life, I had been awaiting the beginning of the summers, for the want of a better means of leading life. Not that I was unhappy with the college life, but it had become kind of dull and boring, with the same old routine classes, assignments and tests.

So, my search for the better was over when I reached Mumbai. Awaiting at the guest house, which CEAT had arranged for us, was a smiling attendant and a neatly furnished apartment. People had been cribbing about difficulty of staying in Mumbai, and our (sure I would mention my partner-in-crime Madhuri here) deepest fears had been arranging for it, until the day when we were told that CEAT would arrange accommodation for us. And on checking out the arrangement, we could only smile, in relaxation. It was much better than what we had expected, and by all means we were happy. And then, we had a sudden good news. Madhuri’s uncle left us a chauffeur driven car and our plan, that Ali (who’s a localite) would show both of us some good places, knew no bounds. We went to Bandra BandStand, typically a lover’s spot, but an amazing seaside, fraught with waves, splashing over the small stone rocks. It was a sight. But for my friends, who apparently couldn’t see so much of beauty in the moment, I could have remained there, spell-bound, waiting for the waves to come and splash water over me, until I would have been drenched.

The following few days were spent mostly in getting acclimatized with the company, and evenings (and sometimes nights) in hanging out, and exploring famous places in Mumbai, like Nariman Point, Malabar Hills, Worli Sea face. And then I observed something, which hitherto I thought to be trivial. I became very happy whenever I approached the sea. It was as if the sea was talking to me in an unknown language, and I could sit at the beach, or the shore gazing into the splashing water, and observing its beauty. And therafter, I left no chance of convincing friends to go to sea face or a beach. The time spent was good, and we checked out many good places in Mumbai, a few good malls, and a few good eating joints.

Then, when it was time I arranged for a 1 or 2 day excursion to a nearby place, like lonavala, there came the NEWS, that I had to leave for Delhi. All plans went to trash, but I was not disappointed, because going to Delhi meant start of some real work. Against my expectations, the stay in delhi, and faridabad (as the regional office was in faridabad), turned out to be good, partly because faridabad is like home to me. And then when the work started, it was a mix of good and bad times. The work turned out to be good, with my ever increasing need for achievement finally seeing some light, when I was meeting all top people, and working out plans (sometimes outside the scope of my project). But, all in all, the traveling was fun sans the heat. Now, I am at home for the weekend, and as I read the news “suraj ne aag ugli”, I feel a little scared for the upcoming days, when I have to do more travelling for my market research. But, at the bottom of it, there is happiness and satisfaction, of a kind never experienced before. Wish i could tap most of it for the remaining part of my life :)