Railways & Travelling by train are daily routine of practically of every Mumbaikar. It is at the railway station that one sees a range of people, happenings & emotions, etc.
One has to wait for a full hour at the railway station because of derailment of a goods train making all trains late by 45minutes. One could see the frustrated faces of people who are always in a hurry especially in Mumbai. One could hear all sorts of stories about why the trains were late. One saying that a Bomb had been kept at one of the previous stations. So the trains were not allowed to run. One could hear people cursing all those bad elements who had tried such outrageous things & put so many people’s life in danger.
As the time passes by, the number of people at the station keeps on increasing. One couldn’t but help wondering how many lakhs of people this city accommodates, of all religion & castes. The railway platform & train compartments overcrowds where people forget their differences to attain one goal-to reach their destination. By then, some people form groups and take a taxi to their destination by sharing the taxi fare. Some others decide to take a bus and leave the station.
The canteen & the food stalls at the station make brisk business & so also the shoe-shine boys at the platform. The announcement over the Public Address System about the trains being delayed because of the derailment of a goods train put all overactive brains to rest. Some men who are lucky enough occupy the bench & start their game of playing cards & others who stand as spectators also show interest in the game. After few minutes, when there will be announcement that the train is about to arrive, many people heave a sigh of relief & the men immediately get ready. The Ladies tuck their sarees, holds their dupattas firmly & place their gold chains & magalsutras between their teeth, start to get ready to make a dash to board the train.
It is a kind of ritual that, one always gets to observe with the ladies who try to guard themselves against chain snatchers. The vegetable vendors carry the basket of vegetables, will be seen getting ready to get into the luggage compartment. As the train comes to halt at the station, one would see hordes of people getting out of the train, like a swarm of bees. Then, starts the rush to get into the train as the Fast Train halts for 20seconds & Slow Train halts for 30seconds and it will be like a wrestling match that takes place. The luckier ones get into the train, the others slightly luckier ones hanging out of the train & the unlucky ones will be left cursing for their fate & waiting for the next train.
This shows how Mumbaikar’s Life becomes so Routine, Time-Bound & Mechanical. For Mumbaikar’s Local Trains are the Fastest & Cheapest Means of Transportation. If the Local trains stop, Mumbai grinds to halt.
Mumbai’s life is Great life. Even though the life is Hectic, Mumbaikar’s Love this Mumbai City a Lot. Hats’ off to Mumbaikar’s.
One has to wait for a full hour at the railway station because of derailment of a goods train making all trains late by 45minutes. One could see the frustrated faces of people who are always in a hurry especially in Mumbai. One could hear all sorts of stories about why the trains were late. One saying that a Bomb had been kept at one of the previous stations. So the trains were not allowed to run. One could hear people cursing all those bad elements who had tried such outrageous things & put so many people’s life in danger.
As the time passes by, the number of people at the station keeps on increasing. One couldn’t but help wondering how many lakhs of people this city accommodates, of all religion & castes. The railway platform & train compartments overcrowds where people forget their differences to attain one goal-to reach their destination. By then, some people form groups and take a taxi to their destination by sharing the taxi fare. Some others decide to take a bus and leave the station.
The canteen & the food stalls at the station make brisk business & so also the shoe-shine boys at the platform. The announcement over the Public Address System about the trains being delayed because of the derailment of a goods train put all overactive brains to rest. Some men who are lucky enough occupy the bench & start their game of playing cards & others who stand as spectators also show interest in the game. After few minutes, when there will be announcement that the train is about to arrive, many people heave a sigh of relief & the men immediately get ready. The Ladies tuck their sarees, holds their dupattas firmly & place their gold chains & magalsutras between their teeth, start to get ready to make a dash to board the train.
It is a kind of ritual that, one always gets to observe with the ladies who try to guard themselves against chain snatchers. The vegetable vendors carry the basket of vegetables, will be seen getting ready to get into the luggage compartment. As the train comes to halt at the station, one would see hordes of people getting out of the train, like a swarm of bees. Then, starts the rush to get into the train as the Fast Train halts for 20seconds & Slow Train halts for 30seconds and it will be like a wrestling match that takes place. The luckier ones get into the train, the others slightly luckier ones hanging out of the train & the unlucky ones will be left cursing for their fate & waiting for the next train.
This shows how Mumbaikar’s Life becomes so Routine, Time-Bound & Mechanical. For Mumbaikar’s Local Trains are the Fastest & Cheapest Means of Transportation. If the Local trains stop, Mumbai grinds to halt.
Mumbai’s life is Great life. Even though the life is Hectic, Mumbaikar’s Love this Mumbai City a Lot. Hats’ off to Mumbaikar’s.
3 comments:
The Local Train and Mumbai are actually part of one another.
have you also seen women cutting vegetables on way back home? so that they can cook them without wasting time after reaching home.. such is Mumbai
@ Shantanu Das :- yes, U r correct:)
Hope one of that is not you??
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