A journey through suburbia…

Anybody who is anybody in Mumbai must have traveled in the Mumbai local trains at some time or the other. Every Mumbaikar will vouch for the fact that ‘Local trains’ are a lifeline to this city. Buses and taxis going on strike are still acceptable but not the trains. The entire city comes to a halt if the trains stop working.

The Suburban Railway (which covers the Western and Central lines) is spread over 465 route kilometers and carries approx 6.94 million passengers per day. Imagine over 4,500 passengers are packed into a 9-car rake during peak hours (some new trains are 12-car rakes now), as against the rated carrying capacity of 1,700.

I remember it all so clearly…my first train ride from Dadar to Vasai. My family moved to Vasai (a far flung area in western suburb) when my father retired and we had to vacate the company residence. For more than 20 years (my growing up years) we lived in Worli (a totally upscale area in Mumbai by the sea…sigh!!!). Even Bandra at that point in time for me was an area totally out of the way. Life just revolved around South MumbaiJJ

So imagine my horror when I had to travel in the all so famous Virar local train. I was working with NDTV then and had my office in Worli. I was told that there is a starting train from Dadar to Virar (Vasai is 2 stations before Virar) that starts from Dadar at 5:40 pm and since it’s a starting train I will get inside easily.

Having stayed in Mumbai all my life, nothing could have really prepared me for what I was about to witness. I reached the station 10 mins in advance and after checking where the first class ladies compartment halts, stood amongst a sea of women. The train arrived on the platform and slowed down. Before I could take a step ahead, I found myself engulfed in a wave, pushed and shoved from all directions. I just closed my eyes and hoped I would wake up and this will all be a dream. Though it lasted exactly for 30 secs, it felt like a lifetime. As I was about to take a step inside the crowded train, I realized that one of my shoes was missing. Frantically, I looked everywhere and didn’t find it. The only place left to look was under the train on the tracks. So that meant I had to miss the train. When the train left the station, I looked down at the dirty filthy track and there was my expensive branded shoe. I almost had tears in my eyes, standing at Dadar station with one shoe on my foot. I couldn’t possibly climb down on the tracks and then I saw a coolie. So I handed him a Rs 20 note and told him to retrieve it. After that I sat on the platform bench thinking of a strategy to ensure this doesn’t happen to me again (and it never didJ).

I travelled for almost 3 years on the Churchgate-Virar local train line. I lost a very expensive watch while getting in the train from Vasai; Once my branded leather bag had a huge cut…don’t know how it happened but I could never use it again. So from then on travelling in the train was a very strategic exercise…with proper entry and exit strategies. From what clothes to wear, to the bags to carry to the footwear…all changed and was in accordance to what would make the train journey less eventful.

In the morning my mom would bid me goodbye with a very worried look. With so many people falling off the trains every day, she was always worried and would be nervous till the time I reached office or back home. And most of the time, this fear would be in me too. Will this be my last journey?

Summer time in the train was the worse. You were so stuck to each other because of the lack of space that you could smell the sweat (and everything else!). And trust me, there is no way in hell you would want that. The fans (fitted decades ago) were of little help. I would spray some perfume on the handkerchief and keep it on my nose through the whole journey.

Just like every coin has 2 sides there was a fun side to the train journey as well. Most of the ladies would take a fixed train in the morning and evening. So you would end up travelling with the same group of women. From Vasai, there was this group of women mostly in government jobs. Morning time I would be travelling in the same train. The ladies were experts in getting into a moving train and often occupy all the seats. Poor mortals like us would be happy to get enough space to stand on two feet and not on one foot. Once I became a regular, one of them would always offer me a seat to sit for few minutes.

Best part was a treat every other day…all of the women would bring some snacks or the other. Dhoklas, samosas, kachori, jalebi…yummyyy…so the day would start on a real healthy noteJ

The train was also a great place to catch up on all the gossip, politics, bollywood, etc. Everything would be discussed, debated and judgements passed. From foreign lipsticks, to chocolates, to fresh vegetables you could buy all of these on the train. Some women would even start peeling and chopping vegetables so that they could save some time when they reached home…Simply amazing…

The initial loathing I felt about travelling in the train started to disappear. I started enjoying the time spent in the train. All the women were struggling to reach office on time, reach home on time to cook and care for family…each fighting a new battle every day. It just made me realize that for some people most of their life is spent travelling in these trains. The fellow passengers become like your extended family and the train – your second home!!!

So here’s my salute to all the fellow train travelers…From a South Mumbai girl to just one of the million commuters on the Mumbai local train, my journeys taught me how to appreciate life in its most basic form and still survive with a smile. I learnt how to enjoy the “journey”, no matter where it finally leads. A profound truth indeed!!!!