A chapter from the Life of a Local Train Commuter

Local trains in Mumbai are known as the lifeline of this financial capital of India. And it couldn’t be truer. But I can’t help but notice (I’m a regular with Mumbai local, you see) that commuting in Mumbai local has now become more synonymous with fighting for your last breath than anything to do with lifeline! If you are a regular too like me then you will know exactly what I’m talking about and if you’re not well you should read on to be enlightened.

Mumbai local is spread across the entire city in the form of three different lines (Western, Central and Harbour) But here we are concentrating on western line and especially the busiest station of this line, Andheri. So here how it goes, since I travel in the opposite direction of the traffic (i.e. Churchgate to Virar) I comparatively feel comfortable than the ones traveling in the traffic direction (Virar to Churchgate). But we all have to get down at Andheri station which is the 2nd most crowded station of this entire city coming at 2nd place only after Dadar. And there are few who will debate that.

So getting down at Andheri station and coming out without getting brushed, jostled, pushed, pulled, and stepped on is IMPOSSIBLE! Even if you walkout with 10 bodyguards which you won’t because a) you’re not SRK, b) if you were, you wouldn’t need to travel by Mumbai local, c) even if you were SRK and decided to travel by Mumbai local, you will face one of the above situations, d) there is no getting around it.

One fine day (yesterday) when I got down from the train on my way to office, I faced quite a few of those situations. But I did what people travelling in trains do, DGAF! So while I’m hurrying on trying to nudge others and find my way, I felt a tickle on my arm. Realizing that this was a new situation, I turned and there it was, a florist guy holding 2 big flower bouquets obviously out to deliver. So adding the ‘tickling’ to the Mumbai local situations I moved on.

Just after coming down from the Footover Bridge there is this nasty bottleneck (irritates me every freaking time) that I have to cross in order to get to the other side. While trying to find a gap for me to walk faster than the snail pace this bottleneck forces people to adopt, I saw through my shades a giant hand clad in white swinging towards me. The move seemed kinda like the one you see in Matrix movies. So yeah, reflexively my arm holding my cell, shot up and blocked it and belatedly I realized that it was just a very tall guy trying to wave at someone on my other side. Stupid stupid man! Everyone crossing that sea of people should do the waving, hugging and stopping for whatever activity only when they come out of the station and isn’t blocking people.

Finally, after all the nudging, ducking, blocking and hurrying, I was out of this giant station. That felt like a breath of fresh air. But no matter how suffocating, annoying, and frustrating it is to get out of the stations or entering them, one can’t avoid Mumbai locals. It’s the fastest way to commute in this city. I would choose this over the traffucked Mumbai roads any freaking day!

If you have any of your interesting experience of Mumbai locals to share please do in the comment ‘section below.

The Night Owls

I love working but I also love travelling and partying. There were times when I have partied 24 hours and not complained about it. Obviously! So if there was a demand/ deadline at work to complete a presentation, should I work for 24 hours straight? Some would balk at the idea, some would sneer, some will reluctantly agree but I and my 2 other colleagues, we embraced the challenge with open arms. Well, not completely because we had our parents to tell the news to.

The 3am maggi cooked by my friend in office

But work we did that day and night. Completing the presentation and completing it to the satisfaction of our bosses is what our core focus was. Before I tell you what happened to our presentation, I would like to introduce you to the personalities that everyone adopted in office that day. Starting from me, I became the segregator/ delegator. Dividing work between ourselves and giving deadlines to each one of us. I also played the part of constant clock watcher.

My partner in crime

My other partner in crime became the nervous General. She had the work under complete charge and I was sure she will deliver on time but she continuously doubted it and also needed reassurance. But when the night transferred into the wee hours of the morning she was the most confident of us all!

The other criminal was the most chilled out. Sutta breaks were taken even at 2 and 3 am! She knew and believed that the night belongs to us and we will complete the assignment before our bosses take the flight out of Mumbai in morning to the clients’ city where the presentation is due just an hour after they land.

Our bosses helped us a lot in terms of guidance and encouragement. And also ordered dinner for all of us. Though deciding the menu took us all an hour. And equal time to eat it. But hats off to we, we completed a full-fledged pitch presentation with all the formatting, structure and finishing. I’m sure it met the expectations of our bosses because I received a message from my CEO saying, “Hey Farhat, thanks for the awesome presentation. Hope now we present it as well as you guys have made it”.

The next morning...

Of course I received the message in the morning, while I was sleeping at home. I fell flat on my face as soon as I reached my bed. And got up only after 2pm for lunch and went off to sleep again. So reading the message after getting up from deep slumber brought a smile on my face and made me think that yeah, it’s worth it. But the first ‘working night out in office’ of my life (yes, this was that) was a unique experience. It also landed me a very good friend. I have referred to her earlier as my partner in crime.:)

It’s time for Mumbai

Mumbai has always been home to me… And it’s also a reason why the thought of settling down anywhere else is just not welcome! The thought in itself is scary. But having being brought up in this awesome city I have learnt to live in a fast city where nothing and no one waits for anyone. Time, train or opportunity runs the fastest. And you will lose a lot if you are not quick enough.

But this city has changed with time. I have grown fonder of it with each day but it has also grown bad in certain aspects.

As a girl, this city has always been my safe harbor. Like Literally! But now it doesn't feel like it. It’s like a blanket has been wrapped around my safe harbor and it has been marked out of my reach. Yes, the feeling of safety has vanished. Slowly and steadily this city has been losing its… shine? Is that a correct word to describe the antipathy that has started to prevail over this city?

There was a time when no matter what the adversity was, this city stood up tall and strong. The riots couldn’t take away the love this city inculcated in people for each other. Then came the vicious nature knocking on our door on 26/7 and even then the Mumbaikars faced it with determination and courage. People helped each other irrespective of their caste and creed and ethnicity. Food was shared without asking for names or finding religion in it. Boys stayed back to protect the girls who were stranded out in the heavy downpour. When nature showed its anger, Mumbai showed its courage, chivalry and kindness to its fellow human beings.

After nature’s slap came terrorism and their gun totting terrorists. Once again Mumbai was taken hostage to the vileness of few human who has lost all their humanity to some brainwashing sessions and torture. These stupid worldly creatures created lot of havoc, bloodshed and did manage to scratch the surface of our unity. But scratch that was. We managed to get back on line and showed them our unity and emerged victorious. The cost of this battle still rattles us and makes us seethe. But we showed the world that Mumbai and its spirit doesn't die.

After living through all this and seeing it all I’m standing here trying to figure out why then, why, is this city going to the dogs now! Facing and fighting so much we are falling prey to the patriarchal mind set of few who thinks over powering a woman physically is a sign of manhood.

How can we let this eat away our Mumbai? Isn’t it time enough for us to stand up and show these cowards that our city will not fall prey to their kaput mindset. A child, a girl, a woman, all have rights to feel safe in a city which once was cited as the ‘Safest city for women in India’. Where did that disappear? Why did it disappear? How did we let it happen? Who is responsible for this? Questions can be numerous, answer is just one. It’s time to fight back. It’s time to get back what once was ours. It’s time that I have an answer when my friends and family insist that I go to some other country and settle down because Mumbai is just not safe enough.

Its time…