Train ka 'Suffer'

Any stay in Mumbai is incomplete without travelling in local trains. Just to explore, I with my cousins & friends decided to travel in local from CST to Lower Parel. Very confidently we bought the tickets and started inquiring about the platform from where we can board the train to our destination. It was then that we came to know that locals from CST didn’t go to Lower Parel (this station is covered by western line and not the one from CST). We frantically asked people what to do next. Then someone suggested that we take the train and get down at Curry Road & that Lower Parel station is at a walking distance from there. After confirming this with some other passengers, we finally boarded the train. However we had absolutely no clue when the train would reach Curry Road. After a couple of stations had passed, we just asked our fellow passengers when our station would come. They asked some other passengers and this chain followed. In the next 5 mins, almost 70% of the people in our bogie were shouting to each other “Curry Road kab aata hai?” It turned out the next station itself was Curry Road and thus ended my first real experience with the lifeline of Mumbai.

I was quite amused by the speed and simplicity of locals and used locals to commute in Mumbai after that. One Sunday evening, I was travelling from Bandra to Churchgate. The ladies compartment didn’t have many people and I comfortably sat near a window. Having nothing to do or think about, I just started checking out a few combs which a woman was selling. And within a few seconds, that woman just left the entire box of combs on my hands, mumbled something in Marathi and walked away. Before I could realize what was happening, all the combs fell from the over-stuffed box. Taking a clue from my lost expressions, the girl next to me told me that the woman had given me the box of combs to see and choose one for myself. In the mean time, these sellers just stand near the door and enjoy the breeze. Painfully, I spent the next 10 minutes in picking up all the combs from the floor. By the time I finished picking up combs, it was time for me to get down. What a way to kill time!

I generally don’t like talking to unknown co-passengers while travelling. So during my short 3 hour train journeys from Kolkata to my home town, I watch movies in my laptop. This time also I boarded the train and started to watch Ragini MMS after settling down on my seat. An elderly uncle was sitting next to me and his wife had already gone to sleep in the other berth. Just as I started watching the moving, I felt something unusual. I turned to see what that uncle was doing and found him peeping into my screen so closely that I had almost hit him while turning. I squeezed more towards the window (not much space was left) and turned my laptop so that he couldn’t see clearly. Had it been some other movie, I still wouldn’t have minded anyone peeping into my screen. But I could not watch that kind of a movie with a person of his age. Much to my dismay, he shifted towards me and was now peeping into the screen much more. I tried this once more by almost turning the laptop by 45 degree. He was just too determined to watch the movie and so finally I placed the laptop in a way both of us could see without having to intrude in other’s space. I was using my earphone and he was watching it as a silent movie. Still at the end of the movie, he said that it was a nice movie. God knows how one can find a horror movie good without any sound. Even ‘other scenes’ of the movie were worthless. And not only this, throughout the journey, he was behaving as if he was my relative. When the attendant gave us our packets of bed-sheets, I just kept it on the top berth as I hardly used it during my 3 hour journey. That ‘new found relative’ took out the towel from my packet and gave it to me saying, “Beta, ye kaam aayega. Isko pass me rakho.” I didn’t want to say anything and just took it. His concern for me didn’t stop there. When the food was served, he made space for my plate first and asked me to keep it there. Throughout the next 2 hours he kept offering unsolicited help. Then came the turn to tip the train staff who was serving our food. Generally everyone gives Rs 10 each and as I reached out to my wallet, that uncle gave the 10 rupee note and said that I was also a part of his family! Before I could give my 10 rupee note, the staff had left. I was too annoyed and just waited anxiously for this journey to end.