Mumbai's Pulse and Paradox
In Mumbai every second counts. So, to avoid being late for college and losing attendance I started travelling by local. Well, I didn't even know there were that many people on Earth🤔. To be honest, people travelling in locals could be aliens too, that's what they look like to a normal person. 👽👽
When I started travelling in locals I wouldn't climb on trains that had people flowing out of trains like quills of a porcupine. But my desire to pass depended highly on my college's obsession towards attendance💯. I had to make a really brave decision of travelling by locals. Me being me, it was kind of a hindrance as I really can't be subject to unhygienic conditions and local is all about that and much more. I mean dirt is the least bit of it, it doesn't scare me anymore. Thanks to my sanitiser. It's not like I think of the diseases originating from the seats and handles of the train.
But why can't people tie their hair? I travel in ladies compartment and people have long hair. The crowd is standing so close to each other. There is always this one idiot standing in front of me testing my patience with hair open when there is wind. So that ultimately leads to their hair almost inside my mouth. Well, that was once. A rookie mistake. Now I just hold my phone in front of my face. Not a great shield but it works.
The morning trains are the worst, there is just invasion of personal space. It's easy to get in and you may get off the train too but at the platform that you want, remains a mystery❓❓. It's based on sheer luck and the net force with which people behind push you as they are in some hurry to get off. The negative force comes from the platform as there is a pack of people who want to get in (could be compared to hungry wolves attacking you....just saying). Just a caveat, this force comes from all directions.
Once I was travelling in the morning and the train was jampacked. Forget getting a seat, there was no place to stand. I was breathing in the carbon dioxide coming out of the other aliens🤮(didn't know they breathed air). With some pushing you have to get on the other side of the train before your stop comes. I had to get off at Vile Parle, the land of colleges as I would like to call it. At the previous stop, Andheri, a weirdo lady got on the train and stood at the entrance clinging on to the pole in between. (Andheri: the stop where a lot of people get off and many more get on the train). Because of her none of us was able to get out and the people wanting to get on the train started pushing us. Somehow I got off the train, ignoring the fact that it was paining somewhere cause it always does when you get off that train. A farewell gift by the train of sorts. I looked back and saw the train moving and someone might have pushed this lady not deliberately I guess, even if they did I wouldn't complain. No one would actually. So this lady goes flying off the train swirling as she holds the pole and then swings back in. That actually blew my mind. I mean normally I would have felt bad but she actually deserved it. No offence. People who don't follow the basic unwritten rules deserve it. 👾
Another thing why I call them aliens is this one time I was standing at the edge of the train. I don't know why but you just have to line up to get out of the train. The train was slowing down but hadn't stopped. Someone from behind shouted, will you get off when the train stops? And I was boggled, I mean isn't that why they stopped the train! Otherwise, they would just slow down the train and people would be jumping from a running train. Just imagine how that would look to someone standing on the platform. Popcorns popping with brain and bone damage. I tried this once, but it's not really me. I am okay with being cursed at but I am not getting off a running train ever again. I mean personal choices, duh! (Even though getting on a running train is much worse, damn the experiences I have had!!😢).
The thing I hate about locals is their placement of the grab handles at a height. I mean think about the cute little people too. I'm 5 ft. I can't barely reach these handles like the aliens due to my height and the weight of my bag, as it pushes me down by a few inches. I have almost every time lost my balance while holding them. I look like a minion in front of these alien trolls.
The people that amaze me most are the ones who are binge-watching in locals. They place their mobile however they want and just binge-watch. I mean I can't even take my phone out of my pocket if it's ringing. I have so much to learn from these earphone-wearing Netflix-addicted aliens.
The other breed is the one that sleeps and wakes up at their exact stop. How do they even do that! I sometimes feel I might even miss my stop while I'm awake. This one time I got on the wrong train. There are two platforms from where I can take the train from. One of them had a 20-minute waiting. So I ran to the other platform where the train was arriving. I had a few seconds to catch the train otherwise I would again have to wait for the other train. So without checking the name of the train like an idiot, that I am I, got on it. It had empty seats. I was bewildered. I have never seen that many empty seats. I was so happy and excited. The train was going in the right direction. It stopped at Andheri station. It stopped for a while, I thought there might be some problem but it will start again. It started going in the opposite direction. I freaked out. When the freaking out ritual was over I realized it is going back to Vile Parle. The thing that scares the hell out of me is being at a new platform and a new station. Not because it's a new place but the fact that I could get lost at the station I travel from everyday. You see local stations are just a big confusing life-questioning maze of platforms. Finally, the train stopped at Vile Parle and the Goregaon local that I actually wanted to take as it is less crowded than Borivali local was coming to the platform in front of me. This time I double-checked the name before climbing. This incident happened to me after almost travelling one year in locals. Sometimes experience can't outshine neglect and hurriedness. My experience at Andheri station has always been the worst. I always get late when I take fast locals and then don't get autorickshaws from Andheri station and always end up getting late for college. There is like this catastrophic trap at Andheri station just for me.
How is it possible to talk about locals and not mention Virar. Virar and Bhayandar are the most dreaded locals that everyone had warned me about. But I always learn the hard way. You see I don't trust people on their word so I gotta try everything for myself. Sometimes it puts me in a hard spot. This time I didn't want to wait for Borivali local and the Virar local had come. I knew it stopped at my stop too. It seemed empty and had seats too. So I got on the train. This was not at the peak time and hence was a smooth experience. But another time I took this local as I was too tired to wait. It was at the peak time and was crowded. The thing I heard about and unrealistically feared, happened. I learnt why I should sometimes take people for their word. When I had to get off the train, I of course waited for the train to stop. And that's when I lost the battle. The force coming from people in front of me was more, they kept pushing me in the wrong direction. I shouted to let me get out. I thought I was gonna die, seriously. Some angelic person inside the train saw my pity and pushed me out of the train😇. This was the first time I was happy and thankful about someone pushing me. I understood some trains are a no-go.
It had been a while since I was travelling by locals when noticed some changes in me. I was always lost on my phone or music🎶 and still got off at the right stop. I was able to use my phone while travelling. I could stand without support in the local without losing my balance or falling. I was able to push people so that I could get off at my stop. I didn't know where I was walking half-mindedly and would still get down at the correct side of the station. Before I knew it I was an alien too. But this alien cannot still get off of a running train!👽😥
Let's see if I can achieve the perfect alien behaviour this year and abide by their rulebook.
~Reya Oberoi
