The Mumbai Local

I am sure there must be a plethora of articles on the ever dependable mumbai locals, well this is another from how I see it.


In mumbai, the daily routines of an average person is quite different from the rest of India. People wake up, People get dressed, they eat(or not many a times) and they Travel.


The system is so addictive, it gets to you from the first day, it'll be like you've always been doing this and its nothing out of the blue. And for the local trains its like a black hole, which accepts anything and let's into every inch of human flesh it can take, sometimes even more when people just hang to the pole, and god knows I am right, they should be given bravery awards.


Its the place where people eat, sleep, work, have business meetings(its true I have seen two people in blazers, signing agreements), do their accounts, their homework, play uno, and in the era of technology, people stand with their heads down probably feeling guilty, gazing into their cell phones, poking the device, as if trying to wake a person, they knew was dead.




The system works like a clock, people get polarised to the direction of the gate where the platform is expected to come, as if a magnet of opposite charge had automatically been activated. Its a sight to watch. And if you are the adventorous type, get down at dadar station at 6 o clock, and get back on the same train, you'll get the thrill of you life.

Its another sight at cst in the rush hour, a sea of people flowing, you can see just heads of black, with patches of skin and white. Making you belive that India deserves the first rank in the largest population race.


And there is the omnipresent, ubiquitous, rookie, who does not know which station to come, which side to turn when a station comes (I am a living example :p) and its a scene when you see a rookie(me) trying to explain another one :p
It makes me feel like I know this city, I have lived long enough and earned this right of explaining what many don't know, only a few times though I have been of some help. Its a good feeling :)


In all this rush, mayhem, sweat, and flesh, you see people enjoying, smiling at each other when they accidentaly push their wrong buttons :p, talking on the phone with their girlfriends and boyfriends as if they were standing in a meadow, constantly updating the person who is awaiting their arrival, 'haan dadar cross kiya! byculla bas 2 min door hai, abey ruk bas 5 min mein pahunch rha hun!'

The journey in a local is adventerous, its fulfilling, it can lift your mood if you're down, and can ruin it as it wishes. You may come out smiling, frowning, growling, or sometimes thanking god for you dint believe you would survive. Whether you live here or not, this journey will spell the following words out from you.


'Mumbai meri jaan'