Mumbai Life Series- The Local Trains

Mumbai they say is the most cosmopolitan city in India . It is crowded , the traffic moves at a slow pace and yes there is a mad rush to do anything and everything . Yet it is a city that grows on you and you might leave the city but the city never leaves you . It is spread over a huge mass and different localities have their distinct culture , style and personality . I have mentioned in my blog that it will capture the milieu surrounding me .Thus the idea of a Mumbai Life series struck me … I would try to capture the different personalities of the city through this Mumbai Life series . Some topics would be typically Mumbai specific eg local trains( as they are called in Mumbai parlance ), while some would be my observations of the city specific idiosyncrasies , habits and patterns . I would like to inaugurate the series with the chugging and whistling of the local trains .

Local Trains
The local trains are the lifeline of the city . Millions and millions of passengers use the trains to reach their place of work and go back home . The trains are a thriving community by themselves . They are exceptionally crowded during the peak hours ie in the morning when commuters proceed to their place of work and in the evening when most of them embark on their homeward journey . The commute many times is long and there is a lot of crowd . So commuters have created their own comfort zone in the trains . If you look at the ladies compartment most of them would have what is called groups – groups of friends . They celebrate birthdays , festivals and any other event that calls for some fun. They decide on common lunches , visits to movie halls and exhibitions all in the train . Then of course it is a platform to vent ire to the day to day complaints related to a variety of people from servants , in laws , bosses even spouses ….. Different age groups would have different concerns and priorities and hence the topics of discussion would differ. But the train acts as a social and economic leveler and most of the groups would have a diverse profile – different age groups , occupations etc . All this can get a bit confusing for the first time traveler or a source of discomfort for someone who wants to spend a quiet moment traveling ... About the Gents compartment( the compartment for men- as they are called) – the view that one gets may be is slightly different . There are groups of card players and yes singers . The card players I believe have their place under the sun marked since ages and no one occupies those places . Then there are groups of singers who start singing devotional songs once the train starts .

All commuters try to make themselves feel at home during the daily commute despite the vagaries of nature ( ie it gets very hot during the summer season and the rains can drench you thoroughly ) .Each season has its own challenges e.g. the summers could get very hot and the train becomes like a furnace especially during the morning peak hours . During the rainy season the strong rains coupled with the usual breakdown of the system would cause delay and also there are unexpected showers that are sprayed on the unsuspecting commuters through the gaps in train windows and doors . Many commuters by now with the unfortunate incidents that have hit Mumbai in the last couple of years like floods, bombings have even suffered together in the trains .Yet the trains are the easiest and most convenient form of travel from the suburbs to the main commercial areas and thus play a crucial part in the commercial development of Mumbai .