The adventure of a train journey

It may well go down as the life line of our city of Mumbai, but travel by train could well be an adventure to remember or even a nightmare, depending on the way you look at it. ‘Problems to hai sabke saath, bas nazariye ki hai baat.’ (Everyone has problems, its just the way you look at it.)

Observing people while on a long journey from Vasai to Bandra and back has exposed me to all sort of creatures, some good, some not so good and some not falling into either category because they simply go down as irritating!

Attempting to get on a train from Vasai after 6:30 AM is a futile task. You get on to a train after that, good for you; you manage to get in, you are lucky and if you get to sit, check your calendar, it may be a Sunday.  

So not wasting time in making futile attempts to board a train from Vasai, I head to Virar from Vasai and then head to Bandra. The good part of a long journey is that you get to know all sorts of samples from across the place, but the bad part is when you are bugged out of your wits, a one hour journey could seem like a light year.

An additional perk of a train travel is that it teaches you to be more patient. There would be instances where you would wish to beat the pulp out of a person, but the crowd would not allow you to move your hand, let alone beating someone up! The closest you can get to is hurling the choicest of abuses at that person and have a debate louder that the one conducted by Arnab Goswami!

Few common observations that I have encountered in my travels for so many years;

·         There are groups which get formed in the train and the group leader is always referred to as ‘Bhaiji.’

·         There is always a ‘Sharmaji’ or a ‘Vermaji’ in every train that you go. No wonder India is a country full of 1.2 Billion plus people.

·         There would always be an individual who in his moment of extra zest, would look to board or jump out of a running train, no matter how empty the train is.

·         There would often be an occasion where the announcer in the train would announce the name of a station in the opposite direction making you wonder whether you actually have boarded the right train.

·         People of Dahisar station are only meant to bid goodbye to the train during the morning peak hours as they just do not get to board it.

·         Dadar station seems like a Kumbh mela, whichever time of the day it will be. The best place to set the Indian version of ‘Lost.’

·         Every person wearing a white shirt is not a TC! The guilt of people travelling WT immediately surfaces once they spot a person wearing a white shirt.

Whatever be the case, trains certainly have been my source of entertainment for the past many years, and have become a part of my daily life! Pudhill station...Vasai Road, Agla station…Vasai Road, Next Station…Vasai Road. So long!