The Mumbai local train system is sui generis – unlike anything else. The packed trains are the lifeline of Maximum City and lakhs depend upon them each day. These trains are where lifelong friendships and bonds are formed; this is also where you can seriously endanger your life and sanity! The video of a man in a crowd outside a Mumbai local, trying to get in recently went viral and started a discussion around it all:
This guy was determined to get in. He was clutching at the train to ensure that he got a foothold or at least a toehold. But to no avail – the crowd simply carried him away.
You may think you have control over your own life. But life may have other plans.
This was a case of so near, yet so far!
The poor man simply got towed away upon a tide of humanity!
People from elsewhere are unfamiliar with the seething crowds and the sheer numbers of commuters on the local network. It takes them some time to get used to Mumbai and learn the ways of commuting in the city. However, one non-Mumbaikar thought that the “platform is relatively empty by Kolkata standards.”
This commentator puts a positive spin on it. However, for the poor guy who missed his Virar/Bhandup/Kasara fast (the fast local makes fewer stops and it is… well faster), this would mean the difference between a productive day and a wasted day.
Not sure whether he’s talking about the guy clinging to the train or the surging mass of people that simply carried him away. According to some however, this is how Indian superheroes are made.
Catching the right train means everything --- which explains the mad rush and the single-minded determination of the average Mumbai commuter.
Perhaps that poor guy battling the crowds was pushed willy nilly into another train going in the opposite direction?
Those packed train compartments can bathe you in sweat, wrinkle and even rip your clothing, embarrassingly unravel your saree… it is fraught with sartorial peril!
Mumbai commuters have far weightier matters on their mind… air pollution is rather low on the list of concerns.
The difference between getting a seat and not getting a seat on a 90 minute commute can be the difference between a good day and an exhausting one. Getting a window seat is no less than an achievement. These guys know.
Every year, the monsoon rains paralyse the city. However, the determined people of Mumbai and the highly skilled, dedicated train operators ensure that the trains keep moving --- even when the situation is this dire.
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