My Mumbai Train Journey
Yesterday I was travelling with my kids and hubbie in the LRT..
It was quite and comfortably cool. The ambience and the faint sound of music spilling out of the ipod of the guy sitting next to me..all that took me to another world..
Wait..Wait.. please hang on..I am not taking you anyplace hogword..but somewhere very close.
Mumbai.
Few years back six to be exact, we were newlywed..Like all newlyweds My hubbie took me to many places one of which was Mumbai.
We went there for a three day trip and planned to stay at one of my relative’s house.
Well all that is irrelevant now. Let us come straight to the matter.
One morning we decided to check out the world famous Mumbai train journey (what a joke?இதான் சொந்த காசுல சூனியம் வக்கிறது)
Me, my hubbie and my relative(uncle) started off from his house and reached the nearest station. We had planned to go to the famous Ganesh temple in Mumbai.
The station was huge and dirty (saarae jaahan se achcha..) and we waited for our train. The train came..
I was very happy that day. You know? I am this unconventional idiot for many eyes. If I list out my likes and fantasies and weirdest wishes people might stare at me like(அவனா நீ?).Who is she?
Even our uncle was little worried (and felt a little weird may be)about my earnest desire to take a Mumbai train travel.
But even his denials didn’t put me off from fulfilling my desire. So we waited there in the station among the crowd. I looked at the fast approaching train thinking that it was going to give me a lifetime experience..but obviously unaware of what kind of lifetime experience it was going to be.
Anyways..the train came and it was crowded..
I mean really reeaaallly crowded.
My uncle said. “Ok get in.”
I was like “What?”
“Get in”
“How..there is hardly any space to keep my foot in there.”
“see this the ladies compartment. It will be relatively less crowded, get in there. Three stops from here. Ok..remember three stops..we will meet you there” he didn’t stop at that.
He shoved me hard into the thriving compartment and ran like a professional athlete to join my hubbie in the common compartment.
“Oh my god” I looked all around. Nah.. I was joking, there was hardly any space to turn around. Now, You must know one thing here. That was my first short train journey apart from the overnight ones where we spend the night reading novels in ac sleeper coach. It was different for me and didn’t know what to do next.
I was breathing heavily with my mouth open fro it was too crowded and suffocating.
I could smell all sorts of perfumes and body sprays and flowers and ponds talc and all of them mixed with fresh sweat. I saw women in all color and creed from all walks of life and in all age groups giggling and chatting and discussing hotly.
A woman beside me smiled at me. I smiled back.
I liked it..this was the real world.. I thought.
For some one who is used to traveling in ac car monotonously and think nothing about what’s happening outside the sun screened glass, sit like a seat belted puppet.. this was so real..and so closer to life.
I was grinning at everybody like an idiot thinking that I had befriended half of Mumbai. The train slowed down for its first stop. Now was the real deal.
I was still standing in the same place where my uncle had shoved me. I never bothered to move in.
You know where I was standing? Right at the entrance, catching hold of the pole that was right in the middle of the entrance among the few who were obviously going to get down.
The train stopped. People tried to move in and out all at the same time. I was like stranded in the middle of a stampede. And the best part was I was blocking their way- in and out.
One woman shouted from behind.
“Get the hell out.. What are you waiting for?”
“But this is not my stop”
“Then why the***** are you standing in the middle of the way you grinning idiot(oh she did note me grinning)”
“I am sorry” But she didn’t wait for my sorry. She gave a nice big slap on my back , shove me aside hardly and got down.
Yeah she opened up a new way to greet which was religiously followed by everyone who got in and out.
( அடின்னா அடி.உங்க வீட்டு அடி எங்க வீட்டு அடி இல்ல.. நாயடி பேயடி..எல்லாமே தர்ம அடி). It was like getting free back pain massage - only here the pain followed the massage and not the other way round.
The train was so full that I was not able to see an inch of opening to move anywhere in or out, every stop I would try to get down but was only able to defend myself from women pushing me this way and that way before finally slapping my back and that continued for all the three stops.
Three stops.. three times..imagine ..
What a lifetime experience I got…???
I walked out of the station hunch backed like the 'kooni' of Ramayana..but still with a smile in my face with which I greeted my hubbie who was
.
I just didn’t care..I still enjoyed it.
After all… this too was a lifetime experience, now wasn’t it???
It was quite and comfortably cool. The ambience and the faint sound of music spilling out of the ipod of the guy sitting next to me..all that took me to another world..
Wait..Wait.. please hang on..I am not taking you anyplace hogword..but somewhere very close.
Mumbai.
Few years back six to be exact, we were newlywed..Like all newlyweds My hubbie took me to many places one of which was Mumbai.
We went there for a three day trip and planned to stay at one of my relative’s house.
Well all that is irrelevant now. Let us come straight to the matter.
One morning we decided to check out the world famous Mumbai train journey (what a joke?இதான் சொந்த காசுல சூனியம் வக்கிறது)
Me, my hubbie and my relative(uncle) started off from his house and reached the nearest station. We had planned to go to the famous Ganesh temple in Mumbai.
The station was huge and dirty (saarae jaahan se achcha..) and we waited for our train. The train came..
I was very happy that day. You know? I am this unconventional idiot for many eyes. If I list out my likes and fantasies and weirdest wishes people might stare at me like(அவனா நீ?).Who is she?
Even our uncle was little worried (and felt a little weird may be)about my earnest desire to take a Mumbai train travel.
But even his denials didn’t put me off from fulfilling my desire. So we waited there in the station among the crowd. I looked at the fast approaching train thinking that it was going to give me a lifetime experience..but obviously unaware of what kind of lifetime experience it was going to be.
Anyways..the train came and it was crowded..
I mean really reeaaallly crowded.
My uncle said. “Ok get in.”
I was like “What?”
“Get in”
“How..there is hardly any space to keep my foot in there.”
“see this the ladies compartment. It will be relatively less crowded, get in there. Three stops from here. Ok..remember three stops..we will meet you there” he didn’t stop at that.
He shoved me hard into the thriving compartment and ran like a professional athlete to join my hubbie in the common compartment.
“Oh my god” I looked all around. Nah.. I was joking, there was hardly any space to turn around. Now, You must know one thing here. That was my first short train journey apart from the overnight ones where we spend the night reading novels in ac sleeper coach. It was different for me and didn’t know what to do next.
I was breathing heavily with my mouth open fro it was too crowded and suffocating.
I could smell all sorts of perfumes and body sprays and flowers and ponds talc and all of them mixed with fresh sweat. I saw women in all color and creed from all walks of life and in all age groups giggling and chatting and discussing hotly.
A woman beside me smiled at me. I smiled back.
I liked it..this was the real world.. I thought.
For some one who is used to traveling in ac car monotonously and think nothing about what’s happening outside the sun screened glass, sit like a seat belted puppet.. this was so real..and so closer to life.
I was grinning at everybody like an idiot thinking that I had befriended half of Mumbai. The train slowed down for its first stop. Now was the real deal.
I was still standing in the same place where my uncle had shoved me. I never bothered to move in.
You know where I was standing? Right at the entrance, catching hold of the pole that was right in the middle of the entrance among the few who were obviously going to get down.
The train stopped. People tried to move in and out all at the same time. I was like stranded in the middle of a stampede. And the best part was I was blocking their way- in and out.
One woman shouted from behind.
“Get the hell out.. What are you waiting for?”
“But this is not my stop”
“Then why the***** are you standing in the middle of the way you grinning idiot(oh she did note me grinning)”
“I am sorry” But she didn’t wait for my sorry. She gave a nice big slap on my back , shove me aside hardly and got down.
Yeah she opened up a new way to greet which was religiously followed by everyone who got in and out.
( அடின்னா அடி.உங்க வீட்டு அடி எங்க வீட்டு அடி இல்ல.. நாயடி பேயடி..எல்லாமே தர்ம அடி). It was like getting free back pain massage - only here the pain followed the massage and not the other way round.
The train was so full that I was not able to see an inch of opening to move anywhere in or out, every stop I would try to get down but was only able to defend myself from women pushing me this way and that way before finally slapping my back and that continued for all the three stops.
Three stops.. three times..imagine ..
What a lifetime experience I got…???
I walked out of the station hunch backed like the 'kooni' of Ramayana..but still with a smile in my face with which I greeted my hubbie who was
.I just didn’t care..I still enjoyed it.
After all… this too was a lifetime experience, now wasn’t it???
