It’s been long since I came up with a blog post. Recently I’ve started traveling a lot by Mumbai trains, Rickshaws and buses and found many things to be quite amusing. So I decided to write up on my experience of everyday travel in Mumbai.
My day starts at 7.00 am everyday. I go to the railway station in a share auto. The 5 minutes distance travel by the share auto is quite funny at times. People literally pull themselves out of their houses so early everyday and go for work and they get to experience weird things at times while travelingJ.
Today, when I sat in the share auto I realized that aunty next to me was quite hefty (no offense intended) and I was almost out of the rickshaw. The guy who was sitting on the other side of that aunty had somehow managed to squeeze himself in. In spite of seeing this, the autowala, in his greed for money stuffed in two more people thankfully in front and not on usJ. I thanked God that it was only a 5 minutes journey and not 2 or 3 hrs journeyJ. There are many other instances that were quite funny and everyday I feel good that I start my journey with a smileJ as these funny things keep happening.
The next mode of transport I go by is train. When I reach the station everyday, I see some people who are really happy and smiling (especially college students), some are still not out of their sleep [specially school students, house wives and me ;)], people who are restless, people who are forever frowning, people who are expressionlessJ etc. It’s actually very amusing to see variety of people like this everyday.
On the first day when I reached the station I found myself to be the odd man out. Everyone on the platform knew someone or the other. So they were all busy talking to each other. I knew no one and everything was very new to me. I felt weird in the beginning but as I started traveling slowly I got comfortable. These days, even though I don’t talk to anyone on train; I feel very comfortable when I see the familiar faces boarding the train with me everyday. This is something which I’ve never felt before in my life.
The next reason that amuses me while traveling in trains is kids. Everyday I get to see a few kids traveling with me in the train. Some are really cranky, some highly naughty, some are very quiet, some always cry, some very attractive etc. However they are, you are somehow diverted towards these kids. One day when I was going back home from office, a kid was sitting just beside me. He was so quiet in the beginning, then he got very inquisitive as to what I was doing (I was listening to songs with my ear phones). He started making faces at meJ. I also started imitating him and he was imitating my actions and we became good friends. He waved me good bye when I got down from the train. It was quite interesting to travel like this. These small instances become a life long memory at times. It’s these small happy moments that keeps us going despite the hurdles we face.
Another interesting thing that happens in trains is the fight among the ladiesJ. They have the skill of picking up fight on any damn reason. The other people in the train get good entertainment out of this. Sometimes even the guys from the general compartment comment on the fights happening in ladies compartmentJ. This is a unique feature of ladies compartment and this can’t be seen in first class or general compartment how much ever crowded they are ;). Sometimes I wonder why these ladies fight so much for silly reasons. Instead they can learn the art of adjusting and enjoy the natural scenery outside while traveling which will be a nice refreshment after office work, specially the stretch between two stations called Vashi and Mankhurd is too good (specially early morning and late evening). The whole city looks amazing with lights all over in the evening and the lights surround the water body like a necklace. It’s an awesome view. This is yet another reason why I love traveling. Standing at the foot board of the train, listening to music and getting fresh breeze on your face… it feels so nice to even think of it. Train travel is a pleasure for me these days just coz of these reasons.
I also get to travel by buses in the day time while going to office. Bus journeys are not as amusing as train journeys are to me. But certain things definitely are worth noting. I admire the patience level of the conductors here. They’ve to face different kind of people and tackle all possible situations. Unlike Chennai conductors who are mostly khadoos, Mumbai conductors are really patient, helpful and friendly. Only a few conductors are impatient otherwise they are really very friendly which I pray to God should be learnt by Chennai conductors as well. Today, while coming in bus I was touched by what had happened. A very old lady boarded the bus and she had no seat to sit. As she was struggling to stand a handicapped guy (had some prob with his legs) got up and offered his seat to that lady while all the others were just seeing that happen. I was literally touched by what had happened. It’s in these times you feel good about such people around you.
In the evenings I go to the station with my colleagues in auto. Getting an auto to the station is an achievement. None of the autowalas are ready to go (anywhere for tat matter). It’s the crazy traffic in the city that scares them I guess. The journey in auto till the station is quite as it is the only time I get to speak to my good friends in office properly, it’s the only time we get to curse our bosses ;), only time when we share personal experiences, instances, any other useful info related to work also, only time to crack jokes, pull legs etc. Though the traffic is crazy I thoroughly enjoy the travel coz of my colleagues. It feels nice to have such good friends always.
On the whole, I thoroughly enjoy my travel in Mumbai though it takes longer hours and becomes tiresome. I’ve learnt many things in just few days of travel. Still a long way to go. Thanks to all my colleagues, those unknown kids in the train, bus conductors, those cranky ladies and my books and musicJ (as always) for making my otherwise tiresome journey very pleasurable and enjoyableJ.
My day starts at 7.00 am everyday. I go to the railway station in a share auto. The 5 minutes distance travel by the share auto is quite funny at times. People literally pull themselves out of their houses so early everyday and go for work and they get to experience weird things at times while travelingJ.
Today, when I sat in the share auto I realized that aunty next to me was quite hefty (no offense intended) and I was almost out of the rickshaw. The guy who was sitting on the other side of that aunty had somehow managed to squeeze himself in. In spite of seeing this, the autowala, in his greed for money stuffed in two more people thankfully in front and not on usJ. I thanked God that it was only a 5 minutes journey and not 2 or 3 hrs journeyJ. There are many other instances that were quite funny and everyday I feel good that I start my journey with a smileJ as these funny things keep happening.
The next mode of transport I go by is train. When I reach the station everyday, I see some people who are really happy and smiling (especially college students), some are still not out of their sleep [specially school students, house wives and me ;)], people who are restless, people who are forever frowning, people who are expressionlessJ etc. It’s actually very amusing to see variety of people like this everyday.
On the first day when I reached the station I found myself to be the odd man out. Everyone on the platform knew someone or the other. So they were all busy talking to each other. I knew no one and everything was very new to me. I felt weird in the beginning but as I started traveling slowly I got comfortable. These days, even though I don’t talk to anyone on train; I feel very comfortable when I see the familiar faces boarding the train with me everyday. This is something which I’ve never felt before in my life.
The next reason that amuses me while traveling in trains is kids. Everyday I get to see a few kids traveling with me in the train. Some are really cranky, some highly naughty, some are very quiet, some always cry, some very attractive etc. However they are, you are somehow diverted towards these kids. One day when I was going back home from office, a kid was sitting just beside me. He was so quiet in the beginning, then he got very inquisitive as to what I was doing (I was listening to songs with my ear phones). He started making faces at meJ. I also started imitating him and he was imitating my actions and we became good friends. He waved me good bye when I got down from the train. It was quite interesting to travel like this. These small instances become a life long memory at times. It’s these small happy moments that keeps us going despite the hurdles we face.
Another interesting thing that happens in trains is the fight among the ladiesJ. They have the skill of picking up fight on any damn reason. The other people in the train get good entertainment out of this. Sometimes even the guys from the general compartment comment on the fights happening in ladies compartmentJ. This is a unique feature of ladies compartment and this can’t be seen in first class or general compartment how much ever crowded they are ;). Sometimes I wonder why these ladies fight so much for silly reasons. Instead they can learn the art of adjusting and enjoy the natural scenery outside while traveling which will be a nice refreshment after office work, specially the stretch between two stations called Vashi and Mankhurd is too good (specially early morning and late evening). The whole city looks amazing with lights all over in the evening and the lights surround the water body like a necklace. It’s an awesome view. This is yet another reason why I love traveling. Standing at the foot board of the train, listening to music and getting fresh breeze on your face… it feels so nice to even think of it. Train travel is a pleasure for me these days just coz of these reasons.
I also get to travel by buses in the day time while going to office. Bus journeys are not as amusing as train journeys are to me. But certain things definitely are worth noting. I admire the patience level of the conductors here. They’ve to face different kind of people and tackle all possible situations. Unlike Chennai conductors who are mostly khadoos, Mumbai conductors are really patient, helpful and friendly. Only a few conductors are impatient otherwise they are really very friendly which I pray to God should be learnt by Chennai conductors as well. Today, while coming in bus I was touched by what had happened. A very old lady boarded the bus and she had no seat to sit. As she was struggling to stand a handicapped guy (had some prob with his legs) got up and offered his seat to that lady while all the others were just seeing that happen. I was literally touched by what had happened. It’s in these times you feel good about such people around you.
In the evenings I go to the station with my colleagues in auto. Getting an auto to the station is an achievement. None of the autowalas are ready to go (anywhere for tat matter). It’s the crazy traffic in the city that scares them I guess. The journey in auto till the station is quite as it is the only time I get to speak to my good friends in office properly, it’s the only time we get to curse our bosses ;), only time when we share personal experiences, instances, any other useful info related to work also, only time to crack jokes, pull legs etc. Though the traffic is crazy I thoroughly enjoy the travel coz of my colleagues. It feels nice to have such good friends always.
On the whole, I thoroughly enjoy my travel in Mumbai though it takes longer hours and becomes tiresome. I’ve learnt many things in just few days of travel. Still a long way to go. Thanks to all my colleagues, those unknown kids in the train, bus conductors, those cranky ladies and my books and musicJ (as always) for making my otherwise tiresome journey very pleasurable and enjoyableJ.
