ek chalis ki last local

Two months in Bombay, atleast once inside the Andheri Station everyday- but never been in a 'local'!!!

I should be ashamed of myself - how can i not have travelled by the famous (read as crowded) Bombay train??? Well, thats how things stood, as of Saturday (Aug 8)... and what better way to open my account than on a Saturday (Appa says, 'sani perukkam' - Saturn increases and therefore Saturday augurs well for most activities)...


Well, coming back, my caro sposo wanted to go to the Town (imho, in Mumbai, town revolves around the axes of Dadar, Victoria Terminus, Churchgate and Nariman). Hence we set forth on this journey to the centre of the earth, oops, the heart of the city :), in a train.

The equation was right for me;

A Saturday afternoon + Opposite direction of the general flow of traffic + a Fast train = an easy ride... (so much so, it left me wondering, whats all this gung-ho about the train trave(ai)l? Everything seems so innocently quiet and at peace :) )

Add to it, the nostalgic pleasure of a solitary train travel in the ladies compartment (no offence meant to my better half, who seemed better off in the General)!!! but sigh... 20 kms covered in as many minutes... i wouldnt have complained if it had taken an extra ten minutes...

On a broader note, my contention has been that, if a train starts from some place, it invariably reaches its destination at more or less the appointed time - there is no question of traffic jams, processions (flooding in the tracks could be a plausible excuse; but a flooded road is worse off than a flooded track, I presume, unless the rail network decides to shut down).

And yeah, the ladies compartment - is a haven of sorts... when I run the risk of being sandwiched, i can be grateful that am being squeezed by people of the same species (Men are from a different planet, you see :)) and the multitude of vendors who have mastered the art of getting into and out of crowded trains, propose a welcome treat to the eye (to the purse also???)

No pollution, no back pains; sheltered stations, higher frequencies, better communication, more standing space, fourth seat comforts... numerous are the attractions of a train, over a bus (how we would travel three hours (close to ninety mins by train ) to attend a four-hour evening College!!! )

If you think five years of incessant train travel and a couple of years of intermittent but back-breaking bus travel (all in Chennai) has made me prejudiced towards trains - think again. Has there been a soul amongst us, who has not been captivated, at some point of time in life, by the sight of the great caterpillar plugging into/out of a station???
(Heard about the kid who wanted to be an engineer cos he thought, an engineer's job is to in an engine(train? this kid did turn out to be an engineer, whose goal (succesful, too) in life was to travel by both the TGV and the Shinkanzen!)
Ofc, not everyone is a freak who spends sleepless nights crouching in the lower berths, merely in analysis of the direction and union of tracks... but am sure, there is hardly a kid who hasnt quarrelled for a corner seat in a train!!!

But then, the charm of a train is unparalleled; dont take my word for it, just ask a kid... child IS the father of man :)