Mumbai Local Trains are not just a means of transportation. It is the spine of Mumbai, the nerves that carry the bulk of Mumbai's workforce from the distant suburbs to their workplaces, the Veins that lorry them back home each night.
Though Mumbai local trains do save a hell lot of time, keep you from getting stuck in traffic and are also economical in every sense, however, they have their own pros and cons too.
Here are some key aspects of travelling in Mumbai locals
The daily struggle of getting into the train is a skill. It requires a great deal of precision. At times, you need to push, but most of the time, you get pushed straight to the far end of the train. Mumbaikars are used to it, but for those who are new to the city, it’s a nightmare. You may not want to mess with aunties who have been travelling by trains since before you were born (A popular dialogue in train fights). One of the first things you must understand is that in Mumbai, nobody has time for you to get adapted to the fast-paced life. If you are at the railway platform, contemplating whether you should take this local or wait for the next one, chances are that you will be either pushed aside or into the local. So, if you are doubtful of taking the train, step aside.
Mumbai’s local trains give a whole new meaning to the concept of overcrowding. Trains are literally overflowing during peak hours, with commuters spilling out of the doors, windows and every nook and cranny. People are literally crammed in like cattle, pushing, shoving and fighting just to get into a compartment. No crowd control, no proper scheduling, nothing. Just pure chaos, and somehow this is accepted as daily life. Wherever you can get a foothold, or even a toehold, you will find someone hanging on. Sadly, commuters are forced to take big risks, gambling with their lives, just to get to work on time. It isn’t uncommon to see commuters standing in the aisles, hanging onto the doors, climbing onto the tops of trains or sitting on the narrow connecting between coaches.
There are some categories of people who believes in trampling you, whether or not the compartment is crowded. The arrival of the train arouses the worst in them. They'll peel your skin off if that's what it takes for them to get in FIRST and FAST. However, crowded a local might seem from the outside, people always manage to get in. As it is popularly said, there's always space for one more! Every minute counts when you want to catch the scheduled train. Miss it, and your entire schedule goes for a terrible downfall.
Another challenge is that people have to board trains before they stop. One has to always time their jump, leaping inside the coach and grabbing the handle of the door or the arm of another commuter to steady themselves. There's no concept of 'personal space. If you want to travel, you need to adjust. Your status in society doesn't matter at all.
The daily struggle of finding a seat needs a special mention as well. There is an unwritten rule in Mumbai locals when it comes to seating. Despite the design of seats for 3 people, it is normal for everyone to squeeze tight to accommodate a fourth person… somehow your delicate bum has to adjust to that little space, whatever is available or allotted to you and that itself is an ART. To not do so will be considered rude and, on rare occasions can lead to arguments. The fourth seat is uncomfortable, as you are practically falling off, but it is preferred to sit over rather than standing for extended periods.
If you are a Mumbai local regular, you have to know how to talk with your hands. At peak hours, the train packs up at the second station. If you are lucky enough to have a seat, the woman standing will tap on your shoulder and ask with her hand, “What”? In train-speak, that translates to “Where are you getting off?”. Another common hand gesture is the “scoot-inside, we-want the-fourth-seat” gesture. While alighting, don't forget to ask the person in front of you if they want to get off at the same station as you. Here's how it goes! Tap the shoulder of the person in front. If they don't turn, tap harder. When they turn, ask them, “Dombivali?”. If they nod, you are good. If they say no, you have to wiggle your way in front of that person and repeat the process till you get a nod. No one teaches you these things—you just learn, as animals do in the wild jungle. If you are near the door and it is NOT your station, do everything in your power to get away from there. Else, you will get to hear innovative curse words, in Marathi and in Hindi. They will be ready to unleash their wrath on you if you’re being dumb or slow.
Once you have managed to get inside the ladies’ compartment, please expect extreme hatred coming your way, especially early in the morning. These women are hardworking people who are perpetually sleep deprived because they have had to deal with some household chores/crisis before boarding this local to work. Rising tempers are common during peak hours. Some arguments end soon, but others can go on until one of the parties gets off the train. These fights are pure entertainment. It spans all barriers of decency and decibels. This is the time you take off your earphones, pause the music and focus on the fight. These fights can also be a great source of knowledge. You learn new curse words in different languages that even your school might not have taught you. These ladies think they own the train and it is their birthright right or rather, family legacy, to make snide comments at every human species. The ones who fight for no reason. The Marathi subset of this lot is particularly very fierce.
Your days will be incomplete if you are not punched on the face by someone's elbow or handbag, or umbrella. Swear words from mum to dad to husband to brothers to sisters to in-laws are used liberally. The verbal abuse can also turn physical, with people pushing, slapping, or even pulling each other's hair. Once on the train, all you have to do is try and make space for your body, your hair and your bag.
Your travel experience is incomplete if someone doesn't sneeze or cough on your face. Your earrings/duppata/umbrella/clothes will be completely wrenched out in the process of trying to get on or get off the train. Your hair will be used as a lever/handle by the people in line behind you. They will latch onto your locks and try balancing themselves onto the train or off the train. You will feel like Rapunzel!
You will get a free body massage twice a day. While being pressed against a co-passenger, there are moments when one can hear the others' heartbeat, and at times, worse, their stomach rumbling. Apart from feeling the other women breathing on your shoulder or their tummies going in and coming out against your back, you can also watch some women's ass being rubbed against others' bellies. Further, Fat women terrorise packed train compartments by parking indefinable parts of their vast bodies on timid fellow travellers. Thus, a local train journey does teach you a lot about human anatomy.
Ever been to Dadar Station? The platform looks like honeybees buzzing out of the comb! People start alighting from the train even before the train stops. As soon as the train comes still on the platform, people start gushing in like water is sucked into the wash basin. You can do nothing but swear all the dirty abuses you know. You do feel like a true warrior when you successfully get down at Dadar station during rush hours.
Everybody has “school friends”, “college friends”, “office friends”, “building friends”, “WhatsApp friends”, “Facebook friends”, but only in Mumbai can you have “Train friends”. How much you try not to talk to those ladies sitting beside you, once you start a conversation with them, you get sucked into them like quicksand. They are the ones you see day in and day out if you happen to travel by the same time every single day. This lot makes our daily train travel a little bearable. Before you know, you will be carrying snacks, sarees, haldi-kumkum, and also celebrating your birthdays and other festivals like Diwali, Christmas, Holi, and Navratri with them. It is not uncommon to find groups of commuters singing their favourite Bollywood songs, chopping vegetables, gossiping about their in-laws, office politics, scandalous Bollywood stories, complaining about their kids, some watching movies, some on WhatsApp, some on Instagram, some reading books… the list is endless.
The Ladies' compartment is like a pop-up store on wheels. You can buy everything, such as churidars, hair clips, make-up, earbuds, bindis, bangles, earrings, eatables, etc. Also, here is the only place you get 10 lemons for Rs 20, which is quite a steal!
Even if you bathe in hot springs with aromatic bath soaps and drench yourself in the world’s best branded perfumes, the laborious train ordeal is going to render you smelling like a rotting pigeon carcass. After a long day in the Bombay local, when you go for a shower, absurd bruises will miraculously appear on parts of your body that you previously thought you were immune to.
How you feel about such gruelling train travel depends on how you think about it. You can either love it or you can hate it. Local trains travels can teach you to be more bold, tolerant and patient. In fact, travelling with locals helps you maintain a disciplined life. These local train journeys bring people from different backgrounds together every day, and they share a common goal: -
They want to reach their destination on Time and ALIVE
