Showing posts with label Mumbai local trains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mumbai local trains. Show all posts

Friday, December 9, 2011

Notes from a Sardine Tin

I generally avoid taking a fast train at a busy time like the plague. By the time the trains get to Andheri from Borivali, they are crowded as hell and unless you want to smell like someone else, it's better not to try to gain forceful entry. But since I had to head south in a hurry, I squeezed into a fast train in order to maintain a reputation of punctuality.

With the advent of smartphones, people are now adapted to doing business while travelling in a local train. There was this one man, who was deeply concentrating on whatever he was doing on his phone. The mid-40s "executive" was dressed well and managed to type with ease. Every once in a while he was getting bumped by someone when the train yanked and that seemed to upset him immensely. This may have been a stock-broker or trader, I figured. The man then yelled at someone who bumped him  (accidentally). Could he have lost a lot of money on trade?

As I was about to get off, I peeped into this phone and this "busy-body" was actually playing Tetris! So much for important business. It makes you wonder what life does to a person for him to yell at people in a crowded train because he can't play a video game in a packed compartment!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

I'm in Dadar er Bombay Central

बस अभी दो मिनिट में पोहेंचेगा. (I'll be there in 2 minutes). When someone in Bombay says that he usually means 10 minutes. It's a very Indian trait to buy time when late. One thing I have noticed on the city's local trains is how much people actually lie on the phone about where they are.

It's common to hear someone in a train say that the train has crossed a few more stations than it actually has. This is something I think I hear almost every single day. Last week, I heard someone desperately plead with a loved one that he would get home soon and that he was in Dadar. Seconds later, there was an announcement in the train that the next stop is Mumbai Central. The announcement was loud enough to be heard on the other end of the phone. Guess that man would not have had a nice dinner when he got home.