maut

            Maut, death a painful fact of life. 

Amchi Mumbai and locals

It's independence day Holiday, along weekend opportunity for me to meet my parents. 

While I finalise on my travel, we started at 5 am, my heart goes hmmm...its anxiety of catching local. Well I should not be surprised to see the crowded local taking people. On job, some work or just independence celebration to churchgate. Fast local, crowded train, I somehow make an attempt and  get into it. Humanity is what you see in local, immediately a man got up from his seat giving me one of course I grab it with my fast pumping heart to make it calm as I get to sit after running across two platforms. 

The people seem like friends from school, the way they get together hold seats for each other daily catch up same train same time same seat. They begin with their bhajans out comes their tal, it's so pleasant. Everybody in the train enjoying the bhajans. A man distributing peda sharing his happiness of being agrandfather recently. Women help each other in plucking the yellow leaves of fenugreek. No wonder women goes to work from. Work while working...... They are cleaning veggies and having breakfast. 

The most crowded city I have ever seen,it doesn't stop, rather nothing can make it stop. Heavy rains, floods, bomb blasts or communal riots, it maintains it's pace. E hain bambiye nagariya tu dekh babua....everybody is fascinated with Mumbai. Andnpeople visit Mumbai to aee Mumbai,the crowd, the grandmas shoes, the chowpati, the locals. When I shifted from Pune to Mumbai my life completely changed.while I was on my own terms, driving my dhanno...my scooty from one corner of Pune to another, I was caught on the crowded  railway platforms. I was puzzled from which direction will the local arrive. I was yet to be introduced to the stations and the crowd, and most important east and west which is extremely crucial part of Mumbai. 

There is so much in Mumbai, it accomodates everyone who comes in. 

One who gets acquainted with locals is part of Mumbai, and will agree jeena yaha marna yaha.... With no regrets. 

Are we glorifying mumbai local is something I always think, it's almost 12 years I am In Mumbai, I still feel that anxiety when I am. Suppose to take a train. Thou Mumbai has adopted the metro, still railways have been successfull to keep the dhak dhak on. 

Railways are still extremely crowded and seem to be overflooded now, people are seen hanging out of the locals. Well that is a fixes place for some regular local travellers. Crowd is increasing and I guess the trains are not. The number of people rushing to catch the train are increasing with the increasing railway accidents. 

In the peak time the railways  seem like ticking time bomb which may explode anytime. New opportunities, new ventures new jobs and new people in same nember of trains. People are doing some or the other thing for livelihood and this do not get retired. Crowd has the young children to the oldies. Homemaker women to Women entrepreneurs. 

Imagine the two railways crossing each other to the extend of pulling down the people hanging on the doors. Thou it's crime people sit on the doorsteps of the train to get hit by the stone pelting and getting on the doing chaiya chaiya has been proved to be shortcut to meet god, in few seconds. 

What can we do? Can we have more number of trains, public transport at people convinience. Can Illegal migraters be made to go back to their  place? Can the crowd decrease? Can we have some time slot arrangements for better railway experience? Can we have corporate flexi timing system to avoid peak hour rush? Can people work Offline? Virtually? Do we have enough night shifts if the nights are ready to share the day crowd. Mumbai works for 24 hours it doesn't sleep. It's one of the most secured and safe cities in India. 

I don't know, just thinking how the train travel can be less crowded  ever and we still hold In to the memory jhuk jhuk jhuk agingadi dhuranchya resha havet sodi, palati zade pahuya and not end up. In anxiety of catching the timely local. 

Let's think, let's make changes. Let's be safe and Mumbai safe.