(The Shah Rukhs of Local Train: the one's on the roof remind me of the 'chaiyya chaiyya' song from Dil Se)
Mumbai Local trains are the fastest and best mode of transport available to us. The proliferation of cars, assorted road dissection and open manholes in every step has made apun kaa trains the most preferred mode of transport for common man and woman. It is believed that every train carries atleast 4,700 passengers daily. So you can imagine the number of people travelling by trains daily. No wonder the terrorists loved to target our local trains.
(this is an image of one of those serial train blasts in 2006)
There are so many experiences to share...but a single post wont do justice. Every day is equally eventful for me. Right from balancing myself on the over-crowded foot board, fighting with machiwali (fisher women), to getting crushed between two fat aunties...it's fun.
(A common sight in Ladies compartment)
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if Local trains become extinct like the trams. I pray such a thing never happens. Like the BEST buses, BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange), Taj Hotel and the all time favorite Vada Pav...local train is the jaan of Mumbai.
Oh I am becoming senti now...theek hain...before I flood my blog with tears, I will leave you with one of my favorite song...ENJOY!!!
Bombay Darshan- blog style!
ReplyDeleteArrey yaar saala Local train itna torture tha. Phew! Sydney commuting is so much better :)
But then again you know what all i was upto in mumbai heh heh :)
Oye!! you still didn't remove word verification GV!! :p
Traveling in local trains is quite an experience. I have been commuting in the train since a couple quite here in Hyderabad.. and be it Mumbai or Hyderabad .the state of trains, the mad rush of people,the daily mini-stampede, people flipping thru the "aaj ka akhbaar" even in filled to the brim trains, people using the bagal wale ka kandha as pillows!!! every day has been an anecdote in itself!!! i can truly relate with your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteMumbai ya Hyderabad ..yeh local train hai re hai!!!
gud one!
cheers
rammy
Mumbai!
ReplyDeleteLove it! Any thing Every thing!
P.S. why do you call it nonsense???
The trains in mumbai rock!.. They are fast and frequent :).makin our lives very easy.
ReplyDeleteThe best / worst part is getting out/in the train.
While u get in you have to cling on to something else u wld miss the train
While u get out u just free ride on the guy in front of you. ... though it seems so easy and fun it could be dangerous as well. One of my closest friends died by colliding with a pillar..when he was pushed out while getting down the moving train..
@Rushabhh Gandhi: G3's nonsense sounds sensible to us..so imagine wat her sensible stuff might sound like..
I didn't know they offered on-board ear-rings shopping (ear rings hi hai na woh?)in Ladies Compartment. :-)
ReplyDeletehiii
ReplyDeletenice post yaar
every place has some partcular spcl. like delhi ki chaat, kolkata ki trams and sweets too, it is difficult to imagine those places without these spl. :D
Local trains can give way to ultra-deluxe bullet trains if the government is generous enough to spend :D
ReplyDeleteQuest
I really love travelling by trains. I am also into trainspotting. Whenever my dad thinks of travelling by air to any other city, I immediately strike that option out and request him to book railway tickets instead. Indian Railways is one of the biggest achievements of the country.
ReplyDeleteAs you have rightly pointed out, we cannot do without trains, here in Mumbai. It is the lifeblood of Mumbaikars as its impossible to travel by road (situation will worsen once the Nano starts plying). Having said that, I sympathise with those residing in the suburbs (working in town) coz they have to bear the brunt of the mad rush during peak hours. Its gut-wrenching!
And why havent u mentioned the fights that happen?!
ReplyDeletehey...mumbai wouldnt be mumbai if not for these trains we have!
ReplyDeletenice article n nicer pics..i love that number..so sweet n melodious:)
@DPhatsez: sorry yaar i forgot to remove the word verification...will do it now. It's Mumbai Darshan bilkul blog ishytle :)
ReplyDelete@rammy...what r u saying? i thought mumbai is the only city having such crowded locals...bagal wale kaa kanda as pillow...oh yes truly forgot about that.
@rushabhh: first thing...why so many 'h' in your name? numerology thing or what? Now about apna mumbai...it is such an enthu city...I find that enthuwali feeling missing in other cities. Probably i am being biased.
@unknown...will pay you for doing my publicity and giving answers on my behalf...i recruit you as my PR :) thanks for the comment. I love the trains too.
@parikshith baba, haan rey those are ear-rings...i have never shopped for anything...but then seeing the women bargaining is fun.
@AS, I agree with you...delhi is famous for gol gappe, hmm phir yaad aa gayi naa tujhe gol gappe :)
@quest, thanks for visiting my blog. I still need to go through your's...will do it once i am out of this office :)
@gary...u bet travelling to or from suburbs is worse...but once u get used to it, it's fine. Anyways u know it all...u have travelled from city to suburbs and back for more than a year.
@rum...arre yaar, my fight was restricted only till machiwali...never progressed beyond that :( so have mentioned only about the machiwali fight.
@vinnie...that song is my personal favorite. Thank u!
I have never been to Mumbai and hence have not had the experience of traveling in a train there. I have heard so much about them that I want to :)
ReplyDeletenice post by the way.. makes we want to experience it even more
Cheers,
Sharad
Medley
@sharad, you must visit mumbai once, its a very nice place to hang around. People as such are very friendly. Thanks for visiting my blogsphere.
ReplyDeleteHope you like this:
ReplyDeletehttp://arslanaziz.blogspot.com/2009/04/mumbai-chronicles-1-local-love.html
http://arslanaziz.blogspot.com/2009/05/mumbai-chronicles-5-local-boogies.html
(No, this isn't spam. They're related to this post!)
Hello there... landing here from Vinnie's page...
ReplyDeletemy mumbai experience is almost next to nothing but I have heard so much about this vibrant city and have a few friends out there...
the local trains are always fun... across the world :)
thanks for sharing these experiences... will be back regularly...
take care and have a nice day... cheers...
Loved the bit about the bachpan ki nishani ! :)
ReplyDeleteCame the first time to your blog. Great read including the letter to our neta's.
Cheers,
Velu
@arslan, thanks a lot...have not got time to go through your blog. Will do it soon.
ReplyDelete@arv, next time when u visit mumbai...do try staying here for a longer time. I am sure you will fall in love with this city :)
@velu, thanks a lot...I am glad you liked my crap :)
Great that you love your city and the very elements that form Mumbai!
ReplyDeleteWell, I hv never been to Mumbai but will do that some day soon! :D