I enjoy the train rides... and there is a reason for that... first and foremost, trains connect me with my father who worked in Indian railways. He loved trains and I grew up listening to his passionate stories about trains. He saw trains as conduits connecting India, its people, its regions, its customs and its landscapes. He often compared train network to intricate network of blood vessels in human body. As a railway employee, we could avail discounts on train journeys in India, up to four times a year. But my parents could never really take leave together to be able to travel somewhere... so they started sending us (me and my younger brother) alone by train to far off places in India. Every place we went to, and on every route, my father's colleagues or friends used to drop by on the train to check on us. They often brought us food, fruits and chocolates and I learned how extensive were the bonds of friendships nurtured by my father. Many of these friends who made efforts to meet me, had in fact just heard my father's voice on phone. I met more of his friends in person than him and I continued the tradition even after his death for a short while in India.
He did not drive the trains, he was a telephone operator working for Indian Railways out of Mumbai office. This telephone exchange is housed in beautiful old British building on Victoria Terminus Station in Mumbai. This building is now declared a world Heritage site. Walking into my dad's office, climbing those stairs with red carpets, looking at those massive paintings depicting history of Indian railways from 1857 till date, and enjoying the rainbows reflecting through gigantic chandelier under the main dome of the building, I always felt as if I was entering an exotic world, a fairy land. I also loved going to the hospital where my mother worked as a nurse and that shaped my career choice to become a doctor but going to my dad's office fuelled my imagination and fantasies. He probably would have liked to see me as a medical officer in Railways, but that was not my dream... I was just happy to travel far and wide on the trains... and I did quite a lot of it.....
I started commuting by trains at age of 16 when I chose to study in a college in heart of Mumbai city. I live in a suburb, so had to spend at least 3 hours each day in local trains of Mumbai. Now local train ride in Mumbai is something that one just has to experience. 8 million people commute through this network every single day. Each train has special compartments exclusively for women and there are 2 trains during peak hours which are entirely for women.. they are called 'ladies specials'.. and trust me we have ample reasons why we need such separate ladies coaches.. I am grateful to that creative genius who started this system long time ago and I guess he was a man, all the more reason to respect his wisdom and vision.. I could never find this person's details but I owe him a big time for the safety and security this has provided working women in Mumbai. I have taken trains in Mumbai at midnight without fear. Unlike trains in developed world, the doors of Mumbai local trains do not close, so lot of people hang out of the train... every regular commuter has to learn a set of skill to have a safe train journeys. It involves how to jump into the train before train stops completely, how to get out of the train at the right moment, how to protect your bags and belongings, how to make sure that your feet do not get stamped by heels of the others and so on. Well you actually need to undergo training, and it takes a while.. getting in and out of the train at peak hours is a test of balance and control. If you are new, you will be either squeezed in a corner or you will be out of the train at station that is not your destination. You can easily make out if the person is indeed a seasoned traveller or a newbie.
Large majority of people in Mumbai take the local trains as they are most efficient, affordable, pollution free, fastest means of commute, it is not the most comfortable one but it works.. and it gets you to your destination with minimal delay... well your clothes might look as if you have just worn something out of a dryer, totally crumpled... but hey you get to places in time... that is most important in Mumbai, not your clothes... I travelled by these trains for another 6 years of my medical training and then few more years while working.. so I can say that I have a career of about 10 years when it comes to travelling on local trains in Mumbai and in the process I have learned few tricks of the trades, and accumulated few very special experiences like having to assist a woman on train who went into premature labour. You can buy fresh food, fruits, vegetables, clothes, household needs on the trains... it is indeed a life on wheel and especially in Mumbai it is aimed at making life of people as efficient as possible.. Mantra is to save time.. so for a woman on her train ride home, an hour means chance to buy vegetables, sometimes clean it through, think about what to cook for the evening and what else needs to be bought on the way home, time to connect with fellow women and friends. Yes if you are a regular commuter you often have your own circle of friends travelling with you, your train buddies... these are also your social support networks, you can easily find a woman crying in hard times with her fellow women, and you will also see celebrations and happy moments rejoiced together, you will hear recipes shared and advices sought... for an anthropologist, a woman's compartment in local train of Mumbai is a feminine subculture on the go... I was always fascinated by the activities that go on in that tiny train coach... and what huge impact it has on lives of these women... if I could get funds for my own research topic, studying culture on these trains would have been one of my top research interests.. but that has to wait..
I can write a book on local trains in Mumbai, it is truly special.. it is a hallmark of Mumbai life with all its flaws... and it has also been the easiest target for terrorist attacks. Time and again serial bomb blasts have shocked Mumbai local trains killing hundreds of innocent commuters, the ordinary people who make this mega city run... Mumbai gets paralysed when the local trains shut down and that happens every year in monsoon at least a couple of times when we get flooded... we have just learned to live with these facts of life... that heavy rains will knock out the train systems.. and there will be inconvenience but these are also the moments when city shows its true character, people helping each other, strangers offering a helping hand, no one is left alone... everyone tides over the crises together till Mumbai gets on her feet again.. and trains start running again... resilience is Mumbai's second name... and I love my city for this character... try and destroy Mumbai either through man-made disasters or natural calamities, this city comes together as never before and regains her normal rhythm and routine in no time.
Same is true for long distance trains in India. If you want to see, feel, experience real India, take the train rides that too ordinary general compartments... spend 24 hours on the coach and see the country unfolding in front of your eyes, changing landscapes, changing air, changing language and dialects, changing aromas and colours, changing food and spices... in no time you will find yourself talking to a fellow passenger, life stories are shared on the journey along with the food... I have so many stories from such train rides in different parts of the country.... and I have made so many meaningful connections with people.. one thing that really bothers me on aeroplanes is lack of this human connection... I think once in the air, people tend to be more absorbed into themselves unlike the ones who are grounded with the running train... wonder what will it be like in terms of human connections to travel on water? I have never done that.. something to add to my bucket list... I have promised my professor of anthropology a long train ride in India... where I will be his personal guide... and I really hope one day we both can make this promise a reality...
Last three years, I have been taking trains in various European countries.. and I carry my father with me in my heart... I wish I could really share this experience with him in person.. he would have been curious like a child, a bit scared and nervous I guess, but he would have enjoyed every moment of these train journeys... It is impossible for me to board a train in a new country without thinking of my dad... the strange gray and orange Belgian trains, my favourite blue and yellow Dutch trains, the Italian and these days Swiss trains are my travel companions... Highlight of my train journeys this year was in Norway, especially the train ride from Bergen to Oslo, passing the fjords and mountains.... the blue waters and ice-capped mountains... train journeys give me time to reflect, to think and to connect with people, to smile and to relax... its a different kind of joy....and I cherish every moment of it..
I guess in the three years ahead I will travel through Switzerland extensively by train for sure.. I am amazed that Switzerland has 5000 kms of train network. I definitely want to experience their glacier express and other mountain trains. I am hopeful that I would be able to reach Milano through the huge tunnel construction that is currently underway, cutting down travel time between Switzerland and Italy... I am not so sure about the long tunnels though, they make my ears hurt and I rather prefer to see the scenic landscapes instead of dark tunnel walls artificially illuminated... One thing that I wanted to do while living in the Netherlands was to take a Thalys from Amsterdam to Paris... I have not done that yet... Thalys always attracted my attention for her beak shaped engine and that roaring speed as compared to the Dutch trains.... yes trains for me are feminine.... may be while in Basel, I will take a train to Paris... dont know if that will be a Thalys or some other company... I also want to take a Eurostar and cross the channel tunnel..... I read about this tunnel in newspaper when I was a child and retained that newspaper cutting for a very long time... then came the train in China connecting Lhasa... the world's highest altitude train network... only concern I have in last train ride is about availability of vegetarian food.. I cant enjoy my train journey without my food... In few years time, I am hoping to take a train ride to Kashmir... with all those constructions going on, the high mountain bridges and Chenab roaring below in the valley.... It would be wonderful to bring rail networks into Kashmir, connecting it with the rest of the country.. like my father always imagined it to be...
There is no limit to my dreams and my bucket list continues to get heavy by each passing day... but I had a dream that will never get fulfilled... the promise that my father could not keep.... as a child, I wanted to travel in a train engine once.... to look through that front glass.... to marvel at the magic of running a train.... I guess, this dream needs to be put to rest.... as I dont see any possibility of that happening.... but that is fine... sometimes even unfulfilled dreams can warm your heart... and this one will definitely warm mine...
Note: I am attaching a link here for further read..'train yourself for mumbai locals'.. one of the pictures for this blog is from the same link.
http://know.burrp.com/my-city/train-yourself-for-mumbai-locals/8365
the other picture comes from another blogger and the link to that blog is
http://blog.zanilhyder.info/2009/11/mumbai-local-trains/
He did not drive the trains, he was a telephone operator working for Indian Railways out of Mumbai office. This telephone exchange is housed in beautiful old British building on Victoria Terminus Station in Mumbai. This building is now declared a world Heritage site. Walking into my dad's office, climbing those stairs with red carpets, looking at those massive paintings depicting history of Indian railways from 1857 till date, and enjoying the rainbows reflecting through gigantic chandelier under the main dome of the building, I always felt as if I was entering an exotic world, a fairy land. I also loved going to the hospital where my mother worked as a nurse and that shaped my career choice to become a doctor but going to my dad's office fuelled my imagination and fantasies. He probably would have liked to see me as a medical officer in Railways, but that was not my dream... I was just happy to travel far and wide on the trains... and I did quite a lot of it.....
I started commuting by trains at age of 16 when I chose to study in a college in heart of Mumbai city. I live in a suburb, so had to spend at least 3 hours each day in local trains of Mumbai. Now local train ride in Mumbai is something that one just has to experience. 8 million people commute through this network every single day. Each train has special compartments exclusively for women and there are 2 trains during peak hours which are entirely for women.. they are called 'ladies specials'.. and trust me we have ample reasons why we need such separate ladies coaches.. I am grateful to that creative genius who started this system long time ago and I guess he was a man, all the more reason to respect his wisdom and vision.. I could never find this person's details but I owe him a big time for the safety and security this has provided working women in Mumbai. I have taken trains in Mumbai at midnight without fear. Unlike trains in developed world, the doors of Mumbai local trains do not close, so lot of people hang out of the train... every regular commuter has to learn a set of skill to have a safe train journeys. It involves how to jump into the train before train stops completely, how to get out of the train at the right moment, how to protect your bags and belongings, how to make sure that your feet do not get stamped by heels of the others and so on. Well you actually need to undergo training, and it takes a while.. getting in and out of the train at peak hours is a test of balance and control. If you are new, you will be either squeezed in a corner or you will be out of the train at station that is not your destination. You can easily make out if the person is indeed a seasoned traveller or a newbie.
Large majority of people in Mumbai take the local trains as they are most efficient, affordable, pollution free, fastest means of commute, it is not the most comfortable one but it works.. and it gets you to your destination with minimal delay... well your clothes might look as if you have just worn something out of a dryer, totally crumpled... but hey you get to places in time... that is most important in Mumbai, not your clothes... I travelled by these trains for another 6 years of my medical training and then few more years while working.. so I can say that I have a career of about 10 years when it comes to travelling on local trains in Mumbai and in the process I have learned few tricks of the trades, and accumulated few very special experiences like having to assist a woman on train who went into premature labour. You can buy fresh food, fruits, vegetables, clothes, household needs on the trains... it is indeed a life on wheel and especially in Mumbai it is aimed at making life of people as efficient as possible.. Mantra is to save time.. so for a woman on her train ride home, an hour means chance to buy vegetables, sometimes clean it through, think about what to cook for the evening and what else needs to be bought on the way home, time to connect with fellow women and friends. Yes if you are a regular commuter you often have your own circle of friends travelling with you, your train buddies... these are also your social support networks, you can easily find a woman crying in hard times with her fellow women, and you will also see celebrations and happy moments rejoiced together, you will hear recipes shared and advices sought... for an anthropologist, a woman's compartment in local train of Mumbai is a feminine subculture on the go... I was always fascinated by the activities that go on in that tiny train coach... and what huge impact it has on lives of these women... if I could get funds for my own research topic, studying culture on these trains would have been one of my top research interests.. but that has to wait..
I can write a book on local trains in Mumbai, it is truly special.. it is a hallmark of Mumbai life with all its flaws... and it has also been the easiest target for terrorist attacks. Time and again serial bomb blasts have shocked Mumbai local trains killing hundreds of innocent commuters, the ordinary people who make this mega city run... Mumbai gets paralysed when the local trains shut down and that happens every year in monsoon at least a couple of times when we get flooded... we have just learned to live with these facts of life... that heavy rains will knock out the train systems.. and there will be inconvenience but these are also the moments when city shows its true character, people helping each other, strangers offering a helping hand, no one is left alone... everyone tides over the crises together till Mumbai gets on her feet again.. and trains start running again... resilience is Mumbai's second name... and I love my city for this character... try and destroy Mumbai either through man-made disasters or natural calamities, this city comes together as never before and regains her normal rhythm and routine in no time.
Same is true for long distance trains in India. If you want to see, feel, experience real India, take the train rides that too ordinary general compartments... spend 24 hours on the coach and see the country unfolding in front of your eyes, changing landscapes, changing air, changing language and dialects, changing aromas and colours, changing food and spices... in no time you will find yourself talking to a fellow passenger, life stories are shared on the journey along with the food... I have so many stories from such train rides in different parts of the country.... and I have made so many meaningful connections with people.. one thing that really bothers me on aeroplanes is lack of this human connection... I think once in the air, people tend to be more absorbed into themselves unlike the ones who are grounded with the running train... wonder what will it be like in terms of human connections to travel on water? I have never done that.. something to add to my bucket list... I have promised my professor of anthropology a long train ride in India... where I will be his personal guide... and I really hope one day we both can make this promise a reality...
Last three years, I have been taking trains in various European countries.. and I carry my father with me in my heart... I wish I could really share this experience with him in person.. he would have been curious like a child, a bit scared and nervous I guess, but he would have enjoyed every moment of these train journeys... It is impossible for me to board a train in a new country without thinking of my dad... the strange gray and orange Belgian trains, my favourite blue and yellow Dutch trains, the Italian and these days Swiss trains are my travel companions... Highlight of my train journeys this year was in Norway, especially the train ride from Bergen to Oslo, passing the fjords and mountains.... the blue waters and ice-capped mountains... train journeys give me time to reflect, to think and to connect with people, to smile and to relax... its a different kind of joy....and I cherish every moment of it..
I guess in the three years ahead I will travel through Switzerland extensively by train for sure.. I am amazed that Switzerland has 5000 kms of train network. I definitely want to experience their glacier express and other mountain trains. I am hopeful that I would be able to reach Milano through the huge tunnel construction that is currently underway, cutting down travel time between Switzerland and Italy... I am not so sure about the long tunnels though, they make my ears hurt and I rather prefer to see the scenic landscapes instead of dark tunnel walls artificially illuminated... One thing that I wanted to do while living in the Netherlands was to take a Thalys from Amsterdam to Paris... I have not done that yet... Thalys always attracted my attention for her beak shaped engine and that roaring speed as compared to the Dutch trains.... yes trains for me are feminine.... may be while in Basel, I will take a train to Paris... dont know if that will be a Thalys or some other company... I also want to take a Eurostar and cross the channel tunnel..... I read about this tunnel in newspaper when I was a child and retained that newspaper cutting for a very long time... then came the train in China connecting Lhasa... the world's highest altitude train network... only concern I have in last train ride is about availability of vegetarian food.. I cant enjoy my train journey without my food... In few years time, I am hoping to take a train ride to Kashmir... with all those constructions going on, the high mountain bridges and Chenab roaring below in the valley.... It would be wonderful to bring rail networks into Kashmir, connecting it with the rest of the country.. like my father always imagined it to be...
There is no limit to my dreams and my bucket list continues to get heavy by each passing day... but I had a dream that will never get fulfilled... the promise that my father could not keep.... as a child, I wanted to travel in a train engine once.... to look through that front glass.... to marvel at the magic of running a train.... I guess, this dream needs to be put to rest.... as I dont see any possibility of that happening.... but that is fine... sometimes even unfulfilled dreams can warm your heart... and this one will definitely warm mine...
Note: I am attaching a link here for further read..'train yourself for mumbai locals'.. one of the pictures for this blog is from the same link.
http://know.burrp.com/my-city/train-yourself-for-mumbai-locals/8365
the other picture comes from another blogger and the link to that blog is
http://blog.zanilhyder.info/2009/11/mumbai-local-trains/
2 comments:
hello,
i work for OPEN magazine, http://www.openthemagazine.com/ and we are doing an article that's made up of small anecdotes by regular commuters of local trains in Mumbai. I'd really like to talk to you about your experiences and quote you in the article. if its fine by you, please hit me back on drashtithakkar.theshow@gmail.com sometime today.
Thank you.
Hey, I am using one of the images shared in your blogs and attributing you by sharing the link. Please let me know if you want me to take it down. Thanks a lot!
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