What A Ride

It was evening and raining heavily as I rushed inside the Borivali station to find an AC local at the platform. The AC local was introduced on 25^th December 2017 and I had not yet taken a ride, so this time I decided to experience it and what a ride I had. I was travelling from Borivali to Mumbai Central. It was the 6.55pm local and yet as time ticked by it didn’t move. What was truly eerie was, as far as I could see inside the train there was no one, not a soul. The AC was on full swing and Mumbai felt like Kashmir. My mind re-winded as I was about to witness another ride as this after 9 years or so. That ride I remember we (Ananya and Me) were travelling from Howrah to Digha in the Duronto Express and our compartment had no souls apart from us in the whole journey. In fact, the bus that the resort had sent from Sankarpur to pick us up also had only us as the only passengers. That was another great experience.

Well coming back to the story and the reality the AC Local finally started at 6:57pm and the doors closed with only me sitting. After a while finally I saw a soul, an RPF Lady Constable walked past me and settled two rows back. And almost in a minute, she was having a conversation which was clearly audible. She must have been speaking to her senior. She was narrating an incident that had happened during the day. A man had entered a women’s coach and she had an altercation with him. The person would not get down and she would not let him stay. Amidst this, another soul was coming forward and finally stopped in front of me asking to show the ticket. It was the TT (Travelling Ticket Examiner) or TC (Ticket Checker). As he finished viewing my ticket, he uttered three words which no one can expect in any local train of The Mumbai Subarban Railway Network, never. He said, Thank You Sir. Can you believe that a Mumbai TC was actually thanking a passenger for showing ticket? Unbelievable. 

Anyway, Andheri had come by that time but not a soul in sight. I was having a feeling of riding in the future as you might have experienced in movies. It was dark outside with heavy rains and an AC fast local at full speed was like I was anywhere in future but not Mumbai, can’t be. The thought sends shivers down your spine and I was experiencing it with the chilled temperature inside.

So gradually Bandra came, Dadar came and finally I stood up as I would get down at the next station, Mumbai Central. I, actually, was up as soon as the local left Dadar. Warming up, you know, I warmed up, took some photos and waited near the closed door. As far as I could see inside the train there was hardly anyone (see the pic). Finally, I got down at my destination only to look back and find the RPF Lady boarding down too.

Well, as I walked ahead, the train left and the rain sound took over I don’t know why but I was only thinking about “Okhil Babu (Okhil Chandra Sen)”, the man who had written a letter to The Indian Railways in 1909 which supposedly led to the introduction of toilets in trains. 😊

Three Rides - Three Stories

A few days back three back-to-back rickshaw rides in Mumbai were strangely interesting. All the last three drivers were either born in Bengal or have a Bong Connection.

The First Ride – Hearing us speak in Bengali suddenly the driver gentleman who looked into his mid-fifties started reciting a few lines from Rabindranath Tagore’s “Sahoj Path”. Surprising us, he then started talking in Bengali and he was on this nostalgic trip of his own. This person was born in Kolkata and he spoke about the riding India’s first metro when it started in the 1980’s. His tram rides from Tollygunge to Gariahat. The cinema halls of Bhawanipore, the food, the culture, politics, his childhood memories of the city and what not. For me too it was a journey into my childhood. What a lovely ride we had.

The Second Ride – Hearing me speak in Bengali over the phone the driver gentleman started speaking in Bengali. Another surprise for me. This man who seemed to be in his mid-forties comes from a village in Malda, West Bengal. He had an interesting story. Long back he ran away from home with his mother’s jewellery and landed in Mumbai. He wanted to become an actor. He started working at some hotel and managed to meet one casting agent who made him believe that for acting he first needs to have an artist’s card. The card would cost ₹50,000 and this fellow arranged that money and gave him only to find that the agent and the agent’s office somewhere in Goregaon vanish. Heart broken and after a few tries he finally gave up his dream and bought an auto-rickshaw which he drives. He has also booked his “kholi” (room / flat) and will soon shift. His family is back in the village and he plans to bring his children and wife to Mumbai permanently. His father had visited once but didn’t like the city much. He enjoys his trips to Malda but admits he can’t stay more than 5-6 days. He loves hilsa and is concerned about the illegal migration of Bangladeshis in Mumbai. He said he witnessed a few being arrested very recently. A thoughtful journey for me.

The Third Ride – We had stopped the rickshaw as I went out to pick up something and, on my return, Ananya tells me that this gentleman understands Bengali as he drove a taxi in Kolkata for 6-7 years. Not much details but he left Kolkata because he couldn’t drive at night due to lack of passengers and hence, he found Mumbai to the ideal location as he loves driving at night.

Life is a journey and a celebration. I will relish these three experiences for long. If you have reached the end do share your experiences in the comments.