The second class ladies compartment is the most entertaining way to travel. Not everyone will be as amused but trust me if you do observe it in a detached manner you will find more than just a few instances that will make you laugh.
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT TRYING TO TRIVIALIZE ISSUES. Just wanting to make people see the funnier side of life and if not that then just the gory reality of it.
1. THE GANGWAY is the way! The alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end- and hence, a lot of people (women) decide to just stand there even if the have to alight after another FIVE stations.
2. Push and Shove, elbow and bellow is the best way to get in or get out. Or so they think. Imagine if everyone went about their commute in an orderly fashion. Things would be easier, lesser people would be injured and the travel would be more pleasant.
3. It is a great place for women to knit, clean veggies and do some shopping on the go. You get everything here from Umbrella shaped mechanical pencils, mini hot water bags, accessories of all sorts, colouring books, stickers, combs, kitchen wares and eatables.
4. If you have noticed an argument in the compartment- refer #2 it starts with a push or a shove. The belligerent victim starts a verbal abuse of sorts and then starts explaining the situation to co passengers and including them into the fight. After that it becomes a jugalbandi when both the sides try to one up each other.
5. A baby in the compartment is a play toy for those around but the same baby if crying becomes a nuisance. When the baby smiles everyone wants to hold it but no one wants to comfort a crying baby.
6. People love to eat on the train... and then throw peels/ plastic bags/ any residue or remains out of the window. Now, i don't blame the uneducated but what about those who have a swanky mobile phone, seem to be from educated families and wear top class clothes and behave like.... This happens most often when the train crosses over some creek, out comes everyone's used garlands and other stuff the holy books say must be discarded only in water. Not trying to hurt religious sentiments but there are other ways to dispose.
7. The fourth seat is God send. Hell yeah! It sure is. Doesn't matter if less than half your butt fits on the edge of the seat and despite you almost slipping from on there you still hang on it for dear life cause your feet are killing you.
8. I have been travelling by trains for quite a while now but somehow i don't get used to the fact that people ask you "Where are you going to get off?" even before you sat on the seat that just got vacant. I know i have mentioned it in an earlier post but couldn't help it.
9. We turn a blind eye to the disparity among us. Yes, we do it and we say there is nothing we can do about it. I have seen more than a few times - women with children who aren't exactly normal trying to fight the unforgiving crowd and standing their way through while most others just choose to ignore. Giving your seat up (at least then) seems like a noble thing to do. Then there are the Seat Gangsters that reserve seats for their friends and pick fights if someone tries to reason it out.
10. Finally, the one thing i cannot afford to miss out. The advertisements stuck all over the train compartments - all compartments alike... There was this one that said "Love, Sex, Friendship, Call some number and some smarty pants had put an arrow below it and wrote DON'T CALL! :)
We Mumbaikars spend most of our waking hours on the train and thus they form an important part of our journey. Journey to work in the Journey of Life.
