Mumbai's Lifeline

The prime business areas and major offices of both government and private institutions are all located in South Mumbai and the working population reside in areas quite far away from here, in the "suburbs" of Mumbai. Around 6.5 million residents of Mumbai travel to work using the local trains and this is the daily average & so it is no wonder that the Mumbai Suburban Railways have the highest passenger density in the world. Due to the ever increasing population and the influx of people from all over the country who come to Mumbai to realise their dreams, the local trains have to cater to the transport needs of all these people. A 9 cubicle (or car or bogie) train which is supposed to carry about 1700 passengers is forced to carry 4700 passengers during peak hours. People working in banks, private shops, corporate offices, government agencies, schools, colleges, Bollywood film industry, factories, workshops, garages, hotels, restaurants and many others rely heavily on the local trains and if the trains stop working even for a few hours, life in Mumbai virtually comes to a standstill and leads to chaos, confusion, anger, frustration, stress and sometimes it can also turn into a violent situation. It is therefore only apt to call the Mumbai local trains as Mumbai's lifeline.

And when I landed in Mumbai and started working, I found out more about the local trains. They have a culture of their own. The jam packed cubicles, the heat, the sweat, the clamour, those everyday fights to catch seats, getting in, being vomited out, struggling for that wee bit of extra leg space and elbow room.

There are so many things which are unique about Mumbai local trains.The rakes are designed to seat three people per unit bench installed. However, the brotherhood of Mumbaikars has an undying spirit and has given way to the ‘Fourth-seat’ concept, specifically in the second-class compartments. It is an unwritten law that the people who are lucky to get a seat during the journey will squeeze themselves and allow the fourth person to perch at least 25% of his bottom on the seat. Sadly this fourth-seat concept is yet to penetrate the stiff upper lip culture of the first class compartments.

A large populace of women in Mumbai work, a majority of them out of sheer compulsion as one earning member is not sufficient to support the family. And one has to really appreciate their planning and multi tasking skills. Some ladies actually start preparing the ingredients for the evening dinner by cutting the vegetables in the trains!

Some long distance commuters have formed "Bhajan Mandalis" or "Devotional songs Friend Circles". Equipped with the deity's framed picture, cymbals and their own voices, these groups sing away to glory trying to forget their stressful lives by immersing themselves in the bhajans. Their cacophony also results in passing on the stress to some fellow commuters who are trying to sleep or talk on their mobile phones.

Thanks to the technology boom, more and more commuters are entertaining themselves by listening to their favourite music on their pocket sized MP3 players and some even watch and listen to songs on their small mobile phone screens. Some read books, some solve crossword puzzles, some talk on their mobile phones, some sleep, some just observe others and some are lost in their thoughts, but all have one thing in common, all want to get the hell out of the train and are just waiting for their destination to come.