Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Rain And The Thunder... A Plight Of Mumbaikar!

The Rain God was in no mood to show any mercy! It was bucketing like hell!
The guy at the vada pau stall, near the rickshaw stand was incredibly fast. The speed with which he was making the vada pau’s was like he was competing with the heavy shower and he didn’t leave a single customer unsatisfied. Sharmaji… his most faithful customer had his eyes stuck on the kadai and was impatiently waiting to grab his bite.

Holding the slightly broken umbrella in one hand while he was relishing his morning snack and simultaneously reasoning on the phone explaining his boss why he would be late for work. Rains are indeed the best excuse for all the lazy fellas!

Standing in the long queue of rickshaw, he had no worries. Like his fellow commuter friends, he too was accustomed to the ignorant administration. After almost a year, he now had his gang with whom he used to laugh and wait for the auto rickshaw.

Ask him if this frustrated or angered him and the reply would be a cool and calm one, “ye to roz ka hai. Ab aadat ho gayi hai”. You cannot help but smile and give a nod.

After having a light humorous time with the ever smiling Sharmaji, I headed to the railway station to meet my darling 7:05 local. The scene at the station was grotesque. From the bridge all I could see was a black blanket covering the platform. The railway track was nowhere to be seen. Instead there was a thin river flowing! The first thought was if I had come to the wrong place but that couldn’t be. The second thought obviously was to hire a boat! :P

Days like these are one of the most crucial business days for the owners of the tea stall at the platforms. One of the traits of a Mumbaikar is that he loves to eat. And on occasions like these when they know they have plenty of time with them, they don’t like to keep their mouths idle. Strangers become friends! While savouring the hot tea, they chat about the step-motherly treatment the city gets. One could feel the virtual blanket of tension that roofed the station. Blank indicators, the same old announcements (aapki asuvidha ke liye hame khed hai)… new excuses for the same story surface all the time.

Where I had fear on my face of being late for my lecture, Sharmaji and his smile was intact. He was talking and waving as if it was a daily business for him. After waiting for almost 45 minutes, I got a glimpse of my darling who was slowly making its way through the river to help me reach my destination. The mere sight of the yellow and purple beauty brought a wave of happiness among the tensed crowd and everyone prepared themselves for the upcoming war…to board the train!

Finally after having an adventurous morning and being victorious in the war to board the train, I settled myself inside the compartment. There was just one hot topic buzzing throughout the compartment. When I think about it, I realize that there is nothing much a common citizen like you and I can do. We’ll have to just wait for the fairy godmother to come and wave her magic wand.
There is little a Mumbaikar can do but grimace and bear the bumpy ride.

2 comments:

sofiya29 said...

Wow!!! Mumbaikars are definitely different from the rest of the world. Love the undying spirit of Mumbai.

alisha adnan said...

Sofiya, its is not the undying spirit of Mumbai. It is the helplessness of Mumbai.

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