Local Trains and What You See..

Train. Yes. One of the most common modes of transport for most Chennaites, which includes me too, as I’ve been here for around 2 years now.  I spend close to an hour in the train daily and these 60 minutes are interesting since I encounter many kinds of co-commuters.  My observation is closed to the Ladies compartment only, as this is what I always board.

The walls of the train compartment will almost always have some info on weird job offers.  Like, “Earn Rs. 10001 in a week. Government approved job.  Call the following number...”.  The strange thing is these job offers (which are written on bright yellow, or pink papers) will be pasted next to the railway warning saying “Bill Stickers Will Be Prosecuted.”   It is rightly said “Strange are the ways of the world!”

Now coming to the people I’ve met during my time in the compartment.  It is said that women love to talk and express themselves.  This according to me is a good thing about us. But the specific set of lady folk I am referring to here, seem to have taken this belief way too seriously! They talk about their life, their neighbour’s life, their maid’s life, and probably their maid’s neighbour’s life too.  Sometimes about the story of the previous episode of some famous TV serial- why the hero is in ICU, and the villain is plotting to marry the hero’s girlfriend, how many idlis did the villain’s mother eat, what is the color of the tail of the dog in the hero’s house. Why is it less brown today than it was yesterday! Is it the water? Well, you might think, how is it that I know all this. Well, anyone traveling is, by default included into the conversation as a listener, even if she is not aware of it! The best way to save ourselves is to always have some cotton or ear phones with us. 
 

The next group of people are those for whom music is life.  Yes! They have their ear phones plugged into their ears and they are constantly swaying to the beats! Even if Shaktimaan waves at them from outside, they will not notice him, as the only world they are aware of is that of music.  I feel sad for Shaktimaan. 

The laptop lovers are another set of people who can be spotted in the train.  They enter the train, find a seat, and the next thing – their laptops are switched on.  There is nothing more I can say about them.  And so, moving on...

The Zombies! Yes, those people who seem to have watched the movie ‘Go Goa Gone’ and taken it too seriously! They will stare at you from head to toe with no expression at all.  If they are seated right opposite to you, then mind you! Even if the Samosa-vala offers to give a free samosa to all the passengers, they wouldn’t know. If he offers chutney along with the samosa, they still wouldn’t know.  (The chutney being talked about here is an imaginary concept.  You will never get chutney with Samosa in trains here.)The train might halt; the train might have reached the shed.  Yet, they will remain zombies and zombies only stare! 

Moving on...

How can I miss out the diners?  The people who treat the train as an extended part of their homes – their dining hall.  They will have a dabba, which when opened will contain some snack along with some smaller dabbas, which would exhibit the yummiest kinds of chutneys and pickles! The aroma will make you wish you were their friend/neighbour, so that you would also be offered some. At this moment, I somehow always remember the Sanjeev Kapoor show, where he tastes the food and goes “ mmmmm..., this is yummy.”  And you somehow always wish you too were on the show, and had the privilege to taste some of the food and go “mmmmm...I agree”.

Now, imagine this! There are a whole bunch of free seats, yet they choose to relax on the floor of the train. Yes. These are the people who have confused me the most, as I fail to understand them.  The whole train might be free, but these ladies will sit at the entrance of the train, on the floor.  They will sit in groups, talk, sing, look out into the air, eat. In short the travel is like a holiday for them. A basket, some bags, water bottles, and other things will be neatly placed near them.  For those of us getting down in the next station, reaching the door could sometimes seem like a warm up session in the gym.  We will have to jump, and hop and sometimes even wrestle.  We also need to pray to all the Gods in heaven to help us cross these people and reach the door of the train on time.  Chances are, we would be a step away from THE DOOR, and the train would start moving. This is the exact moment when we wish Spider man came swinging by into the compartment and took us out of there.  Something like this hasn’t really happened till now, as far as I am aware. Hence, this is one of those moments which come under Irony of the highest order.

Another very interesting group are those who go off to sleep just after getting into the train.  Once they are asleep, we can see their head move from the shoulder of the person at their left, to the person at the right. At times, the head moves in a circular direction.  It’s like a free demonstration of YOGA FOR THE NECK.  It doesn’t end with Yoga! A little later, the snoring starts, and continues till the person next to them threatens to complain at the station. The snorers are thankfully not very common, but if they happen to be around, it could make you wish you owned a train of your own or had wings and could fly to work.

There are many more kinds of people.  The flower lovers who think the train is a garden.  They will have bags of flowers placed near their seats.  The flowers sometimes bring to mind famous movies like DDLJ, where SRK and Kajol run around in a field of flowers. These ladies will be busy making garlands with the flowers.  They will be so engrossed in what they are doing, that even if a person asks them for some space to sit, they wouldn’t notice.  Flower effect? Perhaps...not sure though!!Then there are the ones who chant and sing hymns, and are in constant prayer. Another common set of people are the vegetable and fruit vendors.  They come in an army of 3-4 and scatter into various parts of the compartment. They advertise their sells so loudly that your hands automatically reach the purse and you contemplate on offering some crisp notes to them, in return for some healthy stuff.  All you wish for at the moment is that your station is next and you can get off from the train and find some silence.

And then the rare traveller.  Sometimes, guys forget to read the ‘LADIES’ sign outside the compartment, and get into it.  This doesn’t normally happen, but sometimes an unlucky and unsuspecting guy does board the compartment at his own risk.  By the time the guy notices he’s in the wrong place, the train would have left.  There are chances that the guy then gets some scolding from the women nearby, just like the Saas Bahu serials on TV. (The sound effects are missing though). By the time the train reaches the next station, he probably promises to himself that he will be extra careful next time! 

Each day brings a new story, a new journey, a new discovery. Traveling in suburban trains is an experience.  Even though we don’t intend to, we learn and observe the variety of people living in this world! This brings to my mind a famous saying, “After all each one of us is unique and each person has a story to tell.”