It’s t(raining) in Mumbai

‘Bambai ki barsaat aur local trains ka koi bharosa nahi’ goes a popular saying in Hindi. And when the two meet, imagine the havoc that is caused. In general, rains may be synonymous with romance but in Mumbai, rains and trains are synonymous with trouble.
The foremost indication you get of it is when, after the slightest of showers, the railway announcer jarringly screams out that that the trains are running late following the tripping of an overhead wire. You understand what he/she is saying only because only have grown used to the problem as an annual phenomenon. Newcomers to Mumbai will need to listen to it at least ten times to figure out what is being said. The only audible portion of the announcement is the well-rehearsed line ‘Inconvenience caused to the passengers is regretted’ which actually means inconvenience caused to the passengers is not our concern.
When a train finally arrives in such a chaotic scenario, you need to posses WWE-like skills to get in. Fly, dive, jump, and ensure that you have done enough jostling to gain an entry pass into the train (valid tickets are passé). But there is no time to relax as that is only half the battle won. Inside you are greeted by wet umbrellas, some poking right in to your nose, drenched men with their windcheaters on and some more alien species. But your initial concern is to adjust yourself so that you get enough space to plant your foot and stand steadily. In this effort, you inadvertently clamp on a co-passenger’s shoes, who is quick to yell and become the cynosure of all eyes in the compartment…abe dikhai nahi deta kya !@#$% (now that’s what we call a rhetoric question).
As the train moves forward, you are constantly yo-yoing - in an effort to either let people get in or alight. Here again you have to be careful of certain namunas, who are all prepared for their moment of glory – are bhai andar chalo na bahar kyon khade ho – as if we are enjoying getting the sandwich massage. After a lot of hard work and loss of sweat in spite of the rains (or rather because of the rains0, when you finally reach you’re desired destination you heave a sigh of relief at having pulled off the great miraculous escape.
However, there is no time to relax as you have to reach the workplace on time. Out come the windcheaters and umbrellas again and the irritating TCs, who catch hold of you when you are always in a hurry. If you are lucky and shana as they day in Mumbaiyya language, you can fox others and get hold of a rick or cab. For the simpletons, the long walk ahead or BEST (of the worst) is the only option. The ordeal is finally over when you reach office by which time you discover that your black shoe has actually turned brown! After some much needed cleaning up and well-deserved rest, it’s time to get to work and slowly brace yourself up for the return journey. You hope it will be a less unpleasant ride but while optimism is good, it is not always realistic. As you return home, you thank god for brining you back home safely. And god’s reply is… Allah ke bande hasde jo bhi ho kal phir aayega.

Box


Drizzlers

It rains atrociously hard every time you forget your umbrella or windcheater.

The daily train you catch is most often delayed or cancelled due to the rains.

You leave half-an-hour earlier than usual during the monsoon yet reach office half-an-hour late.

Did you know?


Hide and seek is the favourite game of the rains… Every time it starts drizzling, you get yourself ready with the umbrellas/windcheaters in place. But by such time, it has stopped raining. And when you put them back in resting position, the clouds open up again.

Googly

Why are mon’soon’s called so when they always arrive late?