| Siddhartha Butalia lived in the Himalayan mountains and forests as a child. He has travelled from Leh in Kashmir to Cochin in Kerala, from Sikkim to Goa, from the Andaman Islands to the Lakshwadeep Islands. He went for his first 100 km trek at age seven, had an initial taste of river rafting at 14, got his one-star SCUBA diving license at 16. As a teenager, When asked to write about his adventures and travel experiences he wrote about commuting in Mumbai. Siddhartha's home page.
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When you first come to Bombay, you hear horror stories about the frog experiments. Oh! You haven't heard that one. Lemme have the pleasure of telling you. Living in Bombay (Mumbai) is like the experiment of the frog in the boiling water. They apparently actually did this experiment. They put a frog in water at room temperature, gradually increasing the temperature till boiling point, within an hour. The frog however wasn't waiting to sit around and fry. So he jumped out long before the cauldron was bubbling. He didn't want to be in no witches brew.
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From the frying pan into the fire. They took the frog and put it back in water at room temperature. But this time they turned up the heat(pun intended) gradually, one degree a day. The frog boiled till it died. That's life in Mumbai. You boil till you die and you never realise that it's killing you.
What I'm talking about over here is the commuting. The local trains. Commuting is a daily chore for most Mumbai residents. If you actually believed the government statistics on the population being controlled, you haven't seen the Bombay local trains. Now you know where all those extra people are hiding. You can't blame the government. Obviously you can't count them if they're moving all the time
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2.5 million people travel by the Central line everyday, and 2.7 million by the Western line. And it seems all 2.7 million always want to get into the same blooming train as you. When the train pulls in at the station the commuters seem to pile in half a mile before the train stops. They have to, if they want space to fit both their legs. I've never figured out how there are guys who manage to get a place to sit. It seems the only way you can get a place to sit in the train from Goregaon to Churchgate in the morning, is if you catch the train at Churchgate opposite the direction of the rush and sit and wait till it reaches Goregaon. Then don't get up. On the way back, you can have the pleasure of sneering at the five guys standing on your toes.
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| If you think I'm exaggerating come and help me look for my shoe which I lost today getting off at Andheri. Anyway, I wanted to get rid of that shoe. It wasn't matching the one that I managed to salvage day before yesterday.
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And the worst part is, the railway department actually fines you if you do a good deed and create a little more space for everyone by not buying a ticket. How the hell do they expect you to fit a railway pass into those compartments?
 If you think I'm exaggerating (ie, if you're not a resident of Mumbai), then you can come here and help me look for my shoe which I lost today getting off at Andheri. Anyway, I wanted to get rid of that shoe. It wasn't matching the one that I managed to salvage day before yesterday. Besides, there's no space for shoes
You think I'm joking? I started wearing lenses because there was no space for my glasses in there.
| 2.5 million people travel by the Central line everyday, and 2.7 million by the Western line. And it seems all 2.7 million always want to get into the same blooming train as you.
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You'd be wondering why all these duds who live in Mumbai don't shift out if it's so bad. Well actually, most of them live in the suburbs, and there are only three stations, Mumbai Central, Victoria (now Chatrapati Shivaji) Terminus and Dadar where you can get a train to get out of Mumbai. And there's no way people will go there. Nope. Why? Cuz they'll have to take a train to reach there!!!
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Chandar Narayan
Saudi Arabia
This article is a real class one and I would like to congratulate Siddhartha Butalia for absolutely correctly depicting life in the Mumbai Trains. I am now in Saudi Arabia and still enjoy travelling by train in Mumbai. I can say enjoy because I no longer have to do it daily. During my last leave, I was standing in Thane Station to catch a train to Dadar ( I had to go to the Passport Office in Worli ) and waited for about 45 minutes to get a train . They say it takes only 45 minutes to an hour to reach VT, but that of-course is provided you first get into a train. I used to work for ICI India in Sewree and for one and a half years of my Working life, I can confess that I never reached office in time except one day when I left home at 6.00 a.m. Thanks for the article. I will be distributing it to whomsoever I know who has lived in Hamari Bombay.
Arif M Kazi
The experience of Indian railways as projected in the article is a part of life of every Mumbaite. During my graduation we used to travel through both the western and central railways and face the same problems. Once I was carrying my drawing folder for submission during my third year B.E submission. The drawing folder broke while getting down from the Virar train. This happened at what was considered to be non-peak time. Luckily, my professor being aware of the situation, accepted my submission. This is a very good way for people to know the problems faced by people in different city/states.
Vikrant Sharma
The article about Bombay life is fantastic! I have spent twenty five years in Bombay ! I could not agree more !
Shirish
U.S.A.
I read your article about traveling in Mumbai. Indeed true. I am born and brought up in Mumbai and always hated to travel by train. Fortunately I traveled by train just for six months, most of it was from Parle to Goregaon, against the traffic. But then once I had to travel for nearly 3 weeks from Vile Parle to Grant Road, none of them being the starting point. I tried every other way to see if I can get a seat but heck no, unless you travel to Churchgate before heading to Vile Parle in the evening. Whenever I went in the other direction I always felt that I was wasting my time. Moreover, in first class, people do not even let the fourth person sit. One thing that I have never understood. First class does not look like first class and the only differenceis the sweat smell mixed with perfume. But those were only three weeks. Now I am in Saint Louis, USA for the past five years and I am glad that I do not have to take that train.
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