There are countless occasions when I am travelling in the Mumbai local and think I am lucky. I do count my blessings. Living in Mulund, which falls within Mumbai city limits, and barely 24 km from Dadar, which makes it possible for easy autorickshaw or taxi travel is definitely the first privilege.
I think I am lucky when,
I listen to a fellow commuter, who lives in Badlapur which is about 65 km from Mumbai CST, telling her friend, ''I have to wake up at 4.30 AM everyday, daughter catches the 5.40 local to go to college. I have to give her two tiffins.'' This woman reaches home around 9 PM every day, mind you.
I think I am lucky when,
When my bhabhi has to carry two big bottles of water to office, from Borivali to Churchgate, in the jam packed local because her office doesn't have purified water. And a lunchbox. I can carry a small bottle that will last me for the hour's travel.
I think I am lucky when,
I hear two IT employees talking about the weight of their laptops. ''When it rained heavily in June, none of us had carried our laptops to office to avoid damaging them. However, we had an international interaction that day, and none of us could log in because we had no laptops. Everyone from Hong Kong office had logged in. So from next day onwards, we have been ordered to carry the laptop compulsorily every day.'' I can't imagine carrying the laptop and the charget everyday.
I think I am lucky when,
I hear from two local-friends that a CL - casual leave - was marked against them when they couldn't travel to office because of waterlogged tracks. I have an option of Work From Home on such exceptional days. Also as a journalist, I don't have fixed working hours and I don't have to travel in the peak hours.
I think I am lucky when,
I meet my aunt in her seventies, with a permanent painful shoulder because of travelling in a crowded local for almost an hour to and fro, holding the handle with one hand. The other shoulder has to carry the bag. She is quite tall actually. So imagine the plight of the short or average woman who has to really stretch her arms to hold on to the handle. I don't travel during peak hours, . And I carry an S hook to hang my bag.
I think I am lucky when,
I see a high school teacher, in the crowded train, carrying at least two heavy bags, managing her saree. It's compulsory in her school for teachers to wear a saree. Journalism has no formalities, no compulsion of what to wear, as long as it is decent.
Decades of train travel, the thousands of commuters that I get to observe, has made me realise that I am lucky indeed.
I think I am lucky when,
I listen to a fellow commuter, who lives in Badlapur which is about 65 km from Mumbai CST, telling her friend, ''I have to wake up at 4.30 AM everyday, daughter catches the 5.40 local to go to college. I have to give her two tiffins.'' This woman reaches home around 9 PM every day, mind you.
I think I am lucky when,
When my bhabhi has to carry two big bottles of water to office, from Borivali to Churchgate, in the jam packed local because her office doesn't have purified water. And a lunchbox. I can carry a small bottle that will last me for the hour's travel.
I think I am lucky when,
I hear two IT employees talking about the weight of their laptops. ''When it rained heavily in June, none of us had carried our laptops to office to avoid damaging them. However, we had an international interaction that day, and none of us could log in because we had no laptops. Everyone from Hong Kong office had logged in. So from next day onwards, we have been ordered to carry the laptop compulsorily every day.'' I can't imagine carrying the laptop and the charget everyday.
I think I am lucky when,
I hear from two local-friends that a CL - casual leave - was marked against them when they couldn't travel to office because of waterlogged tracks. I have an option of Work From Home on such exceptional days. Also as a journalist, I don't have fixed working hours and I don't have to travel in the peak hours.
I think I am lucky when,
I meet my aunt in her seventies, with a permanent painful shoulder because of travelling in a crowded local for almost an hour to and fro, holding the handle with one hand. The other shoulder has to carry the bag. She is quite tall actually. So imagine the plight of the short or average woman who has to really stretch her arms to hold on to the handle. I don't travel during peak hours, . And I carry an S hook to hang my bag.
I think I am lucky when,
I see a high school teacher, in the crowded train, carrying at least two heavy bags, managing her saree. It's compulsory in her school for teachers to wear a saree. Journalism has no formalities, no compulsion of what to wear, as long as it is decent.
Decades of train travel, the thousands of commuters that I get to observe, has made me realise that I am lucky indeed.
Yes Mrinmayee, lucky indeed....
ReplyDeleteyes. better to count our blessings, right?
Delete