40 minutes in the Mumbai local

Like Siddhartha, one doesn’t need to leave worldly luxuries and wander to gain wisdom. One doesn’t need to sit beneath the tree for enlightenment.
Just travel by Mumbai local and you will know – life and living – goals and wisdom – you will be enlightened.

I happened to travel by Mumbai local (Andheri Slow) from Dadar to Andheri. My destination was Borivali. But when I saw life struggle getting in the train, I changed my destination to Andheri. From there I decided to take a taxi. I was taken aback when I saw a man pulling a person from the train. He was pulling his hair like he wanted his head to fall off. I was astonished at his act and more so when I saw myself and others just watching him do it! Later I realized, the other man had robbed that man and that man was just reacting to his deed.

I boarded the less crowded local and luckily got a seat. I sat down and was waiting for my station to come. The local as scheduled was stopping at intermediate stations. At one station, everybody got up and started seeing at one end from the window. I was new to all this since this was my second journey by local in my lifetime. Following the crowd, I peeped out. Somebody asked ‘Jeevant aahe kaa?’ There was a man lying on the railway track – half dead. Everybody was looking at him – but nobody even thought of helping him. He probably fell down in the struggle to board a train. I was in tears – not for him, but for myself. For my inability to help him, For my stillness, For my ignorance, For my inhumanity, For my attitude of following the crowd. Everybody was sorry - not for that man down waiting for somebody to take him to the hospital, but for themselves for they could not help themselves.

Yeh bhi koi jeena hai, yeh bhi koi marana hai!


©Sweta Gupta Samota