New Kid In Town.

It wasn't very long ago when he left me all alone in this big city and left for Pune to write his final semester papers. That silent afternoon. The ceiling fan moved slowly. The balcony overlooked a busy, bustling Bombay road. I was weeping profusely sitting on the bed. I was urging him to come back soon, as he kept consoling and patting me.

He left. The realization that I am all alone in Bombay struck me in the evening when I felt hungry. As the other girl's in the PG started cooking and making their own dinner, I gulped and closed my eyes. I didn't know how to cook, at least not the type of food that can pass off as "proper dinner". I had a strong urge of calling him up and say, "See you at the poolside in five minutes. Am hungry, let's go to the mess!" I smiled dryly to myself at my own stupid thoughts.

I soon realized that i don't know anything about Bombay roads and railways. Every time we used to take the train, I used to clutch his shirt tightly from behind, inhale deeply and get inside the bustling train compartment. I used to get into whatever compartment HE used to get in, get down at whichever station HE used to get down and get out of the station from whichever direction HE used to come out. I used to be so happy just being with him that his explanations of S means Slow, F means Fast, the directions West and East are of utmost importance and that there's something called a Ladies Compartment, used to fall in deaf ears.

It all happened when he left. The feeling of being all alone. The feeling of surviving all on my own. The self reliance. The struggle. The independence. The sense of believing in myself. Everything of that happened all of a sudden. In one week flat. I was missing him badly no doubt. But there was a tingling sense of freedom and independence seeping inside.

For the first two days I was very afraid to even step out of the house. I was afraid of getting lost in the maddening crowd. I spent majority of the time sleeping, in order to pass time. The first day I traveled by train all alone was from Khar to Elphinstone Road Station. Before that I had aways traveled with someone or the other accompanying me. But this was my first train expedition all ALONE. It was early in the morning and I could hardly hold on to my excitement. I woke him up from sleep and informed proudly about my achievement. He was groggy as he sleepily acknowledged my feat.

Western Railways soon became a solved puzzle for me. I zip-zap-zoomed all around Bandra, Churchgate, Elphinstone Road, Marine Lines, Santacruz, Andheri, Dadar, Kandivali and even Dahisar! Since my office was just one station away from my PG, I always travelled by cabs and never took a local. Locals were mostly used for meeting relatives/ friends/ go shopping/ watching movie etcetera. I memorized the chronological order of the stations by heart. I even cracked the fast local/slow local puzzle. So if I had to travel to Bandra or Dadar I used to take a Fast, and if I had to go back to me place i,e Elphinstone Road station, I had to take a slow.

For traveling you needed a ticket. There was a glitch there too. They give you a wide platter to chose from. Monthly Passes/ Quarterly Passes/ Coupon Booklets/ Normal Tickets, and each of them barring the Coupons, further divided into First Class and Second Class, can make anyone go tizzy. I chose the safest bet- the Rs 40 coupon booklet. Since I was not a regular local train traveller, I just used to punch the coupons and travel when I needed to. You have rules in the coupon system too. You need to travel within one hour of punching it and you need to read the fare chart before punching. Even a rupee less than the scheduled fare can make you pay a price (literally).

The fact that I am lucky to be staying near my office at Lower Parel, struck me majorly, twice. Once when I was traveling from my friend's place at Andheri and another time, when I was coming all the way from a relative's place at Kandivali. The office morning rush. The heat. The sweat. My limited knowledge and patience. Everything together ensured that I do not reach my office on time. Since I was already late, I took a Fast from Andheri till Dadar. Fast Locals at the office peak time are nothing less than a fish market. You have to jostle, elbow, make nasty faces, take care of your bag and ensure that you do not fall out of the train- all at the same time. I thought of cabbing down from Dadar to Lower Parel because:

1) There is just one station between Dadar and Lower Parel. So the distance is 'cab-able'', if I may use such a word.
2) I was super late for office.
3) I couldn't bear sweaty aunties bickering with each other and breathing heavily on my neck anymore.

The moment I came out of the train, the crowd dragged me along with it. There was a sea of people and I couldn't even move an arm. I started moving along with the crowd till the famous East/ West signboard came. I gulped and kept staring. Now which way should I go out from so that Lower Parel comes nearer? A wrong direction can make your taxi meter shoot high up which in turn can ensure that you skip one weekend's Bandra shopping. That was too high a stake for me. I asked a couple of people which way should I go out from so that Lower Parel comes nearer. I got various answers ranging from, "Lawar Paaral? Arre madamji yeh to Dadar hai!" to "Umm, I don't know" to people pointing at different directions. The best was this aunty who confidently showed me a completely different direction and said, "Haan beta waha se jao". She smiled broadly and quickly hurried off, as I struggled to go all the way against the crowd. As per her direction I reached a platform, which after asking I understood is the Central Railways Platform (?!?!) !!! I checked my watch. Office looked like a distant dream. I climbed the overbridge and again walked all the way back to where I was before. I was too fried in my brains by then, so I just got back to the Western Railways Platform and hopped on to a 'Churchgate Slow' train. I felt like banging my head in the train compartment and scream. I somehow controlled my anger and got down at Lower Parel Station. Outside station there wasn't even a single cab in sight. I had to walk forever till I got a cab. When I reached office, I had a feeling that I would faint.

The Kandivali to my Lower Parel expedition was all the more interesting. I went till Borivali so that I could catch a Fast Train till Dadar (for the obvious reason, that was late, yet again). I got into a men's compartment like a fool where I was stared at from head to toe when I suddenly realized that I have forgotten to punch a coupon! Panickstricken, I got down at Andheri and ran all the way to the Ticket Booking Counter to punch a coupon. I checked my watch. It wasn't a happy sight. I ran to the platform with my heart thumping fast. I took another Fast Train and this time I got down at Dadar. Now what happened at Dadar is something I can never forget. I was on the overbridge in order to change platforms and take a Slow Train till Lower Parel. The overbridge was jam-packed with people from all strata of the society. They were running like there is no tomorrow. I was trying to make my way through the crowd when it happened. This scumbag touched me and started to walk past. For a moment I didn't know how to react, but the next thing I know is, I started screaming. I pulled his shirt from behind and jerked him hard! He started to get away but by then people gathered around me. They started asking me what has happened when I pointed out and told them the matter. Soon enough a crowd gathered and he was slapped hard on the face right in front of me. The women around me started murmuring, "Theek kiya apne". I was screaming my lungs out, I remember. It ranged from "Saale Kaminey" to "Police mein de dungi". But the classiest one was, "Main Bombay ki ladki hoon, Jhumritalaiya se nazi ayi hoon ke koi kuch bhi karega!!".
I was so late that I did not have the time to relax, sit back and watch the show, though I badly wanted to witness it. I hurried down to catch my Slow Train. All this while I was acting pretty strong and tough, but the moment I dialled his number I had tears in my eyes. I explained him what happened, and also cursed him for not being there that time. He faced my wrath without any fault of his. After shouting at him I felt better. I obviously was super late for my office, I don't need to say that I'm sure. When I reached office all the other interns kept staring at me. I adjusted my hair, wiped my sweaty face and tried to make a straight face. They kept staring. Finally one of them asked, "What has happened to you?" when I finally told them the story. Later they told me that my face was completely red like a tomato when I walked in and I was fuming like a dragon, and it was very evident that I'm extremely angry!

"There's a new kid in town

Just another new kid in town"