In 2006 I was new to Mumbai city, when I met Anisha. She was studying in 9th standard. My distant relative asked me to meet her and guide her for preparing for IIT-JEE (I’d prepared for JEE too). When I met her, I felt as if she has accepted the things the way they were. I scolded her for the lax attitude and said – “…this is the problem with Mumbaikars, they accept the things and are comfortable in traveling in crowded trains, getting pushed etc. Why you people get angry when outsiders come here and make good money? Outsiders are new and they may feel uncomfortable and they would want to have a car instead of traveling in crowded trains. I never catch train, because at times it hurts my ego!..”
When I was new to Mumbai, I tried avoiding crowd, traffic and trains. The way people told me & what I observed – crowd and packed trains was actually amazing experience in itself. Well, over a period of time, I got used to traveling in local trains. Though mostly I traveled the opposite direction of traffic so that was not that painful to me.
Recently, my wife joined her office. She had heard stories of packed trains as any new person hears in Mumbai. She was scared to travel. I had tried to help her travel in most comfortable trains – starting from our nearest station, early morning and first class etc. However, at the time of dropping her at station I realized this –
In whatever circumstances when one becomes a part of the crowd and goes with the flow, he/she does not need to make way and things just happen naturally. One can get in the trains effortlessly and get out also effortlessly. This analogy is similar to drop meeting the ocean or drop become the ocean itself. An individual is drop and the crowd is ocean. A very spiritual connection I could make, however incorrect it may be in terms of example. When an individual becomes part of the bigger consciousness, he/she may leave his/her ego!
I dont know what conspired (God knows inspired), Anisha has completed her Engineering and now pursuing her Masters from a good university in the US. She is becoming somebody not part of crowd (nobody).
Image source – https://www.flickr.com/photos/alex_hill/4010380393/
6 Comments
bhushan chavan · March 2, 2015 at 2:02 pm
True Mumbaikar story. I respect the enthusiasm of people of mumbai but ya its also true that we should leave this habbit of getting adjust with whatever.
KRD Pravin · March 2, 2015 at 2:28 pm
You are right Bhushan. This is life of any Mumbaikar… but it is not always right to adjust to everything/anything…
rummuser · March 2, 2015 at 6:25 pm
I had lived in Pune for 20 years before I was forced to travel by a Bus because all the auto rickshaws had gone on strike when I reached Pune from Mahabaleshwar and I had to get home. There were no telephone a cab facilities then. I took two buses and reached home quite safely and since then, had used the bus many times. It is just the start that somehow seems formidable.
rummuser · March 2, 2015 at 6:26 pm
Coming to not adjusting to any and everything, it has to be a choice made in very clear terms and the price paid for it. We have discussed this a number of times in person.
KRD Pravin · March 3, 2015 at 9:09 am
Yes uncleji… I had been reluctant on few issues and got away with few 😉
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