Weekly Photocaption - 2

Mind the gap: The space between tracks on the suburban Western Railways on a day when trains were unusually empty. Each 12 coach train can seat 1,168 and accommodate 2,336 standees, a total of 3,504 passengers. However, commuters often tend to push the limit by squeezing in a few thousand more people. By the way, if you're wondering which train won the race, mine did. :)

4 rupee therapy

It's easy to lose time within yourself when you're always on the move in a city like Bombay. The city of dreams is also the city that stops for no one. In it’s rich and troubled history, Bombay has seen its share of riots, communal violence, protests, public transport strikes and even terrorism. However, the city and its people have always managed to get back up and pull through in times of adversity.

Therapeutic.

For most of the city, a commute in the suburban local trains can be a harrowing experience, and a matter of life and death for first-timers. Crowds at morning and evening rush hours can run up to several hundred people occupying a compartment intended for 150. However, in the odd event that the city decides to take a break (or on a Sunday), a ride on the Western Railways can offer a perfect opportunity for soul-searching and introspection. If one has the good fortune of getting on a train at either end of the route, one may even have the privilege of being seated, a coveted luxury in the Bombay local trains.*

(*Protip: A good way to know if a train is crowded is if you can't tell what colour the floor is) 

The sky is crying

It would be almost impossible to express the magnificence of the events of this evening, but I hope the following photographs will do some justice.

The gold rush.

The skies were clear at 6:00 pm today, with no indication at all of any rain. At about 6:30 a light drizzle began with a pitter-patter of scattered drops, a child's first uncertain steps. Steadily, the sky began to turn into a mellow amber. The whole city was covered by a sepia filter, turning the streets into a Bollywood movie from the 70's. The sky was gold and the drops of rain shone through like molten glass falling form the heavens. Then, the rain began to build in intensity and reached a crescendo and the sky burst forth with an ominous boom. Almost like a chameleon changing colours, the scene turned from a glorious yellow hue to a pallid pink. The king had surrendered to the queen. Like a jubilant girl in a new dress, the heavens screamed in delight while water rained down in sheets. 

Make hay while the shoe shines - Part 1

These guys have got sole. (ba-dum-tss)

Nobody likes waiting for a train when you’ve got somewhere important to be. It’s just the act of standing around aimlessly while you miserably await the arrival of your train that makes you want to swear loudly. So while you mutter curses at the motorman who’s driving the train and try to bring ruin to him and his family in your mind, your eyes tend to wander and pick up things that you might not normally notice in your hurry to get to wherever you have to go.

Shoe shines at railway stations are a common sight in pretty much any city in the world, and this city is no exception. However, you will probably never see a more sincere lot than the ones at the local train stations in Bombay. Seeing that my train wouldn’t be arriving for another 10 minutes (a rare occurrence on a usually very reliable train service), I decided to divert my attention away from the rats scurrying around on the tracks and onto the shoe shines seated at regular intervals along the platform. 

The smell of Struggle

There's probably nothing better than waking up on a bright sunny day and taking a deep breath of the fresh morning air. Smells great, doesn't it? On some days (especially for those of us still enrolled in the education system), that first breath is probably the most crucial, sending some much needed oxygen to our heads before another busy day.

Spongebob knows what it's all about.

However, things aren't as lovely on this side of the planet. When you first land in Bombay (or any Indian city, I'm told) the first thing you notice before anything else is the air. The sheer weight of it can bring you to your knees. Many people associate the smell to be that of sweat, or perhaps less appealing forms of body waste. Comedian Russell Peters once described getting off a plane in Bombay as receiving "an overwhelming blast of shit-smell". However, the more time you spend here, you realize that the air encompasses the city like a blanket, and more than the smell, you become aware of just how intrusive it is.