It was just like another day here in Essen, Germany, where I am based out of currently for a short period of time. Along with a colleague of mine I was walking towards the Metro train station. On the way to the platform we experienced huge crowds trying to make way to the same train that we were supposed to get into. Deepu who had been here for more than a month now remarked to me that he had never seen such a huge crowd during his time here. As the train arrived understandably not everyone could get into the train but I managed to get in somehow. As the train started off I looked around for my colleague but couldn’t find him. he had missed the train.
I realised that involuntarily I had moved my backpack with my laptop to my front while jostling my way into the train. This was deja vu, reminding me of the Rush hour in Mumbai which I had called home for the last 8 years. The train that I was travelling right now resembled the Virar Fast, one of the busiest trains in the Mumbai suburban rail system of Mumbai.A word about the Virar Local Train,this train is packed with people almost double of its capacity. It is also notorious for the fact that its passengers will never allow you to enter or exit the train on any of the intermediate stations other than its source or destination. So much so that the first advice that I got when I came to Mumbai many Monsoons back was to never board a Virar Fast unless your life depended on it.
To my amusement I realised that as soon as I had seen such a huge crowd in the station I had gone into autopilot. Reminiscent of the countless times back home where I had jostled my way into a crowded Mumbai Local train I ended up adopting the same tactics to board a train 6000 kms away. That was precisely why even without my realisation I was inside the crowded train and my colleague was left behind. Thanks to the Mumbai Local trains I have learned the valuable life skill of getting into a crowded train anywhere in the world. Not to mention you would also have a tough time when you are going to get off at a station as well. A couple of times I couldn’t deboard a train at the designated station because of the crowd. I had to get down at the next station and catch another train back. Thankfully I didn’t have to use the skill right now because my co-passengers were considerate enough to make way for me to deboard the train.
Later it turned out that the huge crowds were making their way to a place called Messe/Gruga which was the venue of SPIEL 19, the biggest board game festival in the world. The point I am trying to make here is that regardless of the Geographical Location the rush hour remains the same.Next time when you are not able to enter a Virar Local train just console yourself by saying “It is the same goddamn story across the world” On an ending note, I would like to share a well known phrase which turned out to be a prophecy in my case “If you survive Mumbai you survive the world ” . Auf Wiedersehen
P.S : A couple of videos to understand the huge crowds in the Mumbai Local Train system that I am talking about here
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Video Courtesy: To the respective owners of the video only shared here for reference
