The Mumbai Life

The stampede tragedy in Mumbai – Elphistone Road station incident

 

What a sad day indeed for Mumbai ! 30 or so lifes lost and lots many injured and not to mention a 1000 others who would have gone through a near death experience (somehow no one is talking about them). But how many of us can put a hand on our heart and say that we did not know that this was waiting to happen ? How many of us …. forget the local trains but even local subzee markets where we shop daily, don’t we feel that we may be shoved under a moving bus in that crowded market ?

According to me, Elphistone is just a small station in our daily commute on the local railway. Yes, Elphistone & Lower Parel are getting busier with the new office buildings coming up in that area but we can’t compare them to railway stations like Dadar, Andheri, Ghatkoper and even Kurla. My friends travelling on local trains on a daily basis will accept the fact that it’s impossible to get down at Andheri or even Borivali in a Virar train. Is this due to any government apathy ? I dunno ! I think it’s got more to do with the Mumbai lifestyle where we just don’t wanna slow down.

While what has happened is a big tragedy we must accept that Mumbai today is bursting at the seams. Few decades ago, there was a plan to shift most part of Mumbai to Navi Mumbai. However, apart from the low housing prices, which led to many residents moving there, the business hub never pushed away from there. Today’s problem is related to the fact that many office complexes have come up in the area of Lower Parel due to the land vacated by the erstwhile mills that thrived in Mumbai at once point of time. So Dadar, till date remains the vegetable and flower market and apart from the daily crowd, you can easily expect lakhs of people during a festive season.

I do not understand the reason to politicise this incident. Yes, it’s sad and we all need to condemn it. However, how is any political party responsible for this ? It’s we, who have to be blamed for this. Ye “chalta hai” attitude has been going on for too long now. I confess that I don’t take the local trains at peak hours but you can be sure that I am aware of the conditions at those times. It is at these times that I feel the need to introspect. And yet again, I am going to say that this incident is tragic and let’s not take away anything from that but instead of trying to find someone to blame, can we find time enough to introspect ? I use the local train sometimes & the new Goregaon station totally perplexed me. They have these escalators at various places & I was climbing the stairs and I was wondering if only I knew that escalators also exist. Then there is this FOB (foot over bridge) that takes you right from the Goregaon station to SV road. I was alone on that bridge. A 1000 people I could see, who had decided to take a shorter route from below. One of my favourite, Prashant Bar & Restaurant beckoned me from the depot and a melee of vegetable vendors along with a bustling bus depot (apna 262) made up for a nostalgic viewing. And yet, though, I did not get into that madness but still would see that numerous people were jostling for either an auto or haggling for the Rs.2 with some subzee vendor. Now, why are we blaming the Govt for this ? Either the present Govt or the past. It’s our collective responsibility. How many of us use the FOB … even on the roads. I see so many people crossing the road on a busy highway when the FOB is just minutes away. But not many want to take the effort of climbing stairs and walking across. If we want to take short cuts then we have to pay the price for it. Many a times I have come across a fellow passenger on a railway bridge, who is so much hurry that I feel that he will knock me down and I will stumble a few steps. Do we understand what would happen if he or I miss that incoming local and just relax a bit ? (I miss my emojis on MS word).

Accg to the latest statistics, there are more than 10 deaths that happen daily on our Mumbai suburban railways. (that’s more than 3700 in a year !!) These are people who fall off the train or are the ones who try to cross the railway tracks. Various authorities have done their best to curtail this. If you would have noticed, most of the railway crossings are now closed and annoying flyovers introduced. Yet, in the last 10 years there is no reduction in these stats. Why is it so difficult for us to wait for a few minutes and catch the next train or bus ? I can actually challenge you to stand on a footpath junction of a busy interjection. I can promise you that you will feel that there is an accident waiting to happen every minute. A scooter dashing across, a bike making a hasty turn, an auto attempting what I call it as fill in the blanks (jagah mili toh ghuss jaao) … getting into a space which did not exist. Whether you are walking or driving, there would be these maniacs on the roads who will throw caution to winds and yet venture out as if no harm can befall on them.

Why has life become so cheap for all of us ? In so many developed economies around the world and even in some progressive companies across India, working from home is starting to be so prevalent and yet, there are lots many establishments across India who insists on employees reporting on time and deducting wages for being late. I don’t understand why we all in a rat race to achieve success, fall a prey to this ? What is it that we are viewing currently ? Just some kind of a mad rush.

I think that life in India, especially in the mega cities have become too cheap. There has been a lot of talk on immigrant migration. The city is now bursting at it seams and unlike other cities, it has no  scope for expansion, horizontally or vertically. “Mumbai Spirit” has been the hogwash of the media & even a lot of Mumbai people too. Its just stupidity. If a Mumbakar is not supposed to go work the next day what is he supposed to do ?  I been a part of Mumbai train blasts and so also the Mumbai floods. At one time, it was just a matter of running to safety, while a few years later, I was wading through a waist full of water with dead buffaloes around (Jogeshwari tabelas). The true Mumbai spirit can only be seen when the locals come out & offer food and shelter to those strangers who are stranded. Apart from that, the city limps back to normalcy the very next day and this is only for the fact that we all need to earn our daily bread and butter. It’s just a big mockery by the media and the politicians by calling it a Mumbai Spirit.

Why is it that we are selling our lifes so cheap ? That we don’t put any price on our life anymore ? Is it so important that we reach office that 5 minutes early or have that window seat in the train or hanging on to that footboard with just a finger to hold on to or that bike that we whiz by with a family of 4 ? There is this time that we should now come to understand that, we as individuals and as a family deserve better.

The Elphistone tragedy is just the beginning. If we continue on this relentless pursuit, there will be many more. Its no point blaming any Govt for that, if we don’t act responsibly, there is a tragedy waiting to happen every minute, every day, every corner. Only YOU are responsible for your actions … Take care and God Bless !