Skip to main content

Touché 1st Class


Started traveling by 1st class since last week and had this mixed feeling inside me . Traveling on Day 1 it was tough to stop myself from sharing my experience through my blog.
While traveling started scribbling on my BB and shared it with a friend of mine "TheAngrySaint" who then gave it some finishing touch and here it goes :  Credits: @theangrysaint
The amazing thing about Mumbai city is its pace. Time literally flies and the citizens are found running around, trying to catch up!

Commuting to Vikhroli & back had toughened me a lot in the past 7 Months, but the mind finally made me succumb to the lure of life on the other side of the II Class Section of the Ladies Compartment. I finally decided to leave get over my skepticism and overlook the huge hole in my wallet caused by the 400% price difference in fares.

It may be the same train and at times, even the same compartment, but life in the I Class section for the Ladies is in marked difference. 

Day 1 begins sans all the jostling and pushing hoopla that is an inseparable part of boarding the II Class. The comfortable entry was a relief, but I had to remind myself that it is the I Class, so was treading forth softly. There was no death of those well cushioned seats and I settled in on the third one at a bench.
Slam! I literally jumped up as I sensed the piercing look giving me the once over, from head to toe, as if I was some alien from outer space. The stout dame behind those fierce looking eyes made me do a double check on the B/O meter and I only breathed a lil’ easy, when the readings came out fine. Figured it was just her curiosity, over the simple looking girl who looked like she’d stepped in like an uninvited guest.

Then there was this PYT(pretty young thing) sitting across with consummate nonchalance. Given that the space had reduced ever since I sat down, a decent request was sent out to shift her ‘branded’ shoe adorned leg a little. The request went unheeded as though it’d come from someone too low on the pecking order. My resulting head-shake and the supportive smirk from the lady adjacent to me seemed to have the desired effect though. The slightly better leg-room was appreciated with a sigh of relief.

With the BB music player still belting out the latest hits in my ears, a casual glance was thrown around at my fellow commuters. Most looked to be quite brand conscious and their bods gave away signals of regular pedicures and manicures, amongst other beauty treatments. The sight reminded me of mannequins decked and kept with utmost care besides each other.
Meanwhile, the stout girl who’d come in to sit next to me, seemed immune to the fact that she was cramping me out. A few well-placed nudges however, did the trick and it got a bit easier to breathe later on. 

Reflecting back, I realized that, I Class travel may be physically comforting, but it is rather difficult to have the mind at ease. Having experienced the empty egos out there, I couldn’t help but notice that the heart was missing something. Something that the II Class offered in abundance – The Human Touch! Sigh!

Comments

interesting view points and observations ya :-)
the human touch is there always... just that now it is covered under layers :-)
melanie joe said…
awesome post.mazaa aya bahut,aur kab likh rahi hain?
@Nikhil & Melanie - Thank you for your comments! Will write another one soon! :)

Popular posts from this blog

The Power lies within.....

Just a few days back there was a nice thought thought shared by a friend with me : An old Hindu legend says there was a time when men were gods. But they abused their divine powers so much that Brahma, the master of all gods, decided to take these powers away and hide them in a place where they would be impossible to find. All that remained was to find a suitable hiding place. A number of lesser gods were appointed to a council to deal with the issue. They suggested this: “Why not bury man's powers in the earth?” To which Brahma replied, “ No, that will not do because man would dig deep and find it.” So the gods said, “In that case, we will send their divinity to the deepest depths of the ocean.” But Brahma replied again, “Sooner or later man will explore the depths of the ocean and it is certain he will find it and bring it to the surface.” So the lesser gods concluded, “Neither land nor sea is a place where man's divine powers will be safe, so we do not know where...

What's Commitment!!

Commitment!!! The most dreaded word of all....Be it for any purpose, be it relationship, work, studies, pay your dues, etc...What exactly does it mean to commit? Does it mean to make a promise? Does it mean you are obliged to someone or something? Or is it that you are responsible for your commitment you make? What exactly does it mean? Yes, all the above mean the same, but then why is it such a scaring fact to commit? When you take a loan from a bank, a friend or any money lender you commit to pay back the amount in a stipulated time period upon a pre-decided agreement and you struggle and try your best to pay back. When you are studying you commit to achieve a particular grade at a particular stage and you struggle for it. When you are at work you are paid for a particular job, and you are committed or atleast expected to be committed to your work and so you try to prove yourself and achieve your set targets. When you have a family you are committed to every particular individual in ...

Developing India! Is it really?

After a long time, I got some food for thought post a conversation with an age-old uncle who wailed like his fellow allies against the cacophony during Ganpati visarjan to rising inflation, corruption, current generation, importance of money over relations etc. To some extent I couldn’t agree more to his crux of the conversation. So pen down my thoughts here. “Arey chalo aage! Utro utro!” (Move ahead, get down get down) are some famous words we hear every day in our lives or rather live with them. Every single day in Mumbai is a struggle and is moving at a super fast pace. Routine life for a working employee is; wake up in the morning, complete morning chores, leave for work (or to put in  a better way - run for work) reach work, strive hard, rush back home, have dinner and sleep for another day repeating the entire routine. Most of you readers would agree with this and few defy it. But still this is the life of a Mumbaikar amongst majority. Everything is ha...