The Train and People

Yesterday everything at work got finalized. I am relieved today but yesterday I wasn’t feeling that good. I took the train for the first time yesterday. I hadn’t intended to try the train for at least a month. People, even the most relaxed and go-with-the-flow individuals, have told me horror stories about the train. I was told to “just go with the tide” and to start letting the motion of people push me toward the door I needed to get out at least two stops ahead otherwise I would definitely miss my stop. My cousin who is a solid 6’3” told me that “it doesn’t matter how strong you think you are, holding on with both hands and bracing myself, still I got knocked around.” Also the odor issue, which in my mind is worse than being smothered, is a very obvious deterrent. People hanging on for dear life inadvertently slap you in that space between your neck and the side of your face with their sweaty, odiously odoured armpits. I took the train and I was probably tenser than I needed to be. I thought too many “accidental” brushes would happen but it was not any worse than riding nyc subway at rush hour. I also took the train in at an off peak time. I hope I never have to take the Bombay train at rush hour here, the train cars look like they are spilling people at that time. Even at off peak times I wait for one train to go by, hoping that the next will be less crowded. There are people everywhere.--One night, driving home, I was looking into the back of a mini truck carrying burlap sacks of something, wondering what could be in those sacks. Suddenly one of the sacks had two white eyes dotted with deep black staring back at me. A slight man was chilling out on those sacks and had opened his eyes wondering why this woman was staring at him so intently or just letting me know I should bugger off and look somewhere else. People every where you look, except the sky I guess.