An Encounter In A Mumbai Local

As usual, the station was overcrowded and so was the train as it slowly crept into the platform. Sheela was pushed into the ladies compartment by other commuters who were behind her. She dreaded standing on the footboard, and slowly made her way inside. There were three women seated on one bench while all the others were fully occupied. Commuters in Mumbai trains would generally allow the fourth person to sit, even though the seat could hold only three. If someone protested, the others would chide them as though it was their birthright to occupy that half seat which they could barely fit in. Sheela too made a request for that half seat. She was perspiring from the summer heat and needed a breather for at least a few minutes. The girls made a show of moving in but the space they left for her was absolutely inadequate. But she sat down. Her eyes moved around the coach.

There were some college girls who were chattering and giggling away, immersed in their own sweet world. A young woman sitting on the opposite side was visibly pregnant. Not that she was offered any extra space by the others, but she had taken out her ball of wool and her fingers were deftly moving with the knitting needles. It looked like she was knitting a sweater. A middle-aged woman had occupied the window seat. She had a bowl on her lap and was busy extracting peas from the pods. Yet another woman was handling two mobiles, chatting on one and fiddling with the 'WhatsApp' on the other.

‘What a bewildering variety! Nowhere else in the world would you get to see such an amazing amalgam as in a Virar local,’ thought Sheela with a smile. The train had just reached Borivili, where many commuters got down. Now Sheela had the seat fully to sit after about forty minutes of balancing on the half seat. She took out a book to read.

Suddenly there was a cry of pain. Sheela looked up with a start.

The pregnant woman was wriggling with pain. Being a doctor, Sheela knew that the woman needed immediate hospitalisation as she was experiencing contractions.

“We have to get you to the hospital fast,” she said.

The middle aged woman on the window seat had rushed to hold her.

“But this train is so crowded, and how would she even get down in this condition?” she asked in concern. 

The entire scenario in the compartment changed. The laughter, giggles and mindless chatter had stopped all of a sudden. When they saw the stethoscope in Sheela’s hand, the sigh of relief was palpable. They were happy that a doctor, who at least knew what to do in this emergency, was in their midst. She held the woman’s hand in hers in a comforting gesture and urged her to somehow bear the pain for a few more minutes.

When the train drew in at Dahisar, the women of the compartment swung into action. One of the college girls first pulled the chain to make the train halt for a few more minutes. The others made way for Sheela and a few other ladies to slowly lift the woman down on to the platform. By this time the railway police arrived to see why the chain had been pulled. Taking note of the emergency situation, an ambulance was called and the woman was lifted on to a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital. But the woman refused to leave without Sheela.

So Sheela accompanied her to the hospital and on the way she asked, “Can you give me your husband’s number or that of your parents so that I can inform them?”

The woman said, “My name is Madhumita, and my husband is Aniruddh Bhattacharya. His number is there on my mobile.”

Actually, till then it had not occurred to Sheela to even ask her name. She took the mobile from Madhumita’s handbag and rang up her husband to give him the information. Fortunately, Aniruddh was at Andheri for a meeting and immediately caught a cab. Sheela stayed with Madhumita till her husband arrived. Then leaving them in the care of the hospital doctors, she proceeded back home.

In the evening, when she was just entering her clinic, there was a call from an unknown number.

She picked it up and said “Hello, Dr. Sheela here. May I know who is on the line?”

“Doctor, I am Aniruddh, Madhu’s husband,” came the answer. “Madhu has delivered a baby girl. And the first thing she told me was to give you the happy news. She wants to thank you for everything.”

“That’s really good news, Aniruddh,” said Sheela. “And no thanks needed. I did my duty, that’s all.”

“No Doctor, not everybody helps in time of need,” he replied. “It was only because of you, that Madhu and the child are safe and healthy now. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

A chance encounter in the Mumbai local train, an emergency, and timely assistance had forged an emotional bond between Sheela and Madhumita forever.