The rush hour

Veena woke up with a start as the clock struck seven. She only had an hour and a half for the morning chores and take the 8.30 train to Churchgate. She looked to see if Vijay had got up, only to recollect that he had told her the previous day that he would leave home by six in the morning as they were expecting auditors. She hurriedly got up and was brushing her teeth when the phone rang.

“Memsahib, aaj Tarabai nahin aane ki. Uska sasur bimaar hai aur who gaon gayi”, was what the caller said. The day had not started off well, but then she had no leave to her credit and neither could she reach office late because they had started to use the Biometric attendance system which could not be tampered with. She mentally ran through what all needed to be done and realised that she had not a moment to waste. Since she had to prepare meals only for Nakul and herself, she kept the iddlis in the steamer and started to boil the milk. 

Nakul was sleeping soundly. She did not have the heart to wake him but he had to be sent to school. She carried him to the bathroom and put him on the toilet seat hoping he would get up from his deep slumber while she attended to the milk. When she was back, he was still sleeping perched on the seat! She shook him and made him carry on with his daily routine while she packed his school bag and lunch box. 

The obedient little Nakul came out after a quick bath too and started wearing his uniform himself. Veena was much relieved to see him get ready on his own. In the meanwhile she had cooled the milk for him and was ready with the glass when he was wearing his shoes. As he gulped it down, she got ready herself. There was no atta for the evening’s chappati and she kept the canister with the whole wheat at the doorstep so that she would not forget to leave it at the mill on the way to the station.

She picked up her bag and lunch box, Nakul’s bag, water bottle and lunch box and locked the door. Fortunately an auto-rickshaw had just arrived in their building and she pushed Nakul inside and got in with all the bags and the wheat canister.

First stop was Nakul’s school and then the mill where she left the wheat to be ground. Just as she was getting down the stairs, the train pulled up on the platform lazily. The train was from Virar and was packed to more than capacity, but Mumbaikars are well versed in the art of boarding and alighting from crowded trains. There is a technique of getting into the train – just move with the crowd and once you step on to the footboard try to keep yourself moving clock-wise and while getting off the train move anti-clockwise. Needless to say, with so many proficient pickpockets, ladies have to hold on to their chain with one arm and hold their bags close to the chest lest they risk losing them in the crowd.

Veena felt a sense of achievement that somehow she managed to get the train. She started feeling hungry now that she had almost an hour to spend before arriving at Churchgate. There was no chance of a fourth seat also as the train was jam packed and she merely managed to keep her balance by tugging on to the overhead hooks. Still, she deftly took out an apple from the outside zip of her bag and bit into it. In Mumbai, you need not feel ashamed of doing such things because every other person would be doing it. She had to satisfy the little one who was turning and tumbling in her tummy!. All those seated near her, knew her condition, but no one would offer her a seat. 

It is amazing the way they would see you and still not see you. The commonest practice is to close one’s eyes and pretend to sleep as soon as one gets a seat! Veena had been travelling for more than a year and was used to it. However she felt her feet ache today. It may probably be the bone spur in the heel she thought to herself. She felt better after eating the apple and holding on to the hook, closed her eyes and started saying her prayers. The train travel provided a lot of time to unwind and do things for which there is no time at home. One side of the compartment had a group singing bhajans while another excelled in Bollywood songs.

There were also quite a few housewives who would travel by this train or the next expressly for the purpose of buying broomsticks and the like from Bhuleshwar! The office goers would cast scornful looks at them and pick up the least opportunity for a wordy duel, but they would not mind it.

At last, Churchgate arrived and everyone rushed to get down. If a drone was there, it would have captured a moving sea of humanity rushing and pushing, always seeming to be in a hurry.

Veena too was one of the madding crowd, caught in the rush hour, briskly walking the 700 metres to the office. Once out of the station, there were some who raced past the signal, dexterously weaving their way avoiding the speeding vehicles and not heeding the traffic policeman’s whistle. Veena waited for the signal to turn green and used this half a minute to look at her feet to see what was hurting her. In the meanwhile, the rush started once again and mechanically everyone got jostled and moved on.

Veena reached her bank in time where there were a few more colleagues lined up to register their attendance. She felt very self-conscious and uncomfortable that once she reached her seat, she heaved a sigh of relief. 

It was a Monday and the workload was quite heavy. Her job was in the Back Office and though she was spared of the challenging interaction with clients, she was very restless and unable to concentrate on her job.

At lunch time, she chose to have her lunch at her desk itself. When all the staff in her section had gone for lunch and she was all alone, Veena called her friend on the inter-com and asked her to come over to her desk.

Mythili came and wondered why Veena had not got up from her seat since morning. Veena asked her if she saw anything strange in her that day. Mythili looked up and down and could not make out anything. Veena then got up from her seat and stood in the passage and asked Mythili once again to observe if anything was amiss. Even then, Mythili did not notice anything amiss. Veena then stretched her left foot forward to reveal a Hawaiian rubber slipper and then put out her right foot to show off a high heeled slipper! It was glee written all over her face when Veena said that while she felt uncomfortable all the time, no one had pointed it out as they were busy with their own jobs! Both of them then had a very good laugh.

From the moment she spotted the two different slippers she was wearing, Veena was so self-conscious and embarrassed that someone would notice it, but in Mumbai, everyone is busy, busy, busy – so bust that no one has the time to notice these things.

Veena now knew what was hurting her – while one foot was grounded on the plain surface, the other was elevated. Both footwear were of different colours as well! Thanks to Mumbai’s rush hour, no one noticed it.

It was a more relaxed Veena who walked down the road from her office to the station in the evening, for she was confident that no one would ever notice her faux pas as it was The Rush Hour once again.