MONSOON MUSINGS - 2

After the studies in the polytechnic and a year of teaching job, I came to Mumbai to work. The monsoons in Mumbai was very different. My first monsoon experience in Mumbai went like this…..

I was staying in Jogeswari and have to reach Kalwa for work at 7 am. So I have to start from Jogeswari at 5 am, I catch a 5.15 train and will reach Dadar at about 5.45 am. Crossing over to central railway and catch the 6 am local train to Kalyan, you reach Kalwa at 6.30. So basically the timings are correctly matched.

But on that first monsoon day morning, everything went topsy-turvy. It was pouring rain and the road to railway station was like a stream of muddy water. With difficulty when I reached station it was already past 5.30.

Trains were all running late and after a prolonged wait at, I think it was near Matunga road station due to waterlogging, we reached Dadar at about 9 am. There was no let up in the rain and I had no alternative other than wait inside the train.

Finally I got down at Dadar and crossed over to Central Railway. By this time, the platforms were overflowing with people.

Reaching Kalwa anywhere near the stipulated time was out of question. So I decided to go along whatever happens.

I got into a Thane train. Once I reach Thane , there was hope of reaching the factory since there were buses. But the train stopped between Matunga and Sion in more than knee-deep water. In about 15 – 20 minutes, we were told that the train will not go further until the water receded to some safer level. Since it was still raining the only course of action was to get down from the train and walk towards Matunga through that knee-deep water. To Matunga, because it was nearer than Sion.

I finally reached Matunga at about 10.30 or 11, I think.

Anyway, I have decided to give up working for the day. So, I came out at Matunga and went for a movie in Aurora theater, hoping that by the show ended, the rain also would stop.

It did and by 6 O’clock I was at  home.

I was with the same company for another 6 years, but I was not troubled by the rain during subsequent years because I started staying in company quarters in the premises and going to work was not a problem. Only I had to make sure that I didn’t go out to town on rainy days.

When I came back to Mumbai after about 15-odd years, situation was not much different. The road leading to the apartment was muddy and slushy, but I had graduated myself from train to car.

The cars did get stuck on the waterlogged roads at different places but the industrious young boys made it an occasion to make some money by giving the service of pushing the car out of the water.