If there is one place in Mumbai where you can encounter people and emotions of all kinds then it is the public transport system of Mumbai, especially the local trains. Here are some of my experiences. There is this guy who takes the same train as I do everyday at Kurla station. He has an Ipod and a Nokia N73; he wears branded glares, likes to talk loud on his cell phone so that everyone around him notices him, changes shoes almost every month but still travels by second class. His case just amazes me if he has the money to spend on things that I have just mentioned why in the hell does he have to travel by second class? I just wonder whether whatever he wears or uses is borrowed from someone else as those things get changed as quickly as a 20-20 match. I know I would never know the truth but still he is a character worth mentioning.
There are also people who don't like spending money on newspaper but like reading them. So they come a bit early, miss a couple of trains and spend those few minutes reading newspapers at a newspaper vendor on platform! They go through all the newspapers they can get their hands on. The vendor can not force them to buy the paper or ask them to go away, he can only hope that some of them would actually buy it but nobody does as a person wanting to buy would not waste his time going through all newspapers; he would just buy it and go away. You would also encounter some great athletes there who could actually win a gold medal at Olympics. I am talking about those who put their lives at stake and cross tracks just to save a few seconds. One set of people that makes me laugh the most is the group of students who spend almost an eternity at a vendor selling chips, chocolates etc going through everything that is there to be sold and eventually buying one Mentos each for themselves! These are not just one-time incidents as I encounter these people everyday and travel with them in the same train. This reminds me of one-off incident when I saw one guy wearing a superman t-shirt with matching slippers walking with such confidence as if he just bought the station ten minutes ago.
One of the painful sights that I experience everyday is the sight of a poor aged lady begging for a living. On one hand we talk about India being one of the fastest growing economies in the world but there are number of people like her (aged and begging) who deserve a better life (I don't support those beggars who are young and can work but still beg for a living, unless they are unable to find work). When countries sit down to calculate the so called development index they should consider whether people like her get at least two meals a day because unless this happens the development gets restricted only a few. One observation that I have made concerning beggars is that when a person gives money to them it has a huge impact on people standing around as even they reach out for their wallet. This may not be true all the time but it does happen. So the next time you give money to someone make sure that you get noticed by people around you. One more request: as far as giving money to beggars is concerned one would agree that for years the amount that we give to them remains unchanged. Even today people give fifty paise or a rupee like they used to give five-six years back. I hope you all would agree when I say that the inflation affects everyone (including beggars) so if the money that we give remains unchanged, real income in their hands decreases so kindly give more. This however may have a negative impact because if everyone starts giving more then they may lose an incentive to work so make sure that you give only to those who actually deserve. Here also question arises whether to give to young but we would never know whether they are jobless by choice or not so take your call. If I have bored you with this topic then one thing about them on a lighter note: I read in one newspaper 2-3 years ago that Mumbai beggars earn Rs. 180 crores a year! And just for your information there are a few beggars in Mumbai whose daily earnings range from 1000-2500 and some of them have properties whose value run into lacs!! In case you want to see them beg (or rather mint money) you can find them at places like Lokhandwala, Charni road, Azad maidan.
There are also people who don't like spending money on newspaper but like reading them. So they come a bit early, miss a couple of trains and spend those few minutes reading newspapers at a newspaper vendor on platform! They go through all the newspapers they can get their hands on. The vendor can not force them to buy the paper or ask them to go away, he can only hope that some of them would actually buy it but nobody does as a person wanting to buy would not waste his time going through all newspapers; he would just buy it and go away. You would also encounter some great athletes there who could actually win a gold medal at Olympics. I am talking about those who put their lives at stake and cross tracks just to save a few seconds. One set of people that makes me laugh the most is the group of students who spend almost an eternity at a vendor selling chips, chocolates etc going through everything that is there to be sold and eventually buying one Mentos each for themselves! These are not just one-time incidents as I encounter these people everyday and travel with them in the same train. This reminds me of one-off incident when I saw one guy wearing a superman t-shirt with matching slippers walking with such confidence as if he just bought the station ten minutes ago.
One of the painful sights that I experience everyday is the sight of a poor aged lady begging for a living. On one hand we talk about India being one of the fastest growing economies in the world but there are number of people like her (aged and begging) who deserve a better life (I don't support those beggars who are young and can work but still beg for a living, unless they are unable to find work). When countries sit down to calculate the so called development index they should consider whether people like her get at least two meals a day because unless this happens the development gets restricted only a few. One observation that I have made concerning beggars is that when a person gives money to them it has a huge impact on people standing around as even they reach out for their wallet. This may not be true all the time but it does happen. So the next time you give money to someone make sure that you get noticed by people around you. One more request: as far as giving money to beggars is concerned one would agree that for years the amount that we give to them remains unchanged. Even today people give fifty paise or a rupee like they used to give five-six years back. I hope you all would agree when I say that the inflation affects everyone (including beggars) so if the money that we give remains unchanged, real income in their hands decreases so kindly give more. This however may have a negative impact because if everyone starts giving more then they may lose an incentive to work so make sure that you give only to those who actually deserve. Here also question arises whether to give to young but we would never know whether they are jobless by choice or not so take your call. If I have bored you with this topic then one thing about them on a lighter note: I read in one newspaper 2-3 years ago that Mumbai beggars earn Rs. 180 crores a year! And just for your information there are a few beggars in Mumbai whose daily earnings range from 1000-2500 and some of them have properties whose value run into lacs!! In case you want to see them beg (or rather mint money) you can find them at places like Lokhandwala, Charni road, Azad maidan.
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