This way Ma'm

Statutory Warning: The following blog contains information which may be appreciated only by a person who has travelled around in Mumbai. But if you dare to read between the lines and read till the end, I am sure that you will find the universal issue that this blog wishes to discuss.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm in Mumbai for the time being. Every city has its attraction. Some have gardens, others have forts. Mumbai is interesting. The main attraction in Mumbai for me is the electric train and the ppl who slog in them! Trying to understand how the electric train system works is truly a logistical nightmare. But yet it works efficiently enought to give terms like "eight thirty three wala viraar" and "twelve forty two wala borivali" to the average mumbaikar's lexicon. And the people who travel (but I strongly feel that, voyage is a better word to use here) by these trains are also a sight to behold. I'll just narrate a smal incident.

I was going to Matunga Road from Grant Road today. Luckily, I managed to find a seat to seat myself. At Mumbai Central, a Sadhvi entered the second class compartment (Dont worry, this is not Star News. I'm not planning any blitzkriegs on any sadhvis for the time being). Every thing was going fine. Then she asked a person besides her for a direction to some obscure place which actually came under Central Railways and not Western Railways. The poor guy was just giving some direction when all of a sudden, another superhero came into the picture to save the day. He started rattling off various bus numbers and routes which the sadhvi a.k.a Damsel in Distress may take. Then another super hero dropped in. All this within a span 5 minutes! In the end, the poor woman gave up and got down at Elphinstone Road. I have no idea what she did later.

And now for the fifty lakh question: Were these supermen showing chivalry or chauvinism? I still cant understand as to what could have motivated these gentlemen to have such a heated argument in discussing something so trivial. But if we dare to generalize, isn't this problem seen in all of us? We discuss about the Indo-Pak peace process, The Chikungunya menace and the Indo- US nuclear deal(or nukular, depending on which side of atlantic ocean you live in). But we never discuss our dreams, our ambitions, our needs. We dont fear that ppl may see us as a descendant of Genghiz Khan if we take the side of Pakistan in a specific issue. But we live in a constant fear of "what if he laughs at my dream?". Why does the "trivial" becomes the "trivia" and the "issue" becomes a "taboo"?