From Hell (and still in it)

I make rapid, disorderly zig-zags through the swarm of bustling, harried humans at the one-stop nightmare called Andheri station. I mutter a quick prayer - Thank God I don't suffer from claustrophobia; meanwhile cursing the careless chap who has just stepped on my foot. He is making a desperate dash for the train which is already leaving the platform. Maybe he has an important meeting, or his first job interview, or has an ailing mother at home, or the most important of all - perhaps he has a date with his girlfriend (God save him from the woman's wrath if he reaches late!). But I have no more time for such menial musings. I must make myself scarce, get away from this crazy place that threatens to engulf me, as the hour progresses, with more and more humans. My vision is filled with them - young and old, students and office goers, hawkers and salesmen, beggars and ticket checkers. If you're lucky, you may even spot a few mangled dogs fighting over the day's spoils (most likely leftovers from snack-stalls). You will find them all, astonishingly crammed in one place, running helter-skelter to things, from things, away from things. The time: 9 am - an ungodly & poorly-chosen hour to be at this place - for the influx of commuters reaches its zenith, transforming the station into a jumbo-version of the infamous Virar-local itself. Visualize around 3 Virar locals at their peak-loads emptying themselves on platform number 5 and you've got the number of people occupying Andheri station at any point of time between 9 am-9.30 am. It could set a world record - Between 9 am-9.30 am, this station is easily the densest location in the world (Dadar is another worthy contender, but Andheri beats it). And if you emerge out of it unscathed, unblemished and unaffected by its many severities, you pass the test mate. You are now officially a true, brave citizen of Mumbai.

Its like I'm destined go through this daily nightmare. Andheri has always been the unloved gateway to 'life-out-there' for me. Be it my 12th grade classes, CA classes or my workplace, I've spent a solid 7 years travelling here. I know every nook and corner of the place. Every stall, every kaccha rasta, the hawkers who hawk illegal books/VCDs in shady corners, the Jumbo vada-pav wallahs, the ticket counters, the bright-maroon ATMs, the broken indicators, the ditches and the pan stains. The very mention of Andheri elicits a scowl from me. I hate the place. Passionately. But its also where I gained knowledge, learning, my profession, my livelihood. I hate it but I can't do without it. Life is full of cruel, unforgiving paradoxes. And I'm cursed with a major share of them.