On the Virar Fast…

Mumbai’s Virar fast local is a well documented subject. The Virar fast invokes images of crowds, women yelling and Bhajni Mandals. My experience encompasses crowds and women screaming!

I got into the 3.32pm Virar fast at Bandra Station on a Sunday afternoon. The previous two trains were cancelled and therefore, I knew I was in for one fantabulous journey. The train approached the station and everyone on the platform readied themselves for the start of a battle. Babies in arms, bags around necks and hands ready to grip the handle, women jumped on the train. (I speak of only the women here, my attention was completely on alighting the train and not on what was happening on the other sides) With the rest of the crowd, I jumped on as well and managed to squeeze myself into a seat, big hips withstanding the pressure.

The crowd not subsiding, I tried looking out the window. Between the countless women standing and partially blocking my view, no lighting inside the train and a lady falling asleep on my right shoulder, I saw how wonderfully the scenery changed.

The city became less apparent and the vast spans of water bodies and fields grew larger. The air seemed lighter even though women in the train failed to stop yelling at each other. In the midst of the colourful language being bellowed out and children crying for some breathing room, there was a calm of acceptance. An acceptance which spoke of this being life on the Virar fast...Deal with it or get out, time and this infamous train wait for no one.