Mumbai local

I had two pick one - To pay for the office bus or to buy a Mumbai local monthly pass. My relatives here in Mumbai wanted me to travel by bus. They scared the hell out of me and tried their best to help me visualize how before I make out which train to get on, people would push me from all sides and sometimes might even step on me while making way for themselves. I decided to give it a try and my experience on day one was not very different from what they told me. I had to get my priorities right. I first tried to make sure nobody stamps on my feet, only to realize in a couple of seconds that making sure nobody's underarm becomes a nightmare for my nostrils was more important.

Having been extremely lucky to have my office situated less than half a kilometer away and with most of my friends staying close to my place, Bangalore had pampered me so much that my intolerance level for the crowd, dust and traffic was at its all time high. Also as app based taxi services proved to be ridiculously convenient, I shamelessly started looking for excuses to not use public transport. And here in Mumbai, after a frustrating first day, I decided to give it a couple of more attempts and guess what, by the third day, I not only got used to it, but started liking the experience! After finding out the ideal time to leave home and office to ditch the crowd, most of my reading started happening on trains. Sometimes I manage to work too. And on those bad days when I can barely manage to move, I know for sure that unlike in Bangalore traffic, I'm at least fairly certain about when I'm going to reach and that is comforting. And when I look into the eyes of any random guy on the platform after I get off the train and they tell me "I know. I went through it as well. Now let's move on", I vow to take the train the next day too. What a spoilt brat I am though!