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| comment | | "parent_author":"",<br>"parent_permlink":"india",<br>"author":"xyzashu",<br>"permlink":"when-i-traveled-wt-without-ticket-part-2",<br>"title":"When I traveled WT (Without Ticket)... Part-2",<br>"body":"Although I'm using \"Part-2\" as an adjunct to title of this post,<br> it can be read independently from my previous post. \n\nI was trying to narrate some of the reminiscences of my travels that I undertook without any valid travel ticket. \n\nToday,<br> I want to talk about an incident which though does not fit into WT travel category but still I was travelling without a valid ticket. It happened in Mumbai local train,<br> a couple of decades back.\n\n<center>https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/2\/2e\/Mumbai_local_train_02_%28Friar%27s_Balsam_Flickr%29.jpg<\/center>\n\nBefore I go into its detail,<br> I'll like to give you a little background.\n\nIn my youthful years,<br> it was my first visit to Bombay city. I've heard several anecdotes about the busy and fast life of Bombay city. Bombay's local train was described to me as if getting into them was an achievement in itself.\n\nSo when I first visited Bombay,<br> my efforts were limited to somehow get into a local train and find a leg space to stand up. But it was so crowdy that I could hardly get any space to breath in it. Weather too was very humid and I was full of sweat when I used to reach my destination. \n\nYet,<br> for about one week,<br> I kept consoling myself that at least I was able to get into every train I wanted to. \n\nSo this was actually my social conditioning to see myself travelling in Bombay local train during peak rush hours as an achievement in itself. \n\nBut one day I asked myself,<br> who are those people who sit on window seats? I was a young,<br> energetic and adventurous guy. Why can't I get a window seat for myself! I observed,<br> thought and then decided that next day I'll try for a window seat.\n\nIn the morning as soon as train entered the platform,<br> I took my pose and started running parallel to a coach. I increased my running speed and as soon as it slowed down a little,<br>,<br> I grabbed the door-handle and jumped into it. \n\nI was so happy to find that I was the first to enter that coach. Now I had the privilege to take whichever seat I wanted. So I started thinking about the direction of train's movement and in which side my station will come,<br> so that I should be seating on a window facing that side. \n\nUnfortunately,<br> I took too much time to arrive on any decision and meanwhile many people entered and grabbed all the window seats. I stopped calculating further and decided to seat anywhere. I could only get an aisle seat by then.\n\n<center>https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/6\/5004\/5367542608_e1c8704eda_b.jpg<\/center>\n\nNow I felt how fast the crowd moves here. So I did an advanced calculation for future to decide where should I be seating. \n\nAnd that was it. Since then I used to get a window seat everyday.\n\nOne evening,<br> I had to visit some unknown place to collect some articles my mother had sent for me. I got quite late from there and when taking a return train it was almost 10 pm. \n\nI was too tired and didn't want to do all that running to grab the window seat. So I thought I should act smart. \n\nIt was off-peak hours and hence there shouldn't be much rush. But I had no experience of these late hours. I saw a huge crowd on platform at that hours too. \n\nThen I recollected that there was a special coach in every train which is exclusive for ladies travellers until 10 pm. But after 10 pm it becomes general. I thought not many people will take that coach as it's just about 10 pm. So I positioned myself near that coach position.\n\nAt 9:58 pm a train arrived. I calculated that by next station it will already be past 10 pm. So it's safe to use that ladies coach. So I entered in that ladies coach. There were no women travellers and the coach was almost empty.\n\nYes,<br> I got the window seat. But it was only momentary. Some ticket examiners entered that coach from both sides and told us that you're not allowed to travel in a ladies coach.\n\nThey made us all stood near the gate. We were about 15-20 people. They took us all to Bombay Central station and ordered us to follow them in a line. They were guarding the line from the front and the back.\n\nBut people are very clever. Many of them left the queue from the middle and immediately got disappeared in the Bombay Central crowd. Queue got shorter and shorter by the time we reached to a police station. \n\nI didn't try to run away. I wanted to see what they would do to me.\n\nAt police station,<br> I saw all these officers were corrupt and were extracting money from everyone. They were ordering to take our clothes down and then checking all our possessions. \n\nI noticed many of my *accomplice* had to give away all their money to them. So when my number came and when I was called in,<br> I didn't move.\n\nTwo officers came to me asking me to go inside the room. But I acted as a dumb person and gestured them that I didn't understand what they are asking me to do.\n\nAfter some efforts,<br> they got a little crazy over me but I didn't try to understand them. Then one officer told his senior inside the room that I'm deaf and dumb and can't communicate. \n\nThis made the situation a little tough for that officer and he ordered him to let me go away. So he came to me and asked me to leave immediately.\n\nBut acting as a true deaf,<br> I didn't move. Finally,<br> two policemen pulled me out of my seat and gestured me to run away by pushing me outside.\n\nI happily walked out and took the next train ...same 10 pm ladies coach and reached home 😊\n\nEven after all these years,<br> whenever I remember this incident,<br> it brings me to chuckles.\n\n<center>**[If you haven't read the Part-1 of this series,<br> it's here (https:\/\/busy.org\/@xyzashu\/when-i-traveled-wt-without-ticket-part-1)**<\/center>",<br>"json_metadata":" \"community\":\"busy\",<br>\"app\":\"busy\/2.5.6\",<br>\"format\":\"markdown\",<br>\"tags\":[\"india\",<br>\"busy\",<br>\"people\",<br>\"life\",<br>\"blog\" ,<br>\"users\":[\"xyzashu\" ,<br>\"links\":[\"https:\/\/busy.org\/@xyzashu\/when-i-traveled-wt-without-ticket-part-1\" ,<br>\"image\":[\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/2\/2e\/Mumbai_local_train_02_%28Friar%27s_Balsam_Flickr%29.jpg\",<br>\"https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/6\/5004\/5367542608_e1c8704eda_b.jpg\" " |
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