Just follow me!
So I did. I believe I mentioned in my last missive that Captain Clarke and I were planning a trip to visit Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (or CST as the local seem to call it). Having risen at a more reasonable hour we took a leisurely breakfast – Captain Clarke had poached eggs, beans, mushrooms and ham and I had ‘Eggs Masala’. This was the first thing I have eaten since leaving home that I would not have again. In fact, I really didn’t like them and that is unusual for me and Indian food! So, after breakfast we popped up to our room to stock up on sun block and one or two other items and then we walked out towards the infamous shopping malls and then beyond towards Lower Parel station.
We used Lower Parel station as a bit of a short cut (the obvious route around it is currently blocked and the diversionary route is very long) climbing up the stairs across the bridge and then down the other side. There is no restriction on doing this and we were amongst several hundred other people doing the same thing. We walked away from the station in the direction of Currey Road station which is on the central mainline and a little distance away (Lower Parel is on the Western mainline). Captain Clarke did question my spelling of Currey Road so I have taken a photograph to prove it is accurate. The station was named after the person who commissioned the station to be built as a staging post for horses (at the time), a Mr C Currey!
We queued for a few minutes for the ticket office and then bought two returns to CST. The lady behind the counter asked if I wanted first class or second class but as it is only a short 20 minute journey and the price of a first class ticket is ten times the price of a second class ticket (50p instead of 5p) I said that second class would be fine. She raised an eyebrow but printed (yes, the tickets are printed on an old dot matrix printer!) the tickets and passed them across in exchange for ₹20 (about 20p).
Our train was at 12:53 although by the time we got down to the station it was already 12:55. We looked up at the sign and worked out that the train was indeed scheduled for 12:53 and that it was made up of 12 carriages and that it was a stopping train and a slow train but there was one element we couldn’t work out – EIM. I suggested to Captain Clarke that it might mean ‘Estimated In Minutes’ but he thought that it couldn’t be that since it had said 6 since we arrived and we had been on the platform a good 10 minutes by now. After about another 10 minutes the EIM changed to 4. Intrigued by now to know what it meant, Captain Clarke went up to a kiosk and asked. Unfortunately the chap in the kiosk didn’t speak English but another chap standing by did and explained to Captain Clarke that EIM did, indeed, mean ‘Estimated In Minutes’.
The EIM eventually turned to 2 and then after another 10 minutes or so it turned to one and eventually, over 40 minutes late, the train trundled into the station. Evidently those minutes were based on ‘Indian Standard Time’ (basically a time estimate is no more meaningful than no estimate!) and we strongly suspect that London Underground are using the same measure for minutes! The train eventually rumbled into the station and we boarded it. It was very busy and everyone was crammed in but by the time we had done another four stops on our way to CST we had miraculously managed to cram several hundred other people into every carriage!
I was under the mistaken impression that people hang out of the sides of trains in India to get the cool air as the train travels along. That may be a by-product but the real reason is that there is nowhere else to be! Every inch of floor space has a foot on it, people hang from the handles in the roof of the train, they climb onto the luggage rack, they literally use every inch of space and when that runs out they hang out of the sides of the train. Whilst hanging out of the side may get them from A to B, about 20,000 people a year are injured on Mumbai’s suburban rail network alone!
Having arrived in CST we wandered outside to try and get some photos of this iconic building and, having successfully done so returned into the station to consider what our next plan should be. We decided to procure a soft drink from one of the station kiosks and, whilst waiting we were studying what was on offer. A very nice lady came over and asked if she could help at all. Captain Clarke asked her for two bottles of Sprite. The lady went and spoke to the man in the kiosk got the two bottles of Sprite and brought them back to us. She was very chatty and pleasant and we gave her the money for the Sprites which she gave to the man in the kiosk and gave us back our change. It turned out she had no connection what-so-ever with the kiosk but, since Captain Clarke had instructed her to get him two bottles of Sprite, that is what she did!
Sandy, the very helpful lady, had thought that we might struggle to understand the labels and so had offered to help. We asked why Sandy had such an unusual name for an Indian lady – apparently her mother was obsessed with the film Grease when she was born and that was why she named her Sandy! Sandy helpfully suggested a couple of places we might like to visit in Mumbai whilst we were there. She had great trouble explaining that one ‘must do’ in Mumbai was to visit Mani Bhavan – it sounded very much like ‘Money Barran’ to our untrained ears. When she eventually wrote it down for us on the back of our train tickets, we didn’t have the heart to tell her that we visited Ghandi’s House the last time we were in Mumbai! We said our goodbyes to Sandy and made our way back across the concourse.
We decided that, on balance, there wasn’t that much more we wanted to do in southern Mumbai on a very hot Sunday afternoon so we decided to get the train back to Lower Parel. We just missed a train whilst we were working out which ones would stop at Lower Parel but fortunately there was another train only a few minutes later. Since we were pretty much first on we took a seat and waited for the train to depart. Many more people got on but, although there was standing room only, it didn’t feel as cramped as the train had on the way to CST. This, it turned out, was to be our next mistake. As we left CST and arrived at our first stop (Masjid) many, many more people got onto the train. At the next stop (Sandhurst Road) even more people got onto the train. At each of the next two stops, Byculla and Chinchpokli it seemed that nobody got off and even more people got on.
Since Lower Parel was our next stop, I turned to Captain Clarke and said “I don’t know how on earth we’re going to get off this train!”. There were so many people now crammed in and we were sitting on seats towards the back of the carriage. “Just follow me”, said Captain Clarke, so I did. That didn’t turn out that well. We got to Lower Parel and made no progress towards the door what-so-ever, we travelled on to Parel but still we didn’t get to the door. I commented to Captain Clarke that just following him wasn’t really working that well and we’d be in Kalyan (a town still in the state of Maharashtra but nowhere near Mumbai) before we got out at the rate we were making progress. “Well you try then” huffed Captain Clarke, so at the next station, Dadar, the man blocking my path said “You should move down to make more room” and I told him that no, we were trying to get off. “Oh, I see” said the man and the sea of people parted and we got off the train.
Having got off the train I turned to Captain Clarke and said “Just follow me!” you said! To which I got a colourful reply that I was just lucky. How handy to have been so lucky on my first attempt! And so, we found ourselves in the district of Dadar. It transpired that there was a huge market going on so we decided to go and have a look. It was called Kirtikar Market and seemed to be temporary because the stalls were in front of traditional shops which were closed. There were dozens and dozens of flower stalls, all selling beautiful garlands, posies and other arrangements. There were stalls selling food, stalls selling sun glasses and mobile phone cases, stalls selling traditional and modern clothing and, inevitably, there were stalls selling pants (what is it with pants in India? Have they only just discovered them or something?) and even stalls selling socks – I have never seen anyone wearing socks anywhere we have been!
So we wandered around the market browsing the stalls but not buying anything. Eventually we did pop into a chemist for some cough syrup for my cough and some plasters for my blisters! Total expense 84p. The cough syrup is interesting, it is “Adulsa” that has been “Frotified with Tulsi, Haldi, Phudina, Yeshti Madhu and Black Pepar”. I have never come across the word “Frotified” before and I am not sure what “Black Pepar” is either. That said, it tastes disgusting so it must be doing me some good! We enjoyed the market but then decided it was time to head back to Lower Parel and, eventually, to our hotel. The unplanned stop in Dadar had actually turned out to be very interesting, so we lost nothing by our difficulties! We went back into the railway station and I bought two first class tickets back to Lower Parel – that is 50p very well spent in my opinion!
First class is no different really to second class other than it has a very slightly cushioned seat. Still no windows or doors which allows the air to flow through but the big difference is that at 10 times the price of a second class ticket there are very few people in first class at all so you not only get a seat but you also get to breathe and get on and off wherever you want to! As we got off the train in Lower Parel I noticed a man on the other side of the tracks, where it looks like there are a couple of shacks that have been built, adjusting his Dhoti (a Dhoti is essentially a 3m long piece of cotton cloth that is wrapped around the waste by men … particularly from southern India) and I am now in a position to confirm that those pants are needed!
Yesterday evening we decided to go back to Delhi Heights. Our first visit there had been so successful and the food was reasonable and enjoyable. Last night did not disappoint! Captain Clarke had a Thai red curry that he said was very satisfactory and I enjoyed Kathi Rolls and Pakoras from the Street Food menu. Both were delicious! I had forgotten just how much I like Kathi Rolls, I must cook them again at home in the very near future! So, today we are off to see the Dabbawalas. I just hope we find them. Tomorrow I will explain all! We do both hope that storm Ciara has not been too disruptive at home!
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