This incident happened more than five years ago
It was a Tuesday
And I'd gone to office as usual
Which involved a long commute
From Powai to Lower Parel
By the famous Mumbai locals
A typically exhausting commute
Made worse by the fact that it was the month of August
And therefore I had to deal with the rains as well
Something seemed to be off
As far as that particular day was concerned
Quite a few of my candidates
Were not responding to my calls
And what was worse
Was the fact that it was raining cats and dogs
In fact, my boss, who was on the way to office
Got stuck somewhere in between
And ultimately gave up the ghost
Deciding to work from home instead!!
He also instructed me and my colleague to leave office
As soon as we were done with all our critical work
Since we both had brought our lunch
We decided to leave after eating
However, our troubles for the day
Were just about to begin
It was raining heavier than ever
Just as we left office
Accompanied by an acquaintance
Trains were not running on the Western line
Thus, we were forced to walk all the way to Currey Road
Instead of Lower Parel, which was much nearer
Meanwhile, my colleague, who was residing in Girgaum
Decided to take a taxi home
While our acquaintance gave me company
Since his home was near Sion
Which falls on the Central line
And is on the way to Vikhroli
Where I was supposed to get down
However, just as we entered Currey Road station
The enormity of the situation
Struck us with the force of a bullet
There was a sea of people
And a rope was placed in the middle of the platform
In order to control the crowd
On the left side of the platform, there was a local
Which was apparently stuck there for quite some time
And on the right, the track was heavily waterlogged
All these were ominous signs
That something was seriously wrong
Well, we boarded the local
And were lucky to get seats
It was a silver lining
In the darkness that was about to follow
The train was in no hurry to depart
Whenever I heard the sound of its motors
My heart would leap with a mixture of joy and relief
Since it seemed to indicate that we would start soon
However, it didn't take me long to realise
That all my hopes had been dashed
The fact was that the motors had to be switched on and off
Every now and then
Just in order to keep the engine running
In the middle of all the chaos caused by the rains
Yes, the situation was so chaotic
That a few reporters had a field day
Meanwhile, I checked in on my colleague
And his feeble voice told its own story
He had to walk all the way
From Mumbai Central, where the taxi was forced to drop him
Till his home in Girgaum!!
Moreover, our acquaintance invited me to walk with him till Sion
So that we could have an adventure!!
However, I was in absolutely no mood for such stuff
As all I wanted, was to reach home in one piece
No matter how long it took
However, the hours slowly tricked by
And the local showed absolutely no signs of moving
Again though, there was a silver lining
In the middle of all this darkness
A Marathi NGO magnificently rose to the occasion
And started distributing packets of food to the stranded passengers
It was truly like a godsend
And helped me keep my wits about
As afternoon turned to evening
And evening to night
While the water on the right side track
Was rising higher and higher
And it soon dawned on me
That the unthinkable was about to happen
That is, I had no choice
But to spend the night at Currey Road station!!!
Yes, it was an unpleasant situation indeed
But I decided to face it anyway
Since the station was a safe place after all
And as we all know
One is always safer in a crowd
Of course, sleeping wasn't going to be an easy task
I tried various positions
Each more uncomfortable than the other
Before finally dropping off to sleep
More out of sheer exhaustion than anything else
When I eventually woke up
Things were slowly limping back to normal
Trains had started moving in the opposite direction
Eventually we departed as well
Though at a snail's pace
And had a few unscheduled stops on the way
When we reached Sion, there came the next twist in the tale
We were stuck for one and a half hours
And I began to fear
That history would repeat itself
However, God was merciful enough
To ensure that it didn't happen
In fact, after we crossed Kurla
We resumed our usual pace
And reached Vikhroli in almost no time
I was home by around 11 am
And was greeted by my family
Who were thoroughly relieved
And also full of praise
Since I had maintained my cool
In such a difficult and unforeseen situation
Ultimately, it had turned out to be an adventure worth reliving
Even if not the kind of adventure
That the acquaintance had embarked upon
And wanted me to be part of

After a rather enjoyable holiday
During which I had loads of fun
Playing my favourite mobile video game
Reading an Agatha Christie ****** mystery
And last but not the least
Having a long afternoon siesta
I was ready to resume work
Even if it meant going to office
Which involved a long commute
By the dreaded Mumbai locals
Well, getting to Dadar was not an issue
However, it was then
That my troubles started
There was a wait of ten minutes
Followed by a bit of chaos
As I barely managed to board the train
Getting thoroughly squeezed in the process
By the time I reached office
I was drenched in sweat
The second summer of Mumbai
Having well and truly begun
Things did not improve
As I started work
I was really hoping
That my hard work over the last few days
Would eventually pay off
However, I was in for a shock
With every call I made
My confidence nosedived
As candidate after candidate
Failed to pick up the phone
Those who did respond
Were either not interested
Or didn't possess the requisite skills
After a rather welcome break
In the form of an excellent lunch
Packed by my mother
I was hoping to turn things around
However, the status quo remained
And by the end of the day
I had drawn a blank
As far as my CV count was concerned
Thus, it was quite a relief
To leave the office behind
And return to home sweet home
Of course, there was the small matter
Of the return commute
To be taken care of
And once again, Fate showed its hand
As Dadar continued to be the centre of chaos
And I kept missing local after local
While waiting for an AC local
That eventually never showed up
Thus, I was forced to board an ordinary local instead
Thankfully, it was all smooth sailing
At least until Ghatkopar arrived
And I was squeezed once more
This time though, it was brutal
Luckily, the next stop was mine
And the icecream that I had
At a shop just outside the station
Was sufficient compensation
For whatever damage Ghatkopar may have caused
Mental as well as physical
After a rather uneventful auto ride
I was home at last
And I must admit
That however good or bad the day may have been
It has at least given me the inspiration I needed
To write this poem

There is a time
When nothing goes right
Anything that you touch
Turns into stone
At work, candidates ignore you
All the relationships built
Through days of hard work
Evaporate on that day
The world seems to turn against you
Leaving you frustrated and helpless
And left with no alternative
But to take the blame
Squarely on your own shoulders
Wishing you could be anywhere
But in your own body

As time passes by
Slower than a snail
You greatest desire
Is that the day should end
And you are put out of your misery
However, Fate has other plans
While you are determined
To escape from the rush
In the famous Mumbai locals
Vodafone decides to come to the party
The network falls apart
Leaving you watching helplessly
As Uber and Ola fail to load
And Fate wears a gloating smile
As you are forced
To board the dreaded train
And simply adjust
Amongst a sea of commuters
Your greatest desire
Is that the day should end