Every mumbaite must have definately travelled by train at least once in his life time (i may be exaggerating a bit). And now this for those who frequently travel by train.........
A typical mumbai station has one platform for to & fro destinations, bustling full of activities, people aligting and boarding, while some catching quick bites at nearby food stalls and then there are vendors catching on their business. And this is where you witness the typical cosmopolitan spirit of mumbai. A rich fabric of class and society intertwined in the maze of time transcending class creed gender etc. It is said that average time a train stops in any staion is 28 seconds! just 28 seconds and within that time a for someone it is the destination and for other it is the start of journey! All one has to do is to sit down watch, watch fast paced life of mumbai, experience the pressure, the anxiety, the rush of competition and yet a solace from a stranger.
But havent we all glanced at the other side..ok i mean the other platform... which acts as complete stranger to this speed of city life! no food stalls, no paper marts, no vendors, no passengers! the impression here is not spooky but a very naive, quite place where the only movement is a fast train zooming and thats all. here the time seems to have taken rest! Exactly thats the feeling that you get. Peace actually prevails here!
And this is the shelter for those who dont have one! Also this where you will people from diffrents walks of life sit, relax, introspect, stare (god knows what?). For some this is perfect place to sit royally and feast on their home made lunch, you may find students studying and discussing, and yes even sales men discussing their day.
For them, the rat race, the pressure of urban civilization is absolutely oblivious! As if there is no urgency! At least for this moment as long as they are in shady cool zone of peace, this platform.
What i thought as a waste of public money once (how else would you think about a platform which has no train stopping and nothing happening much and why would goverment build such platforms in almost all stations?) is no more for me!
I look at this side and wonder, what a paradox that this place exhibits! On one side you can actually feel the pulse of city, the city on speedway and then on the other side on this lonely platform you find a complete opposite avataar! this so called 'zone of peace'!
Indeed this platfrom is a metaphor, a metaphor offering everyone one advice..............to decelerate......apply gentle brakes on their supersonic life.....and halt......introspect, acknowledge the peace, the humbleness the beautiful moments of our life shared alone or with our family & friends, so that now and then we know our purpose and that is to spread happiness and peace. let us not become a victim of this treadmill of life!
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