It was raining outside, I was in the local train and I had to get off at Bandra station, which was the next stop. It was my first time in Mumbai. I was crammed in the train corridor, standing, as there was no place to sit and I was carrying a bag on my shoulders. A fellow passenger commented, “You are not going to make it with the luggage. It’s rush hour.”
I was aware of the dangers faced by people travelling in Mumbai Local Trains, especially at rush hours and I was a little scared. The passenger’s comment increased my fear. I remembered a news article I’d read a few years ago about a stampede in Bandra station which killed 23 people and injured 39 others.
The train started to retard and my heart began to race, I could already hear a loud buzz of the crowd waiting at the station. Now I could see some people rushing inside the train even before it had halted. I felt a strong push on my back as people inside the train rushed to get out so I had to jump out of the moving train and my forward foot slipped because the platform was wet due to rain and I fell down. A throng of people was still getting in and I was in their way, lying on the floor. I heard loud footfalls and felt vibrations from the floor as I lay there trying to get up but failing because people kept walking over me.
The sound of the rain
Blotted out now and then
By bangs of footfalls.
Posted over at dverse: Haibun Monday
September heart-to-hearts 