Rush hour on Mumbai’s locals can be mind numbing. Add on a certain sari-clad element, and it can turn into disaster, says Aastha Atray Banan
The angry aunty on the local train is a strange phenomenon. Low on patience and high on advice; her mission is clear — to teach errant youngsters and sometimes, even her contemporaries, a lesson in what life really is. This includes drilling you in the finer points of train etiquette — where to stand, how to stand — and obviously, staring at you when your iPod volume is too high for her tastes, or when your neckline is too low for her comfort. She is more often than not the monitor of the train coach. She will banish all the beggars, and the hawkers (whom the other women love), and will also keep a look out for 2nd class pass-holders who climb in, intentionally or unintentionally. And woe betide any errant schoolboy who climbs into the ladies compartment. If she had a whip, she would lash it.
And worst, if you have a seat and she doesn’t, she will continuously tap you on your shoulder and ask where you plan to get off, sometimes ultimately forcing you to stand up much before your station.
Samidha Sharma, a journalist with CNN-IBN, holds her head in frustration. “A fast train is hell just because of this aunty. She will stand near the door to get off at Mumbai Central even if the train is still at Andheri. And even when she sees you in a mad struggle trying to get in, she looks at you with a defiant ‘You deserve this, you ungrateful young person’ expression on her face,” she says
DNA Article by Aastha Atray Banan |
| Location : Andheri Local Train |
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Name :http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsi
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