Mumbai Local (From VT to Kalyan)

The Mumbai Local (From VT to Kalyan) The hustle and bustle of crowd With its noise very loud Is evident at the station of VT The normal way of life in the city At the next halt at Masjid Bunder My mind is still filled with wonder At the rush of people here and there Getting in and out of train everywhere The train then arrives at Sandhurst Road But it is moving on tracks and not on road Though the station is known so With people all moving to and fro The train then chugs along to Byculla The station names are on no stela But a pillar with white board Painted Red and Black and Blue As people try to get aboard The next station, I read, is Chinchpokli As a passenger turns the pages Of Accomodation Times, a newspaper that is weekly In the train compartments that resemble cages The next is Currey Road When the passenger gives a smile broad As his newspaper I try to move From over my nose I try to remove The train reaches Parel Inside the local, the life is hell And then it moves to Dadar The change takes place here At these 2 stations Not very far is Matunga As the train reaches A behra and a gunga Enter, and the behra preaches Asking for alms and donation When the train reaches Sion My shirt I find crumpled Though I remember using the iron And all my clothes rumpled From Sion the train moves to Kurla The compartment is now jam packed Difficult to identify a man from a gorilla That is how they breathe and push Without a place to stand, which is a fact With people all falling over each other We move slowly to Vidya Vihar With Ghatkopar not very far The people survive by pushing one another As few will get down here Many get down at Ghatkopar At the station it is quite a stir With the next being Vikhroli A family gets down with heavy bags To be carried without a trolley The train moves forward And halts at Kanjur Marg As we can hear the different raag Of the Bhajan Mandli That has been in the train since VT The train marches on to Nahur A new station in the making So a surprise for someone on tour Of the city of Mumbai And who has been before to Mumbai The train then proceeds to Mulund Thane not very far from Mulund As people jostle to get in and get out With a scream or a shout The local train then chugs to Thane A man who sells peanuts enters the train With his precious peanuts dane There are many platforms here in Thane More than in other stations gone by Thane is gone and the train goes to Kalwa A common sight in trains Is of people chewing tobacco And spitting out of windows, their saliva Next is the station of Mumbra A group of four are busy with cards While another sleeps on his seat Meant for six but are seated eight As the train moves to Diva It reminds the pious of the diya The halt of few seconds Is enough for people to get in and out Next is Dombivili Followed by Thakurli On a journey That has been long and tiring To reach Kalyan At Kalyan, getting up from the seat Is the first real pleasure A chance to stretch out the legs and feet That had been constrained By other legs and feet