Mumbai’s local train motormen- the unspoken heroes of our society…

Picture this- you are driving a local train, along one of the spines of Mumbai- the Western Suburban railway line. A twelve coach train filled beyond capacity with tired office goers, students returning home from college and other fellow travelers. It’s a wonderful deed, dropping so many people to their destinations daily. The train is speeding by the line, accelerating steadily towards the next station, when all of a sudden you find a victim on the tracks, right in front of you…you are faced with a terrible choice: save the person in front of you by braking immediately, but you face the risk of jolting hundreds of commuters out of the over-packed train. And you have to trade off this victim, for their lives. A monstrous vehicle of metal rams on a fragile body, and life ceases on impact. It happens before your very eyes…and there is nothing you can do about it. A heart filled call of apology. Followed by immediate, painful death. How many of you face a situation like this? Have you even realized that this is a part of someone’s lifetime, to face such drastic circumstances?

I am writing this blog as a deep mark of respect to Mumbai’s local train motormen- they are the very people who face situations like these, and quite often. And they have mentioned how hard it goes for them when they have to take such spine-chilling decisions. They can’t sleep at times, they go to bed without dinner, but the last look of morbid fear on their helpless victims is the only thing that swims in their minds. It is only with a heavy heart that they come back to their services the next day.

These are but still normal, when compared to the other abject violence which we have recently witnessed- terrorism. Last year these very locals were targeted by a group of terrorists. And the accounts narrated by their motormen were not easy to digest.

“Papa, don’t go by local train, isme bomb fatta hai,” V K Majhi’s son Rupesh pleads before him every day when he leaves for work. Majhi was driving the 5.19 pm Churchgate-Virar fast on July 11, 2006 when a powerful blast ripped apart one of its first class compartments at the Mira Road station. Many others saw bodies lying in pool of blood, belongings strewn about and metal pieces everywhere- the blasts tore through the life and soul of the locals. And these audacious motormen had to bring the trains to control under such circumstances.

And yet, the locals were working the very next day. These very motormen had the courage and strength to come back to work, in spite of witnessing such horrible atrocities on humankind within 24 hours. And they drove through all of it – they were the ones who launched that hard deserving slap on the face of these cowardly terrorists.

Obviously they live a very peaceful life, and it’s rarely when they make it to the headlines. But these are the true unspoken heroes of Mumbai. I am so very proud of them, since I believe that they impart a lesson for all of us to learn, to remember. Learn to face your fears. My Chaleureux’ salutation to all of you! Peace.