THE
JOURNEY FROM BOMBAY TO MUMBAI
I
set my foot on the vast city of Bombay in July 1958, to appear for an interview
at Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay, Trombay (AEET),. It was my first
experience of travel by train for two days all the way from Palghat Town in
Keralam to the city. There were no direct trains to Bombay and I had to change
the trains at Arkkonam Junction, after waiting for hours there.The train left
Palghat Eastward almost upto Madras City (just 40 km short) and wait for
another train coming from Madras and ‘catch’ it. At Arkkonam, there was enough
waiting time so that some of us could even go for a movie in a nearby theatre.
I was travelling by a ‘third class, Sleeper’ bogie, which had only wooden
planks as seats for the day and bed for the night. Neither cushion nor any
bed-spreads were provided in any class of travel. There were no AC-classes.
Only First, Second and Third classes. The trains were hauled by steam locomotives
for most of the distance and diesel ones for the rest. Electric engines were
there only beyond Poona (present Pune).
I
know, I am deviating from the topic of this article. But this will help you to
the condition in which I made my first ever travel to Bombay. I likened it to a
trip to the unknown land, appearing in fables. On reaching Dadar, my cousin,
Bala, received me. He is my uncle’s son and I was to be with that family.
Suddenly,
I saw a train in another track, full of people. I was surprised to see that it
had no engine. Bala smiled and clarified that those trains ply on electricity.
Not by coal or diesel.. Comig out of the station, I saw double decker buses in
the main road. I was seeing such buses for the first time Bala lled me to a
‘taxi’, a black-and-yellow coloured Fiat car. The driver started the meter.
Bala explained that we need not bargain the fare. We are required to pay the
fare as shown in the meter.
My
uncle’s house was just two kilometers away, in Matunga. The fare came to around
one rupee. The driver just accepted the money and vanished. Bala told me that
we had to climb two stairs. “No lift is available”, he said. I did not know
what he meant by ‘lift’. I paid my respects to my uncle and aunt after reaching
their house. They called it “Flat”, probably because their house was not having
any sloping roof but only a ‘flat’ ceiling. It also surprised me to learn that
they owned only that part of the building, not the whole structure. Their flat
had a veranda, two rooms, a big kitchen and a passage. I asked Bala, “Where
will you go for your bath and toilet?” Bala opened two doors inside the flat
itself. One opened to the bath and the other to the toilet. Bala demonstrated
how the water from a tank above rushed into the commode by the pull of a chain
and kept the commode clean. I was astounded to see that there were no big
vessels to store water in the kitchen. Water was available at the turn of a
tap. Another surprise was the use of clean gas for cooking. No need to stock
firewood or kerosene or charcoal. My aunt cooked everything using only
stainless steel vessels. At Palghat, we had vessels made of soft stone, brass,
bronze, tin and even iron. All these made me feel that I had entered a
completely different world.
Aunt
prepared a breakfast of Upuma and plantain fruits. I washed my hands in a
wash-basin, which was again a new thing for me. Then, aunt asked me to have my
bath. Bala showed me how to put on the geyser in case I needed hot water. All
the water I poured on my body just disappeared though a drainage system in the
floor.
As
we were resting, I heard the ringing of a calling bell. Bala opened the front
door to admit a youth clad in khaki shorts and white banian, holding a towel.
He straight went inside the kitchen. I was curious. Bala told me that he was “Rama”,
which was a common name for male domestic servants. They washed the utensils,
cleaned the floors and washed the clothes. Their real names were Pandurang,
Bhiku, Dhondu etc. but they were known as a Rama. Depending on the volume of
work, they have to be paid monthly. They were very honest and can be trusted
with the keys of our flats even.
Lest
you get bored, I wrote all these because these were very strange for a boy like
me who grew up in an agraharam which lacked electricity and other comforts.
In
the evening, Bala took me to a sight-seeing tour of Matunga. He helped me in
buying a smart white shirt for wearing for the interview on Monday. He could
spare his full pants and a tie. Then we bought a pair of good shoes, for just
Rs. 18/-. We passed through the Kin’s Circle Tram terminus and told me how the
trams drew the power from the cables running above the tracks. Trams could cut
through the tragic island, known as King;s Circle, but the other vehicles had
to circumvent the island. We walked through Bhandarkar Road, in which Sree Ram
Mandir, patronized by South Indians, was situated. Then we passed the Post
Office junction. On the right, was the Post Office and on the left, Café
Sasania, an Iranian restaurant. Then, we proceeded straight towards Matunga Railway
station. I propose to describe my impressions in another chapter. We roamed around the area for some more time.
I will just say that Bala identified the major landmarks of Matunga which I
should not miss. They were the “Society”, the Bhajana Samaj Temple, the Sankara
Mattham, “Concerns” the Trichur Mess and Trichur Lodge, The flower market, the
vegetable market, Nappoo Hall and the Nappoo gardens and Ruia College.
As
we were returning home, I saw one person, holding a long stick, jogging along
the main road, halting at every lamp post, doing something with the stick at
the top of the post and running further for the next lamp-post. To answer my
query, Bala said, he was a Municipality worker, lighting the street lamps.
These lamps function on gas, and not electricity. That man was opening the
valve with his pole to let the gas out so that burner could be lighted. A small
flame would be always present for the gas to get lighted.
We
all sat on the floor to eat our food, just like we did in Palghat. But, Bala
told me that normally, people ate by sitting in chairs around a ‘dining’ table.
They did not have it because the dining set of table and chairs occupied
precious space and they did not want to eat that way.
There was no way of contacting my mother at Palghat, about my safe arrival here. There were no phones with both my uncle and with my mother. I knew, she would patiently wait for my letter which would reach her in 3 to 4 days. Unlike now, the telegram was the only way to send messages in an emergency. And the charges were 25 paise per word, which in those days were costly. Again, ordinalry telegrams were not served immediately on receipt. For that, we should use express telegram at double the cost. Now, the use of telegrams has been discontinued.
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