Congratulations! You will soon lose your Arms if you live in Kolkata

Welcome to Kolkata – a land of culture, heritage, overcrowded public transport and withered arms & life.

Today is Sunday – the most awaited day in a week. It’s probably the only holiday for many office-goers. After a week long participation in road-race Olympics to get a place in the metro or catch the bus, one will finally get an interval in between. This street Olympics is probably an integral part of the life of a Kolkatan. And finally, one can rest and rejuvenate.

However, having been a part of this race sometime back, I can bet that you are engaged in a Battle of hearts – the Outer Bangali vs. Inner Bangalli. While the outer Bangali of yours will be gorging over the supremely delicious Sunday brunch of Kosha-mangsho and Luchi with Sorshe batar ilish and fried rice accompanied with chatney and payesh; the inner Bangali of yours curses your gastronomical indulgences and reminds you of the dreaded Monday. The inner Bangali reminds you of your dreaded boss and the way he will react if you arrive late the first day of the week.

And hence, finally when Monday will arrive, you as a peace-loving argumentative Bangali will try to balance everything. Reach office before time and return home early.

And to do that – you will set out to participate in the most popular road race Olympics – Ready, Steady, GO!

And, a few moments later – with a severe scream echoing everywhere, darkness pulling down your eyes with all its might, you will find yourself holding your withered arm or finger or legs instead of the overhead railing.

But hey! Congratulations. Now you will not be reprimanded ever for being late to work, nor will you be working. All days hence, will be a holiday for you. And if you have got insurance done then your hospital bills will not burn a hole in your pockets either. Also, if you can say goodbye in this event (a tragedy for the rest) then even luckier for you as you won’t have to live the life of a disabled person. You would be free from all problems or ‘jhanjhaats’ of life.

The questions to ask here however are,

·         Do you really value your self so lowly that you won’t mind risking your life at all?

·         Or, is your job even more important to you than your healthy and intact body.

·         Or, while you say to your family and special someone that you love them, is it so fake that you do not care about them at all.

·         Or, you are so lonely that you are in desperate need of death

·         Why do you try these deadly street stunts while you can wait to catch the next?

·         Or is it that the public transport management system is so poor that risking your life is the only option left.

Well, let me share my own example with you here. I remember going to office even on those days when Majerhat Bridge had collapsed. It was sometime before Durga Puja last year. The traffic was routed to the metro route. So, the rush had increased almost ten times. Getting into and getting down a metro seemed like a nightmare. You could compare the feeling inside a metro as an over-stuffed candy box filled with heightened levels of carbon dioxide. And, the way people moved in and out made you feel like being in a compartment of mental-asylum patients who have just been released without being completely cured.

You feel suffocated. Sick. Stuck in between heads and legs. You lose track of your own body parts as well. Seems like you are standing in a wave called human and you are meant to flow with it. You feel your clothes being shifted right to left and left to right with every movement. Sometimes, you feel your bags being dragged out while you pull them with all your might. You crave for oxygen while all you can smell is the odour of sweat and cigarette. And what is actually a 25 minutes journey feels like more than an hour ordeal.

Finally, when your stoppage arrives, you take the name of lord and push through with all your might to get out as you have to fight with the inflowing people who seem to be mightier than you and capable of making space for themselves before you can get out, by squeezing you.

And to get into this cauldron, a living hell on earth you risk your lives pushing everyone and everything. The doors of the metro will close. You will think you can ‘slightly adjust’. But what if you get stuck. You will lose your fingers and your life just like the recent case of accident in Kolkata metro – where a man lost his life.

If, after reading this, you thought that busses are safer and can be played with, Friday’s shocking story of withering arm of man alighted in an overcrowded bus, will put your plans down.

Now, the important point here is –

1.      why are people allowed to board beyond a specific capacity?

2.      And while Kolkata largely complains of moral policing and says EVERYONE in Kolkata is an adult with all sorts of rights because they have the maturity, where does this maturity go when you decide the way you will use public transport.

Everyone has a home and a family. And today, most of the youth my age work while studying. Everyone has an urgency to reach somewhere.

But, tomorrow morning, when you hit the roads, before participating in that age-old street Olympics once again, Stop.

Ask yourself – will I be able to reach my destination if I remain Healthy, Safe and most importantly Alive. If so, why should I be a part of this mad rush.

Is saving myself from my boss’s wrath more important that saving myself for me and the person for whom I am their world.

Think again. Then Dive.

To share your opinions with me about this blog either drop in your comments or write to me here – aamiprabhasini@gmail.com

Stay tuned, while I bring for you another topic for #ChaiPeCharcha. Till then Stay Healthy, Stay Happy, Stay Safe.