readersdigest.co.in 55daylights out of me. As I prepared to
enter the ladies’ compartment, I did
kickboxing moves in my head: jab,
hook, uppercut!
Suddenly the frenzied ladies be-
hind me yelled “lavkar” (faster), and,
before I knew it, I was swept away by
the huge crowd. Basically, everyone
pushed and shoved until we were
miraculously propelled into the com-
partment within seconds. While I
tried to breathe, everyone else looked
calm and unperturbed, as though
they did this every day!
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu says,
“supreme excellence consists in
breaking the enemy’s resistance
without fighting”. I guess Mumbai
trains taught me that.
—Priyanshi Gupta, MumbaiDesi-baby day care?“It’s out of reach,” said the
salesman blandly. “For me, and you,”
he added, and went back to reading
his newspaper.
—Nupur Sinha, Kolkata
Only in Bengaluru
It’s a long and lonely road in the
traffic-jam capital of India
My friend Rohit’s car was crawling at
a snail’s pace near Bengaluru’s Silk
Board junction, notorious for gridlock
jams. He suddenly spotted a colleague
walking briskly down the pavement.
Rohit immediately called out to
him, offering a lift.
“Thank you, but no,” his colleague
said.
“No really, it’s cool. I’m headed that
way,” Rohit insisted.
“Sorry boss, but I’m in a bit of a
hurry,” said the fellow and disap-
peared into the traffic.
—Sangeeta Manocha, Bengaluru
Only in Mumbai
Rush-hour commutes require^
skilled training
I remember the first time I travelled
in a Mumbai local train during rush
hour. My heart skipped a beat as I
gazed at the train offloading a horde
of passengers on to the platform. I
almost froze, wondering how I’d be
able to get on the train in one piece.
I had observed a few other trains
arrive and leave before this one,
and the sea of humanity flowing in
and out of compartments scared the