Blues Displacements!

If you live in India and do not have a car or cannot afford to take your car out every day, you must be used to the perennial overcrowding of all public transport modes in big cities. I am omitting cyclists from this realm because in major cities most of them park theirs near local train stations and hit the road. The only warning that comes to mind is that ‘Never expect a seat, always focus on getting a space to stand where you can move around in some comfort’! Of course, getting space to stand is no guarantee of continued comfort due to the fact that additional crowds keep turning up to stations along the way. However, this is still the only way to somehow overcome the discomfort of overcrowding. Although the scenario applies to all public means of transport such as city buses, local trains and the subway, in this piece we will focus mainly on the tribulations of commuters inside a subway train thanks to the claustrophobic interiors.

Now, what are the dangers of overcrowding? They are multiple and the main sources are the ubiquitous backpacks, the omnipotent big bellies, the camouflaged thugs, the parasitic smartphone users and other criminals; the latest on criminals we will discuss at the end of this article.

You know very well what backpacks or big bellies do to you during the trip, constantly pushing you, immobilizing you and, at times, almost crushing you out of breath. Whenever this mortal pair combines into one or more travelers, you end up with outward reactions but curses. In the somewhat rare case of a threesome, a backpack, a big belly, and a bully in one fearsome whole, you’d feel like walking through windows, which isn’t possible at all. Smartphone users are referred to here as “parasites”, which is because they always use their bodies for support or, worse, to carry out their “must-have” mobile indulgence. Camouflaged bullies refer to those people who seem harmless and peaceful enough, but at opportune moments push you, shove you, elbow you mercilessly just to get to their comfortable “considerate” standing space. Unfortunately, these bullies even include some of the respected elders who display incredible knack in getting to their reserved seats or standing in front of those seats to take advantage of the next seating opportunity. And, if you make the cardinal mistake of commenting on their ‘activities’, you will be drawn into a furious debate for the rest of your journey.

Then there are also additional dangers that invariably occur during their fight. The mobile of the person squeezed shoulder to shoulder would invariably ring, and the person would inevitably respond. I would howl into the phone to overcome the built-in noise, and indeed the screams would relentlessly attack the unfortunate holes in your ears; To make matters worse, the “call” will last the rest of your journey. He would try to move his head to the right or to the left, or he would try to stretch his neck upward; but there is no help for you. During the summer, the smell of sweat is a clear handicap for many “sensitive” travelers and is unavoidable. However, sometimes the smell turns to a stench in a short time, and invariably too. The person in the half-sleeve shirt tight shoulder to shoulder towards you would suddenly raise their arm to grab the metal bar above for added security. Your nose holes would be cruelly exposed to the huge hole created by the action. Again, he would desperately try to move his face to the right or to the left and stretch his neck upward; but there is absolutely no help available to beat the stench. He would rightly like to include such people in the category of “other offenders”.

There is a very powerful danger that lurks in all overcrowded spaces; It can happen at any time by catching everyone off guard most of the time. I personally advise you to expect this on all your future trips from now on; anywhere, not just on crowded public transport; however, in claustrophobic interiors as mentioned above, this could be deadly. Well, you are smart enough to guess. Trapped in overcrowded spaces makes you boil with anger, want to scream or hit the offender; To make matters worse, the stench lingers in the closed air for an intolerably long time. As a preventive measure, as in the cases of smoking or spitting, you can consider putting a disclaimer ‘farting strictly prohibited’; however, this vulgar use could seriously damage the finest sensibilities of travelers. Therefore, it could be as simple as “gassing strictly prohibited”, which will be understood by everyone with the intended meaning even though the word has other connotations. But the problem is bound to persist, because until now there is no time-tested methodology for discovering and registering such violators.

If you have any other issues regarding this area, feel free to post them here.