Volumes have been filled with stories about the local trains of Bombay. After all, it is the very lifeline of the city, with everyone having travelled by it at some point or another. For most, it is a means of commuting to their workplace, which makes it an inextricable part of their lives.

Nothing parallels the experience of a local train; the rushing crowd at the station, the seemingly impossible crowding of the trains -when you think that not even one more person could possibly enter the compartment, ten more step in. Those who become accustomed to it don’t even notice someone nudging them in the ribs or breathing down their necks (quite literally).

There is a unique feeling of community found on the local trains, a sort of a camaraderie resulting from shared experience. One of the most fascinating things seen on a particular local that travels a long distance is that there is a defined compartment with a group of people singing bhajans and kirtans all the way from work to their respective homes. They religiously follow this routine everyday, but slowly, as the dabba fills up, more and more people join in and their voices reach a crescendo, so much so that the melody is left behind on every station that the train passes by.

It is only on a Mumbai local that one finds the rich and poor, old and young traveling together. This living, breathing mass of people may seem to be indistinguishable, but each commuter aboard the local is found to be unique, defining his or her own space. One finds the older generation reading their favorite daily while the younger boys are usually spotted on the footboard, hanging out of the dabba, earphones plugging out all external sounds. Each person finds a way to utilize that period of time spent on the local the way he or she likes, whether it is through reading, talking or just musing over his or her day.

For many a weary traveller, the journey to and from work being a long one, the local is like a haven, a moment suspended in time that brings them peace. Very few commuters are seen idly chatting with their neighbors or talking on the phone. Amidst the chaos of the “city that never sleeps”, this perhaps is where they find respite.

Text by Manvi Gautam | Photographs by Sagar Shiriskar