Just Walking Around

Just Walking Around

Trams Tam-Tams & Pilots …Unconventional modes to commute

Ask any young guy or girl or Melenials as they are known,how they commute in the city and pat comes the reply “ Take out the mobile open the Uber / Ola app put the destination check the wait time for the cab and book it . Simple” And if you ask who pays for it answers is simple “ Dad’s Credit card is already configured” .What about when these aggregator cabs were off the raod during the several strikes few months back. And the answer would Oh then “Kaali Peeli hain Uncle” . Wow that’s great I say. Ask them if they ever travelled in the BEST bus or the local train few of them laugh at you for such a sinful suggestion. They will say “Kaun jayega us bheed mein” or “Uncle AC kahan hai usme”.I laugh at my own advice and shake my head in despair. We as parents are to be blamed for not making our kids bold enough to take the public transport. The transport we as kids used to travel across the length and breadth of our Mumbai city.

So the following weekend which was the Republic Day long weekend when we had decided to head to Alibaug for a short RnR vacation I decided to try out our public transport and teach my elder daughter Netra how to use the fastest means of travel to reach a place in Mumbai. Since she had school on Jan 25^th as also oral exams scheduled we could not allow her to bunk school. So rest of the family members my wife my little one Bhakti alongwith extended family members went ahead in the afternoon taking the Gateway to Mandwa jetty launch (boat ) service. Me and Netra had to reach Gateway once she came home from school around 6:45pm well in time to take the last launch at 8pm. Once she was ready I said lets take the train to CSMT (good old VT station)  rather than a Kali Peeli or Uber so we can reach early. 

And I was correct it took us exactly 20 minutes to reach CSMT station. Then from just outside the station we took the cities landmark Red bus from BEST to reach Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum near Regal Cinema and onward we marched to Gateway on foot to reach at exactly 7.35 well before the last launch would depart at 8pm. Being a long weekend there a huge line of at least 50-60 people already waiting there. We joined the serpentine line and Netra took a food break of sandwich and Frooti back in her backpack. We spent some time enjoying the great view of the floodlit Gateway standing tall against the rough sea in the background and the chilly wind swirling around.

 After waiting for sometime and with the que not moving we got uneasy, and then the Police van came announcing the unfortunate news . The launches which had gone to Alibaug in the evening had not returned due to the rough sea. As a result the further services stand cancelled. Both of us were crest fallen. All this rushing for nothing. We decided to give it one last shot to try to reach Alibaug. I said lets try to get to Mumbai Central Bus depot and take the MSRTC Shivshahi AC bus or in worst case the Lal Dabba. Again we rushed outside to where we could take the Share Cab to Churchgate so as to take the train to Mumbai Central  the best possible way to reach in the fastest possible time. 

Once we reached Churchgate I said let grab some Burgers from Burger King right across the station as did not know how long and when we could eat on the way to Alibaug in a bus if go ahead with the travel.Taking the next train to Mumbai Central , we reached the Bus depot in 15 minutes.

Once there I checked if a bus was available for Alibaug , a bus was present but filled to capacity with not even a space to stand . I then checked with the Bus Stand administrator when was the next bus he said it will be at 12 am . With 5 hour journey to take that bus would have taken us the wee hours of the next day to reach our destination. Dejected I decided that it was better we call it off for the night and catch the 1^st launch the next morning at 6am. I could see the dis-appointment in Netra’s eyes but she understood that it was a good decision. On the way home I asked her how was her experience of travelling by these mode of transports and she was enthused to travel more . We took a cab back home reaching home for a late dinner of Whopper Burgers and Fries and retired for the night with hope in our minds of making it early the next morning.

Next day we got up real early and reached Gateway of India again , this time the line was short and it moved swiftly . We took the upper deck of the Ajanta Launch . When it left the jetty we could see the Mumbai skyline light up in yellow glow of the street lamps. The launch moved at an even pace and we enjoyed the gentle breeze on the deck , it was still little before Dawn with Sun still below the horizon and the darkness engulfing the sea ahead. In just a few minutes though the entire scene chaged with the Sun rising and the sky turning the shade of red and then slowly the sky getting bright. A gaggle of Seagulls hovering close to the launch and the few passengers on the deck giving them bread crumbs or wafers to get them to come closer for some selfie moments. We reached Mandwa in an hour and 10 minutes that was around 7.15 am. Next we had to reach the Hotel at Chondi as we walked down the road outside we found a odd looking yellow coloured rickshaws locally called Tam-Tams. A 7 seater with 2 parallel bench behind the driver to seat 6 and one could sit next to the driver on the front extended seat. I have seen these Tam-tams all across Maharashtra be it in Raigad , Pune or even in the western Maharashtra belt while travelling for work. Most often than not the driver takes 8-10 passengers during a shared ride to make the most of the trip in monetary terms.

We reached the Hotel in time for a hearty breakfast of Poha and garam chai and some sugar dripping jalebi’s and some rava cake coursey my Wifey and my Brother-in law Naazim. It was a great experience using some of the unconventional modes of vehicles to reach our destination.

But if you travel across the vast country as India you are bound to come across much more of such unconventional means. Take for example the city of Mathura , when I was stationed there for a Software project for IOCL refinery we were put up in a 2 storied Kothi near the city center and the only means to travel to the refinery were the Phat-Paht’s used by the locals as share-a-ride option. The most iconic bikes of the Second World War era became a mode of public transport in the North of India. Imagine a Harley Davidson bike accommodating 10 people. Well, that’s what a little “Indian Jugaad” (innovation) can do. Popularly called as Phat-Phat because of the bike’s loud exhaust sound. Phat-Phat is modelled from Harley Davidson’s WLA motorcycles, which were manufactured during the Second World War. In the years leading to the War, Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company was unionized and received a contract to manufacture a variant of the civilian bike for the United States Army. During the Second World War, the WLA motorcycle symbolized reliability and was used in massive numbers. However, with the advancement of communication technology post Second World War, these bikes became redundant for military use.

In the US and Europe, most of them were sold as surplus. Sold cheaply, these bikes led to the rise of the ‘chopper’ and ‘biker’ culture, where they were modified. In India, the Harley-Davidson WLA got a fancy new avatar and a new lease of life. It was transformed into a public transport vehicle rambling on crowded Delhi streets, ferrying daily passengers across the city.

The motorcycles front part and the engine was attached to a bright rear passenger-carrier covered with an umbrella, often painted in some bright hues.

Somewhere along the journey, the Phat-Phat was redesigned to seat six to eight passengers. In reality though, these were seen ferrying at least ten passengers. If circumstances and size permitted, the enterprising drivers would have two more passengers sharing their own seat.

Across the river from Mathura is the Temple town of Vrindavan a sleepy little place with small bylanes for streets but a sacred place for Hindus due its importance as the town where Lord Krishna grew up and many a temples built to honour the great lord of pure love . On one of the off days I and my colleague ventured out to see the beautiful temple of Banke Bihari right in the heart of Vridavan. To reach there we took the Phat Phat from Mathura upto the main chowk of Vrindavan and then asked some locals for direction to reach the old heritage temple. We were told the best option would be to take the cycle rickshaw 

.So we hopped on to one and asked the rickshaw puller to takes to the temple. And rightly so the bylanes were so narrow that  it could accommodate these cycle rickshaws and may be a person walking besides them. On reaching the temple we soaked in the sights and sounds of the centuries old wooden pillared temple with the most beautiful and innocent looking Banke Bihari  Krishna. As we entered the temple premise we could see the pillars and roof smeared with bright pink Gulal . When we asked ablut the same we were told that the temple plays host to the Colourful Holi festivities for 5 days when the locals and tourist alike enjoy playing with Abhir and Gulal like the Lord himself did with his fellow friends , gopikas and his devotees . We had reached during the evening Aarti time and so stayed back to experience the once in a life time spiritual experience. As the Aarti ended loud shouts of Hathi Ghoda Palki Jai Kanhaiya Lal ki and Banke Bihari Lal ki Jai went up in the air .

When I travelled futher east to Kolkatta I could see even more options of travel. Besides the State transport buses  there were the big fat & completely yellow old Ambasador cars turned into taxis. Travelling in them brough back memories of childhood when I used to travel in my maternal Uncles prestine white Ambasador Mark IV with its spacious rear seat which was more like a sofa seat . Even the front seat was a sofa seat as the gear being part of the Steering wheel giving enough space for the co-passengers sitting next to the driver. 

You can also travel the city streets on Cycle rickshaws and till a few years back you had the Human rickshaw pullers who would pull and run taking the heavy load of their Bhadralok’s. 

These hand pulled rickshaws are banned by the honorable Supreme Court and by law as it took into consideration the plight of rickshaw pullers and their inhuman conditions of their bleeding feet on tar / concrete roads and most pullers suffering from an eventual TB related death due to poverty and malnutrition on the meager wages they earned from their trade.

Moving around in Kolkotta is cheap though as you can still hop on to a running tram chugging gently on the roads taking the passengers from point to another. These relics of the past are very environment friendly as they run on electric cable which runs like a spiders web all across the older parts of the city. Trams are known to be fun to ride with its mild speed and old world charm.

Did you know even Mumbai had a network of tram lines and station well into the late 1960’s. the idea of mass transport system in Mumbai was originally proposed by an American company in the 1860’s. Envisioning a horse drawn tramway system , the American company proposed a system that would connect Pydhoni ( Central Mumbai) with Colaba (the southern tip of the city). At the time during the American Civil War, Mumbai had advanced as a global exporter of raw cotton to the United States. Unfortunately after the Civil War ended in 1865 Mumbai’s cotton production declined and the entire country fell into an economic depression. Due to the depression the proposed American tramway system was never implemented.

But in 1873 with the permission on the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) , Bombay Tramway Company Ltd (BCLT) the earlier avatar of BEST was licensed to begin perating the horse drawn trams throughout the city. Nearly one year after its establishment the company started operating 2 routes from Pydhoni (Dot #11) to Colaba / Sassoon Dock (Dot #1) and from Bori Bunder (Dot #5) to Pydhoni (Dot #11) . Despite revolutionizing transportation within the city, the initial horse drawn trams were not popular with the residents in Mumbai because they were perceived as expensive and slow.Due to lack or ridership the company closed down the horse drawn tram system in 1905.

Shortly afterwards in 1907 the Bombay Electric Supply and Tramways Company (BEST) purchased Bombay Tramway company Ltd (BTCL) and began operating the city’s 1^st electric tram system. The electric tram system was incredibly popular with the local Bombay residents because of the price and the comfort of the system. Soon the company added additional routes to the tram network introduced Double Decker trams and even began the Red bus service  inspired from the London bus service .The tram and bus network covered the entire city .

In 1964 because of low ridership operating losses and inefficient technology BEST company shut down the nearly 100 year old tram system. The company still continued operations of the city’s bus network which to this day represents an integral part of Mumbai’s transportation system.  

"Kahin Building, Kahin Traame, Kahin Motor, Kahin Mill..." - the vanished trams that the '60s Bollywood hit had immortalized may soon make a comeback, not in their old trundling form, but in a modern avatar.

Recently , while speaking on the coastal road project in Mumbai, Union Minister for Environment Prakash Javadekar announced that trams may be part of the multi-modal corridor planned between Nariman Point and Kandivali.

The draft notification, he said, "mentioned that the metro, buses and trams could be included... The electric tram runs fast. If anything of that sort is incorporated, it will help the people."

May be these old world transportation will add to the charm of the maxim city making traveler and tourist friendly.

Another unique mode of transportation that Uber and Ola are trying to start is the Bike cabs . Since the traffics situation in most metro and big cities getting bad to worse with long taffic jams the latest trend is that people are shifting from cars to bikes . Much easier to zip past and manoeuvre in the traffic . They have been doing pilots in cities like Pune and Ahmedabad where the response has been great. But there is one state where Bike taxis have been part of the roadscape since last 30 years is Goa. There they are known as Pilot . Painted black and yellow like auto-rickshaws or taxis, these two-wheeler motorcycle pilots are found waiting for passengers in almost all towns, cities and even villages, along 1200 km of major and minor arteries of Goa. The unique system of motorcycle pilots started during the Portuguese rule in Goa. It was later recognized by the Indian government and the Motor Vehicle Act in 1979.

Today, it’s a well-regulated business carried out under the watchful eye of the State as well as a code of conduct willingly formulated by the Pilot’s Association.

Struggling with a handful of papers and files or carrying luggage? Need to rush to work or have an urgent appointment in court, a government office or an interview? Late for school or college? Motorcycle pilots swoop in to rescue you from distress.

They ferry the day’s newspapers to the remotest village before you wake up. Take you to visit relatives untraceable on Google maps. Hired to drop tiny kids to Kindergarten, young girls and married women rely on them to reach their destinations safely. You would not come across any eve-teasers, street fighters, hirelings or drunkards among pilots as they go strictly either by self-discipline or their own code of conduct. They even censure or reprimand each other for any misbehavior.

A motorcycle pilot is also considered ‘a trusted neighbor, guide, helper in good times or bad and a trustworthy friend’. Staying far away from all forms of rash riding even if their clients coax them to. There are a negligible amount of rash riding incidents involving motorcycle pilots in Goa.

So if you are an avid traveler or even the regular commuter do go beyond the app based aggregator cabs and experience the charm on any city / place you visit by travelling in the local mode of transport. You will experience the trill and adventure associated with the place and also be able to catch the sights and sounds which you are sure to miss in the AC enclosed environment of the Uber / Ola cab..

Have fun , travel wide , stay safe and experience the thrill.. Happy journies and make some happy memories..