ONE YEAR LATER...SIGHTS, SOUNDS & SMELLS OF KURLA .

One year later...
I again found myself on platform no. 4, trying to catch the 9.49 am fast local for CST to reach Kurla. And to my utter surprise, the train arrived at 9.47 am itself and dutifully stopped till it was time to leave!!! I wondered how much Central Railway had changed in one year...or wondered whether this was one of those 'once-in-a-blue-moon' incidents that I was being privvy to.
There was one more thing to be happy about. The train was one of the new ones introduced last year. Those trains havent yet been introduced to Harbor Railway, hence today was the first time I travelled in one. And I really cant stop raving about it to any one who would listen ;-) !
The most prominent features I loved about this train are:
1. Firstly, the outer appearance of this train is very cute! It is a combination of pristine white & royal purple with beautiful headlights!!!
2. The large windows that go up & down smoothly without much ado & catches that can be really locked(!).
3. Air vents inside the train. First time in my life I wasnt sweating inside a train even while standing for the entire time.
4. Electronic indicators inside the train which indicate the names of the next station & the final destination in 3 languages-English, Hindi & Marathi. Status: Working (!).
5. Speakers...no not for music entertainment (Indian Rly hasnt yet progressed to this level where it will think about passengers getting bored...right now focus is on making them 'comfortable' inside the train)...they are there to inform passengers about the name of the station at which the train is going to halt.
All these features really made by journey a lot easier. For one thing, I didnt have to bend my body at unrealistic angles to get a glimpse out of the window to check which station had arrived. Secondly, I could mentally fall asleep till the sweet lady with a sweet voice said in completely vernacular accent-free English that the next station would be Kurla.
I got down at Kurla Station without much hassle and proceeded to platform no. 1, where my friend would be waiting for me to take me to her house. As I later found out, I was early and my friend wasnt there. But no trouble, I could have the time to observe & ponder over certain new acquisitions of Kurla station.
The first objects were the two ominously visible grey colored metal detectors. At the first glance at them made me feel a little discomfitted instead of reassuring me. You will wonder why but it was because I quickly discovered that no one was taking the trouble to walk through them!
Secondly, there were the people of Kurla themselves! You can find a myriad variety of people traversing through the station. Ladies clad in colorful burkhas...yes burkhas can be of different colors other than black...then all the usual casual wear, sarees, salwars and the occassional but omnipresent babe. The men...sometimes elegant, classy young & middle-aged office goers...sometimes the round-bellied, safari-clad Marathi babus...and sometimes the scrawny, oily-faced, shabbily dressed, pan-eating, spit swilling workers who look at you as if you are the only woman worthy of attention...which isnt flattering at all.
Well, after waiting for at least 20 mins at the station, my friend arrived. Later on what I did is not under the scope of this post (check out the title)...however I'll just mention that I was there in Kurla to go to my friends house who lives there, for a college assignment.
But the fun I had at her house will definitely be a part of the next post!