Damn car'wallahs,' trains are better

Here is a question to ponder over.
Q: Who is the most dependable chauffeur in Mumbai?
A: Your train driver.

I am a die-hard road commuter. This week when the city’s two main motorways — Peddar and BR Ambedkar Road — were blocked, I decided to revert to old favourite: the Mumbai suburban train.

Twitter and Facebook could have some serious competition if you consider mobile social networking platforms! The good ole local is where lakhs network and socialise. I travelled till Churchgate, for my Nariman Point meeting. An interesting conversation caught my wavelength.

“They do not want to travel in their swanky cars. Humble like us now, they say. Train is better,” said this new focus of mine. “Ya, ya,” I chipped in, twirling three centimetres as the local swayed with the speed. Giving me that nano-second flash of his teeth, he continued, “Maloom hain kyon apna roads choked up hain? Saab saale, yeh MBA-wallahs!” “MBA buggers invest Rs10-15 lakh on their education by taking loan at a pucca cheap rate. An EMI to be paid after they get their choice of job.”

My guru continued. “And then they turn into… jargon-spewing bizness chamchas, value-destroying financiers and consultants. Big salaries they ask and they get… all because of their fancy way of talk.”

I could make out the bitter tone creeping into his voice, “Only 22, kya, and they buy cars! Everyone will do the same… from their gang. Everyone will jam the Mumbai roads.

At that moment, the truth struck me. Perhaps my interlocutor may not have known have heard about Philip Delves Broughton, the celebrated author of the cult What They Teach You In Harvard Business School. But they were certainly Broughton’s thoughts. 
He also gave me his take on the downturn. “Financial and consulting firms, which used to soak up two-thirds of the MBAs from top schools, have disappeared from campuses. Suddenly jobs in government and non-profit organisations are in hot demand from students who would never think of doing the ‘lowly-paid’ jobs,” he added.

My interlocutor was savouring his moment, while the fishes were writhing in the basket nearby. “I’m happy not because I have no pay cuts in the railways but because I heeded my parents’ advice and joined a government service, though I cursed myself for a while for doing so,” he informed.

There was more to come, from my commerce graduate friend who was doing a drab job with the railways (till yesterday). “I never borrowed beyond my means, so I never overspend. Today I’m really happy. I don’t have to worry about banks knocking at my door for EMIs. Anyway with so many uncertainties around, I know my time on earth is not my own. So why join the rat race? That’s why I picked up that which is consistent and dependable like our railways,” he added with smug finality as our train halted on its final stop.       

I was swirling under his logic, when I realised the import of his words. I made it to my appointment, comfortably and before time — thanks to the tenacity of the railways.