Bandara

Yesterday V and I went to Bandara to go shopping - we took a local train, 2nd class, from where we were staying with Swapan in Chandivali (a 4 stop - 20 minute trip). This was my first experience with beggars (they were frequently seen at all street corners, but besides begging at your window, sometimes knocking once or twice they left us alone). However the train station was a crowded place, and there were a lot of people asking for money. One boy in particular wouldn't leave me alone, I gave him a 2 rupee coin, but he wasn't satisfied, so he stood in front of me tapping me intermittently on the arm and then on the chest, specifically my boob. That got kind of tiring after twenty or thirty minutes, but since we were waiting in line to buy our tickets, there was nothing to be done. Anyway, we purchased 2 round trip tickets, and made our way to the segregated train. Women have three cars per train (the first, last and middle cars), while the men take up the rest. We weren't sure why such an old-fashioned custom persisted until we started to board the train. The rush of people pushing to get on and off swept us up in its path and we were packed like sardines into the car, elbows, purses and feet jabbing everywhere. We were thankful then for being surrounded merely by women and didn't have to worry about getting our asses pinched as well.
After taking the train, V and I were exhausted. But we managed to perk up when we came across an air-conditioned MALL. We each purchased a salwar kameez, which is the everyday wear of most Indian women. It consists of a long shirt (with or without sleeves) which is the salwar, and baggy pants (called kameez), they also include a scarf which is worn backwards with the ends hanging down the back. They have other types of pants called churida, which are tight at the ankles, and sometimes they wear their salwar with a western type pants.

On the way home, we accidently boarded a first class car of the train. The difference in price was only a couple of rupees, and we figured it was no big deal. However, the train was boarded by female ticket controllers who informed us that not only were we in first class, but our tickets were only one way - not round trip like we thought we had purchased - so we got charged 25 U.S. bucks for our mistake. No amount of reasoning mattered and the women acted like it was so obvious that we had purchased one-way tickets, when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth - the ticket was a jumble of hindi characters and a smatter of english letters typed in such a small font that only Spiderman with his spidey senses could make out what the damn thing said. Vidhu tried reasoning with the women but that only caused a scene. Anyway, we resolved never to ride in another local train. Luckily, we laughed it off and whatever - 25 bucks probably allows the train to run for another year, so I like to think we did something good for the city of Mumbai.
After shopping V decided to get in touch with her cousin Priya who lives in Mumbai and who she hasn't seen in 25 years.