Saturday, February 08, 2014

Mumbai Monorail - And The Spirit Of The People

A colleague and I went to Mumbai earlier last week, hoping to catch a ride on the monorail. We were just a moment too late - the gates had closed, we were too late to catch the last ride.

At the gate, the crowd was swelling, most joyriders like ourselves. And one man was arguing with the security men at the gate, asking to be let in - apparently, his family had got through, and he needed to be with them. Sir, if we let you in, everyone else will want to come in, the security guard tried to reason with him. But he was adamant; he wanted to be let in.

What happened next, was heart warming!

First, a couple of folks in the crowd - ordinary Mumbaikars - admonished the man for arguing with security - they are doing their job, why are you being so rude to them, they asked. And then, everyone in the crowd requested the security guards to open the gate for him - promising them that no one else would insist on a similar privilege.

The security guy opened the gate, the lone ranger ran up the steps to his waiting family, and everyone dispersed.

I am pretty sure, this can happen only in Mumbai. Salute to the spirit of the people of this beautiful city!

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