boston, Present day

Imagine the opening sequence of a 2000s urban movie. The first rays of sunlight sneak through the corner of the blinds. The alarm starts ringing. Startled and annoyed, the sleepy-eyed protagonist silences it and jumps out of bed. Of course, it takes me 5 attempts to finally drag myself off. The rest of the steps are like that movie scene though. Multitasking in the bathroom, prepping breakfast while putting on my shoes; then rushing out of the door with half of my jacket on, at 8:05am hoping to reach work by 8am! Clearly, that boat had sailed, so I might as well save my legs and enjoy the bright, sunny morning. Airpods on – I play my peppy-pop playlist to get the main character feel and begin my 10-min walk to the subway, or ‘T’ as the locals call it. The low-note verses of the song lead up to the chorus – “It’s me… Hi!… I’m the problem it’s me”!  “Yes Taylor, I know it’s my fault that I’m late!

So how did we get here? And why are we talking about a commute? You may have read some of my “Pravel” adventures. From long weekend cross-country trips with friends, to solo travel across Europe, and to packed week-long vacations in Japan with family. Like for many others globally, all that came to a sudden halt in 2020, after COVID redefined world order. It was hard to complain considering the amount of pain many went through. And in all honesty, a break was required. Looking back, it is hard to believe how I pulled off those crazy trips.  Clearly now, my 30s were catching up on me & I had begun appreciating the smaller things in life. And what is a small-scale journey that many of us embark upon, daily? The commute!

kanpur, early 2000S

For most, commuting begins with school. I was privileged to grow up in an institute campus, away from the chaos of the typical North Indian city. My school was pretty close to home. So, bar the first few years of supervised commuting with my mom; a good part of my independent commuting days involved a comfortable 15-min walk through the serene residential lanes of IIT Kanpur. The return leg was especially leisurely, when my friends and I would stroll aimlessly, in no rush to reach home; boisterously laughing away at our internal jokes, that only we found funny. The morning walk though, was usually rushed, and involved making a dash in the final stretch near the school gates; to avoid being segregated and shamed (maybe even caned) in the late-comers line.

Boston, Present Day

Some habits never change. My ongoing walk to the Central Square Red Line T-stop also ends up with a run, after seeing others rushing. Turns out the noise that caused this commotion is of the train leaving in the other direction. I strategically take my place at the end of the platform to avoid crowds and also be closer to the exit in my destination; thus saving me a whole 30 secs. The southbound train rolls in after a nominal wait. As each car passes me, they get progressively slower and seemingly more crowded. After a screeching halt, the doors slide open. The next scene reminds me of what the late Indian comedian Raju Srivastava said in his standup set, describing the personified feelings of a Mumbai local train – “Teen utare, teen hazaar chaddh gaye!”  – i.e., 3 people got off and 3000 more got on (to an already overloaded coach). Lord, have Mercy!

I barely manage to find a spot to stand and grab on to a bar, as the Red-Line’s infamous jerky acceleration takes action. With my body hinged on one arm, I swung back-n-forth as the train jolted away wildly in the dark tunnel. I forcefully controlled my arc of motion to avoid bumping into my neighbors.  “Why were there so many people anyway?”. “Shouldn’t they have gotten off at Harvard before this?” “And whatever happened to Working from Home?” To add to my woes, Tanhayee (a Hindi song describing the pain of loneliness) starts playing in my earphones. Amidst the constraints, I craftily take out my phone, using only my thumb and index finger like a pair of tongs and quickly open the app to change it. After multiple skips, the Auto-play AI finally understands my mood. I carry on staring at the screen to avoid eye contact with anyone, and begin to reminisce.