Who do you meet in a train???

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Daily commute. Most of us are subjected to the grind of following a commute to our workplaces. Raised in Mumbai, I’ve been a user of Mumbai Local Trains for a long time. There was a time when local trains, took up a large chunk of my workday… to n fro office… 2.5 hours each way. And one of the things that kept me engaged and amused on these rides, in addition to my books and some shopping… was observing my fellow passengers on the train. There is a saying… ‘it takes all types to make the world spin’… and nothing proves this true, more than a commute in public transport. For the years I travelled on the local train to my office in Mumbai, I got to see the world in its true glory. Different people, their attire, their attitudes and their demeanour… the general air of indifference but curiosity to know what the other is doing… it’s the universal theme.

Clare Pooley brings us the tale of a varied and disparate group of people… all from different walks of life and at different stages of their personal journey. The thing in common?... a train commute.

We begin this delightful little story with an introduction to our protagonist, Iona Iverson. This fifty-seven-year-old advice columnist…or agony aunt of a woman’s magazine, takes a train to her workplace daily. 36 mins, 10 stops. She’s accompanied by her dog, Lulu. Who claims a seat next to her every day. Strategically, mind you… keeping her a seat’s distance away from anyone who wants to sit next to Iona. Iona doesn’t speak to any of her co-passengers. No one does. But she’s observant by nature and as a thing to pass time, she has nicknamed all her regular fellow passengers. Her smart wit is clearly visible in these names. For example, she calls one of her passengers, an Impossibly-Pretty-Bookworm. She observes and then she imagines who these people are in their lives.

One morning, one of her co-passengers, the one who she calls “Smart-But-Sexist-Manspreader,” chokes on a grape. And life changes. For the manspreading, for Sanjay, the guy who saves him from choking, and for all who witness the spectacle… a series of events after this episode leads this strange group of people to talk to each other. Interact with each other, and slowly and steadily… we realize that first impressions are not always correct. And strangers are just friends, waiting to happen.

The story progresses with multiple POVs. And we get to see the lives and people behind all the clever nicknames. We get to see how different and varied lives can appear. The group formed thanks to that single grape, goes through various shenanigans to help each other. When the time comes when Iona herself needs some help, this group of strangers band together for a solution.

 

Clare Pooley’s “People on Platform 5” is a story that reminds us not to be too serious about life, and that sometimes just a conversation with a stranger can turn out to be the best gift we can give to ourselves. It’s a story that will bring a smile to your face. You will learn to like and even love this group of diverse individuals. It will make you take a pause, the next time you travel on public transport…. For sure.

You might also like to read my daily commute experiences, here.