Trains

They are just packed as cans with fish. According to my guidebook, for every square meter you have 15-17 bodies You should be very quick to get on and off, otherwise you can get stuck in a crowd rushing in and rushing out. 10 people die every day on the railways.

Indian trains have separate compartments for men, women, fishermen, handicapped and people with cancer. I spend about 4-5 hours in public transport a day: I take a rickshaw to get to the station, and then change 3 trains to get to Novi Mumbai, where one of our offices is located. I pass many districts, including slums (55% of Mumbai's population live in slums). Every district seems to have it's own smell: decaying organic rubbish, burning plastics, stagnant water, and simply dung. Today I have observed a line of men performing morning toilet procedures just in front of the train.