Dt: 10th Nov 2018
So I started the year with a resolution to spend more time on doing new things , things which I have not done before .
On those lines this year I started learning tableau which is a new age visualization tool .Post which I spent some time learning Alexa skill coding and also published my first Alexa skill. Apart from that I spent some time running Tableau powered predictor competitions which was a hit with select audiences.A few friends also revisited our old days by doing some musical renditions on Smule.Its fantastic how you can do things now sitting at home with your friends without actually meeting them .The world has become a lot more connected and there is more to come..
Moving on..However I realized that a lot of this year was spent on the technical front and I did not get time to witness the infrastructural changes around me.Mumbai a city of dreams .A city which is constantly evolving with its lifestyle culture , and its amazing adaptability. The spirit of Mumbaikars has always been looked up to by the world .It has amazed many how a city which has limited infrastructure is running huge businesses and housing billionaires.
There was always a hue and cry that a city which has so much capability in terms of human capital needed better infrastructure,However the past governments have let the city down and people have stopped expecting much .
But things have changed at a real fast pace in the last few years in the city of dreams. So I decided to go around and review one such change that happened rather quietly in Mumbai's landscape.
I am talking about the city's new AC railway local .:-) .The new trains run on the western line for now . And for a asking price of just slightly above the first class fare offers one a cool ride from the Suburbs to the city and back.
When the services were launched there was only one train which did the to and fro journey .But starting this Diwali the number of services have been increased to Five and the number of halts have also increased.The AC train now halts at suburban stations like Dahisar , Miraroad & Bhayandar .You can view the M -indicator app for timetable and halt stations/.
So on BhaiDooj which is a festive holiday we decided to try the morning local .We boarded from our local station at around 11 AM. The train looks very similar to the normal locals .Apart from the obvious changes.
1. It has AC and its very cool.The days of sweating in the Mumbai local were gone long back due to the new bombardier racks but this is one level up
2.The doors close.This is a huge security upgrade.No chance of accidental falls in these trains.
3.The train is seamless.Which means the coaches are all connected.
4.Some other features which looked new included an intercom to connect to the guard in every coach.
Once we reached Dadar we went to visit a few places which have not changed in Mumbai.
We had a hearty breakfast at Kamath's near Dadar station .This place still has authentic Indian food at very reasonable prices.
It has not change much over the years
We then went on to visit Shree SiddhiVinayak MAndir to seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha.This is the most visited place of worship in mumbai. and Mumbaikars have always gained blessings here.
We followed this up with a meal at Gomantak which is one of the best places to have non vegetarian food/seafood.
We decided to end our travel by paying a visit to the Bandra Worli Sea Link .The iconic sea bridge was one of the best architectural gifts that the city got in this decade.This was only bettered by the Mumbai Metro.
The inauguration of yet another architectural marvel the Signature bridge in Delhi reminded us that Mumbai has got its own iconic bridge.
We ended our day after this by taking the local train back .On the return journey in Second class WR , I realised that Mumbai , like the rest of India is fast turning into a dual identity geographical region.Where you have the poor and the rich living together in harmony . The slums contrast with the high rises in Lower Parel .The second class local journey contrasts with the AC local journey . The normal line at SiddhiVinayak contrasts with the Quick Darshan line which comes at a premium of 50 Rs.
The broad classification is of the rich & the poor but actually if we get some social science teams to research then they can easily detect around 5 to 6 distinct classes of people living in Mumbai with some people hopping among the lifestyle choices of each class throughout their day ,,.
Please share your thoughts on this. Only that much for today...
So I started the year with a resolution to spend more time on doing new things , things which I have not done before .
On those lines this year I started learning tableau which is a new age visualization tool .Post which I spent some time learning Alexa skill coding and also published my first Alexa skill. Apart from that I spent some time running Tableau powered predictor competitions which was a hit with select audiences.A few friends also revisited our old days by doing some musical renditions on Smule.Its fantastic how you can do things now sitting at home with your friends without actually meeting them .The world has become a lot more connected and there is more to come..
Moving on..However I realized that a lot of this year was spent on the technical front and I did not get time to witness the infrastructural changes around me.Mumbai a city of dreams .A city which is constantly evolving with its lifestyle culture , and its amazing adaptability. The spirit of Mumbaikars has always been looked up to by the world .It has amazed many how a city which has limited infrastructure is running huge businesses and housing billionaires.
There was always a hue and cry that a city which has so much capability in terms of human capital needed better infrastructure,However the past governments have let the city down and people have stopped expecting much .
But things have changed at a real fast pace in the last few years in the city of dreams. So I decided to go around and review one such change that happened rather quietly in Mumbai's landscape.
I am talking about the city's new AC railway local .:-) .The new trains run on the western line for now . And for a asking price of just slightly above the first class fare offers one a cool ride from the Suburbs to the city and back.
When the services were launched there was only one train which did the to and fro journey .But starting this Diwali the number of services have been increased to Five and the number of halts have also increased.The AC train now halts at suburban stations like Dahisar , Miraroad & Bhayandar .You can view the M -indicator app for timetable and halt stations/.
So on BhaiDooj which is a festive holiday we decided to try the morning local .We boarded from our local station at around 11 AM. The train looks very similar to the normal locals .Apart from the obvious changes.
1. It has AC and its very cool.The days of sweating in the Mumbai local were gone long back due to the new bombardier racks but this is one level up
2.The doors close.This is a huge security upgrade.No chance of accidental falls in these trains.
3.The train is seamless.Which means the coaches are all connected.
4.Some other features which looked new included an intercom to connect to the guard in every coach.
Once we reached Dadar we went to visit a few places which have not changed in Mumbai.
We had a hearty breakfast at Kamath's near Dadar station .This place still has authentic Indian food at very reasonable prices.
It has not change much over the years
We then went on to visit Shree SiddhiVinayak MAndir to seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha.This is the most visited place of worship in mumbai. and Mumbaikars have always gained blessings here.
We followed this up with a meal at Gomantak which is one of the best places to have non vegetarian food/seafood.
We decided to end our travel by paying a visit to the Bandra Worli Sea Link .The iconic sea bridge was one of the best architectural gifts that the city got in this decade.This was only bettered by the Mumbai Metro.
The inauguration of yet another architectural marvel the Signature bridge in Delhi reminded us that Mumbai has got its own iconic bridge.
We ended our day after this by taking the local train back .On the return journey in Second class WR , I realised that Mumbai , like the rest of India is fast turning into a dual identity geographical region.Where you have the poor and the rich living together in harmony . The slums contrast with the high rises in Lower Parel .The second class local journey contrasts with the AC local journey . The normal line at SiddhiVinayak contrasts with the Quick Darshan line which comes at a premium of 50 Rs.
The broad classification is of the rich & the poor but actually if we get some social science teams to research then they can easily detect around 5 to 6 distinct classes of people living in Mumbai with some people hopping among the lifestyle choices of each class throughout their day ,,.
Please share your thoughts on this. Only that much for today...
