Inside Mumbra

For a rootless township 8212; settlement picked up here when Dongri and Bhendi Bazaar in South Mumbai were burning in the post-Babri riots of 1992-1993 8212; Mumbra has picked up an identity as a criminal and terrorist hub quickly.

Locals blame that on the excellent connectivity Mumbra enjoys. From anywhere in Mumbra, the railway station is no more than a 10-minute auto ride away. Thane 8212; the last cosmopolitan suburb on the Central Railway line 8212; is two stops away.

But what gives the Mumbra stowaway an edge is the highway. The road exiting the railway station hits the highway in 15 minutes. Panvel or the industrial towns of Taloja and Turbhe are just another 30 minutes away.

On the highway and in the dozens of local trains passing through everyday, Mumbra8217;s working class travels to small-scale industries in Turbhe, to Taloja8217;s factories or to offices in Mumbai. Others earn a living as shop-owners, electricians, brokers or small-time traders.

At sundown, they return to offer namaz, make STD calls to relatives working as labourers in the Gulf and to call it a day in seven or eight moth-eaten mattresses spread out a little too close for comfort.