Journeys

In the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay), the long trips commuting from home to work and back again is gradually taking on unbearable proportions. The trains are so overcrowded that people can only board, using their elbows. At first, the scenes of people frenetically trying to secure a seat are almost funny: it seems like a game of musical chairs. At the same time, it's clear that the lack of capacity is leading to perilous situations. People ride with their bodies sticking outside the train, they sit on the roof and hang off the sides. They often jump on while it is still moving. The rush and stress causes people to be very careless and agressive. A newspaper headline '14 dead in 24 hours' speaks volumes. From a distance, the throng of people is the streets is a column of ants. A general view shows how choked up the arterial roadways really are. There is contrast between the slum-swellers scratching out a living in the small spaces between the roads and the tracks and a glittering Bombay city soaring above them. Roads are lined with billboards advertising luxury items. Thus, the film raises questions about progress and urbanisation and the price that is paid.