Mumbai ki baarish ho ya garmi ka tapta hua din — Dadar station ke peeche ek aisi duniya hai jahan zindagi thami nahi rehti, bas chalti rehti hai. Har shaam jab local trains logon ko apne ghar bhejne lagti hain, kuch aur log station ke uss andhere kone mein zindagi se apni jang ladte hain.
Ek patli gali mein, jahan ek taraf paan ki dukan hai aur doosri taraf ek purani deewar, wahaan paanch ladkiyaan roz milti hain. Na woh college jaati hain, na kisi office mein kaam karti hain — par unka struggle kisi bhi professional se kam nahi.
Shabana, jo hamesha saree pehenti hai, sabki leader hai. Uska chehra sakht hai, lekin dil naram. Dus saal se woh is duniya mein hai. Usne hi sabko sambhala hai, guide kiya hai.
"Aaj ka kya scene hai, Pinky?" Shabana ne poocha, cigarette sulgate hue.
Pinky, green blouse aur purple saree mein, ek nayi ladki thi. Social media se inspired, usne ye line chuni thi. Par real zindagi Instagram filters se alag hoti hai.
“Kuch khaas nahi... ek client bola tha aayega, par woh bhi bhaag gaya,” Pinky ne zubaan bite kar jawab diya.
Ek kone mein khadi Meena, jeans aur red t-shirt mein, kaafi alag thi. Woh dusron se zyada quiet thi. Uski aankhon mein dard tha, par lips pe ek ajeeb si muskaan. She wore a mask — not just on her face, but also on her truth.
"Tujhe toh acting aati hai. Chal, ek reel bana le. Viral karte hain tujhe,” Sapna boli, jo hamesha ek fancy suit mein rehti thi. Usne recently ek ladki ko convince kiya tha ki influencer banke paisa kama sakti hai — lekin asli paisa kahaan se aata hai, yeh woh ladki ab samajh chuki thi.
Ye ladkiyaan alag thi, lekin ek cheez common thi — survival.
Dadar ke is kone mein, har ek raat ek kahaani likhti hai. Kahaani, jo kisi scriptwriter ne nahi likhi, par zindagi ne likhi hai.
Shabana ki kahaani sabse pehle shuru hoti hai.
“Main Lucknow se aayi thi, jab sirf 18 ki thi. Ghar mein paisa nahi tha. Maa beemar thi. Ek dost ne Mumbai ka sapna dikhaya. Par yahan aake samjha, sapna nahi, ye sheher toh jaal hai.”
Woh chup ho jaati hai, par uski aankhon mein woh purani yaadein phir se zinda ho jaati hain.
Meena, jise sab silent bomb kehte hain, ek din finally bolti hai.
“Mujhe acting ka shauk tha. Bhojpuri films mein background dancer thi. Phir ek director ne bola — hero ke saath kaam milega. Par condition thi, ek raat uske saath. Main bhaag gayi. Train mein yeh Shabana mili. Tab se yeh meri duniya hai.”
Pinky, jo sabse nayi thi, ab tak observe kar rahi thi.
“Mujhe laga tha easy hoga. Reel banani, logon se milna, paisa kamaana. Par jab pehli baar ek drunk aadmi ne haath lagaya... samajh aaya, ye duniya Instagram wali nahi hai.”
Un ladkiyon ke beech ek bonding thi. Na woh college friends the, na blood relatives. Par jo raat ki andheron mein ek doosre ko sambhalte hain, woh rishta kisi bhi rishte se gehra hota hai.
Ek raat, ek policewala aaya.
“Kya ho raha hai yahan?” usne thoda rude hoke poocha.
Shabana ne calmly kaha, “Sir, kuch nahi... thoda gupshup. Crime toh nahi kar rahe.”
Woh policewala kuch der tak unhe dekhta raha. Shayad samajhne ki koshish kar raha tha — ya shayad judge kar raha tha. Fir chala gaya, bina kuch bole.
“Pehle toh daant padti thi. Ab toh bas aankhon se hi sab keh dete hain,” Sapna boli.
Waqt aise hi chalta raha. Kuch ladkiyaan chali jaati hain, kuch nayi aati hain. Par woh kona — Dadar station ke peeche — wahi rehta hai.
Ek din Pinky ne ek chhoti si notebook nikali. Usme likhna shuru kiya:
"Mujhe lagta tha main sirf ek item hoon iss duniya ke liye. Par yahan aake samjha — har item ke peeche ek insaan hota hai. Ek kahaani hoti hai. Aur main chahti hoon ki meri kahaani kisi din kisi ko inspire kare."
Shayad Pinky ek din likhne lage, Shayad woh acting mein break le — ya shayad woh bas kisi ki yaadon mein reh jaaye. Lekin uski kahaani — aur us jagah ki kahaani — ek time capsule ban chuki thi.
“Ek raat Dadar Station ke peeche” — yeh sirf ek jagah nahi, ek duniya hai. Jahan har muskaan ke peeche dard hai, aur har aankh ke peeche sapna.
---
Hashtags:
#DadarKiKahaani #MumbaiNights #StreetLifeIndia #RealMumbai #WomenOfTheStreets #IndianSurvivors #HiddenStories #UrbanTales #LifeBehindTheStation #StreetsofHer
Comments
Post a Comment