Lost in Transport

Mumbai’s grand transport infrastructure is undermined by potholes, Poor discipline and a last-mile gaps that keeps it crawling Mumbai: It is morning time, and Pawan Khandelwal is all set to leave for work. A creative lead at an ad agency in Malad, Mumbai, Khandelwal should take 12 to 15 minutes to reach the office, but that rarely happens because of the traffic, poor road quality and lack of civic sense among co-drivers on the road. He mostly ends up reaching the office in 30 to 40 minutes....

min read

Mumbai’s grand transport infrastructure is undermined by potholes, Poor discipline and a last-mile gaps that keeps it crawling Mumbai: It is morning time, and Pawan Khandelwal is all set to leave for work. A creative lead at an ad agency in Malad, Mumbai, Khandelwal should take 12 to 15 minutes to reach the office, but that rarely happens because of the traffic, poor road quality and lack of civic sense among co-drivers on the road. He mostly ends up reaching the office in 30 to 40 minutes. Khandelwal firmly believes that road construction is not a major issue for traffic. “The road under construction is not a big issue because they usually don’t take very long to repair the roads. But even after their work is done, it is not done perfectly. At times when they are digging up the road for other purposes, they often leave a bump or a pothole,” he said. He gives an example, “One can see it on the western express highway. There are so many bumps. We call it a highway, but we can’t even drive at 15 km/h because it is not fixed properly.” He also blames people for not following traffic rules, which adds to the problem. Traffic Woes Although there are coastal roads and metros available, the traffic still seems to be a problem for many residents. A media professional and a daily commuter, Charlene Flanagan has been travelling in Mumbai for many years now. There is not much difference in her experience of the traffic congestion. From her experience, she believes the coastal roads and metros have not completely accomplished the mission of curbing traffic congestion. She says, “As a resident of Mumbai and as a person with a valid driver’s licence, I would say the traf f ic hasn’t really changed. It is still as congested, and whether the coastal roads have helped depends on the time of the day you leave and whether you are going against the traffic or along with the traffic.” The pedestrians also face problems. Saloni Mehta, a theatre artiste, says, “I prefer walking to my destinations. For example, I live in Versova, and if I want to see a play in the Prithvi Theatre, I will take a half-hour walk. However, this one time, I could not reach the venue, not just because of the traffic but also because there were no pavements left to walk on. The roads are dug up, and every road is just half a road.” Mumbai’s average speed covered is 5.2 km per 15 minutes. During the peak traffic hours in the morning, when most people travel to their workplace, the average speed is 18.5 km/h. It is important to understand the issue and address it with a solution. Sudhir Badami, an author of the book ‘Matter of Equitability - Making Commuting in Mumbai Enviable’, explains why people still prefer to use cars over metros, “The metro line 3 has definitely taken away some car users. But it has not taken away sufficient numbers of car users to make a difference in the state of road congestion. The reason behind this is essentially the last-mile connectivity in areas where the Aqua Line or Line 7 operates, especially in suburban areas. In the city area, it is supported by good BEST services on the one hand, and taxis being available near the metro stations on the other hand. But most car users still opt for using their cars, as public transport currently does provide assured exclusivity, comfort and good frequency, not forgetting last mile connectivity. The Coastal Road sees very few cars compared to the number of cars on Mumbai’s Roads. Badami, as a transportation analyst, says, “Mumbai has approximately 16 Lakhs motor cars, out of which only about 55,000 seem to be using coastal roads. It is such a minuscule proportion for whom so much has been spent. This is largely because in the city, people don’t go from one end of the city to the other end. They normally start from in between and go somewhere in between. If there is not much time saving for the shorter stretches, then people are not likely to take it, and there will be continued congestion on city roads.” “In general, the necessity of the last-mile connectivity is an important part, but the greater part will be how to get car users onto the public transport,” says Badami. Public transport must provide near exclusivity, comfort and safety to a car-using commuter for migration to take place. This is where the importance of last-mile connectivity is felt. Air Pollution The slow-moving traffic also adds to the air pollution in the city several times more than when they are moving at optimum speeds, he says. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Mumbai, Anil Kumbhare, denies that there is much traffic congestion in Mumbai as compared to five years back. He credits the coastal roads for curbing the traffic. He says, “Earlier, there used to be bumper-to bumper traffic near Haji Ali. That has come down drastically. As coastal roads shape, the traffic will go down.” He also adds that there is traffic congestion in the morning hours as people are travelling for work. But there is no traffic jam. Although coastal roads have helped, there are still pockets of the city that face traffic congestion every day. This can be solved with careful planning and execution.

The Big Show’s Final Curtain Call

Waleed Hussain
Jun 22, 2025
3 min read

Once upon a time, Glenn Maxwell was cricket’s equivalent of a rockstar who could play a sold-out stadium gig on a broken guitar with one hand tied behind his back. The man who, on one leg, dragged Australia to World Cup glory in 2023 with a knock so absurd it felt like he was trolling physics itself—201 not out against Afghanistan, a score that still sounds like it belongs in a sci-fi novel. That was Maxi at his peak: a swaggering, switch-hitting, boundary-bludgeoning genius who made bowlers question their career choices.

Fast forward to 2025, and the same man can’t buy a run in minor league cricket, where the only thing he’s smashing is his own reputation. It’s time for Glenn Maxwell to retire from all forms of cricket, not because we want him to, but because watching him limp through this twilight is like watching a once-great comedian bomb on open-mic night. Painful. Cringe-inducing. Almost cruel.

Let’s be honest: Maxwell’s current form is less “Big Show” and more “No Show.” In the past year, his scoresheets read like a binary code for failure—0, 4, 2, 7, 1. He’s been dismissed in ways that would make a tailender blush: bowled through the gate, caught in the slips, lbw to a ball he could’ve hit blindfolded in his prime. Minor league bowlers, who probably moonlight as Uber drivers, are now outsmarting him. These are guys who wouldn’t have dared look him in the eye during his IPL heyday, yet here they are, sending him back to the pavilion with the smugness of a cat that just knocked over a vase. It’s not just sad; it’s darkly hilarious, like watching a lion get outrun by a chihuahua.

Maxwell’s decline isn’t just a dip in form—it’s a full-blown nosedive into the abyss. The man who once reverse-swept spinners into oblivion now looks like he’s auditioning for a role as “confused batsman #3” in a low-budget cricket movie. His footwork is so sluggish it could be mistaken for interpretive dance. His bat swing, once a thing of violent beauty, now resembles a tired lumberjack chopping at a sequoia. And don’t get me started on his fielding. The guy who used to pluck catches out of thin air like a magician pulling rabbits from hats now moves like he’s wading through molasses. Every misfield is a tiny dagger to the heart of fans who still cling to the memory of that 2014 IPL season when he was a one-man wrecking crew.

The irony is deliciously bitter. Maxwell, the ultimate freelancer, the T20 globetrotter who turned franchise cricket into his personal ATM, is now being chewed up and spat out by the very system he mastered. Leagues like the Big Bash, ILT20, and whatever alphabet-soup tournament pops up next used to be his playground. Now, they’re his graveyard. Teams still sign him, of course, because nostalgia is a hell of a drug, and his name still sells jerseys. But the returns are diminishing faster than a crypto bro’s portfolio. He’s become cricket’s equivalent of a washed-up boy band, trotted out for reunion tours that nobody asked for, lip-syncing hits from a decade ago while the crowd politely claps.

And yet, there’s a part of me—a masochistic, morbidly curious part—that wants to keep watching this trainwreck. There’s something darkly comedic about seeing a man who once toyed with international attacks now flailing against part-time spinners in front of half-empty stands. It’s like a Greek tragedy scripted by a stand-up comic. Hubris, thy name is Maxwell.

The gods of cricket gave him everything—talent, flair, a World Cup-defining moment—and now they’re collecting their dues with interest. Every duck, every dropped catch, every awkward press conference where he mumbles about “backing himself” is another twist of the knife.

But enough is enough. For his sake, for our sake, Maxwell needs to call it quits. Retire, Glenn. In the end, Maxwell’s legacy is secure. He’s one of Australia’s great white-ball mavericks, a player who redefined what was possible in the shorter formats. But legacies aren’t built on stubbornness. They’re preserved by knowing when to walk away. So, Glenn, take a bow, tip your hat, and exit stage left before the boos get any louder. The Big Show deserves a standing ovation, not a pity clap. The curtain’s already falling.

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Mumbai.)

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