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Delhi Metro- the ride of your life


Delhi- the city that oozes life and bustles with energy. There is something really charming about the city which I find hard to figure out even after having lived here for 3-odd years. A certain raw something juxtaposed to something highly refined. However what I definitely am sure about is that a lot of this enigmatic energy comes from the Delhi Metro-practically my second home. I admit I spent more quality time, doing something constructive, in the metros than anywhere else-not even my classroom.

That thing which I enjoy doing most - Observation- came handy here. A friend of mine once confessed that she loves watching ‘Big Boss’ for the sole reason that she found there the most diverse traits of human character blending into each other(err...mostly clashing with each other). I suggest hop on to the metro and you’re sure to have a ride of your life. I bet there can’t be a more colourful and a more adventurous place.

Aunties decked with jewellery giving Bappi Lehri a run for his money. Girls with their eyes smudged with kohl, flaunting the so-called out-of-the-bed messy look. Guys with their uber cool goggles which is bound to put the Ravi kishens and the Manoj Kumars to shame(uff! These guys never get enough of themselves. In one of my friend’s words, “ankhen chaundhiya jayengi apki!” looking at these guys). Uncles, literally shrieking on their cell phones, with not a care for the world, comfortably munching on their pans, donning a flaunt-worthy paunch, doing their entire life’s hisab-kitab over phone. And if that was not enough, here come the ladies with their characteristic saas-bahu ki nok jhok (man! Ekta kapoor owes a lot to these women) yelling their lungs out over matters ranging from ‘ye seat hamari hai!!’ to ‘Bhai Saab! Ye ladies coach hai! Andhe hain ap?’ the latter being said most of the time to the poor innocent first-time male travellers. I especially sympathise with this particular group, who become unsolicited targets of such a female chauvinistic behaviour (Pardon me ladies for the term). A friend of mine once hoped on to the general compartment. Fighting his way through this giant wave of human bodies (often smelly to the extent of nauseating), he went and occupied the corner-most seat almost feeling triumphant. But wait. Not until a pretty frail fragile creature appears out of nowhere and situating herself just beside my friend, starts eyeing him accusingly, almost piercing him with her glares. My friend feels at loss and well, another battle is won, but this time the girl’s. He quietly gets up and gives away the seat to her. Poor guy.

However, as promised earlier, I shall not get into the politics of all this. It’s for you to decipher. My job is observing and I shall stick to that.


Last but not the least. The metro ride is incomplete without having a look at the bubble-gum pink flowery stickers on the platform, to mark the location of the woman compartments while the train arrives at the station. They are the highlight of every metro station of Delhi. Trust me. You look at those stickers and you wonder “What on earth were the DMRC officials thinking?!” I mean, that pink colour, if anything, is an assault to your visual sense. 

Not to put too fine a point. The metros are a roller-coaster ride. By that, I mean the experience it promises, not the speed. The more-than-frequent technical glitches literally suck life out of you, more so if you are heading home after a long exhaustive day at college. However it can as well turn into a beautiful, even enriching, experience. The art of observation, is all you need. So the next time you take a metro ride, do look out for these markers.  A little checking out doesn’t hurt, does it.


Photo courtesy: http://underanindiansky.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/img_0064.jpg

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