This one describes the average journey on the Delhi Metro.
Please don’t mind if you are unable to relate to it. An average Indian, however, would probably relate to the unruly crowd, and the hassle of availing public transport.
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So you climb up the never-ending staircase, because the escalator doesn’t work, checking your wallet for your metro-card, because otherwise you’ll have to spend around Five days in the line to buy a token.
You impatiently queue (I like how the word has a repitition of ‘ue’, I wonder whether there are more words like this) to cross the metal detector (which I don’t see as having any useful purpose), to get groped by the moustached policeman with his belly sticking out.
He pats you down, then wave his hand to tell you that you don’t seem to have a bomb, while you wait for your bag to come out of the check.
And then comes the ‘whooshing’ noise of the arriving Metro as you begin to climb up the stairs.
Suddenly (I read somewhere that writers aren’t supposed to use this word but I want to emphasise on the suddenness), a throng of around 30 people, materialising out of nowhere sprint up to the platform, giving Mr. Bolt a run for his money (never mind the pun) only to discover that the arrival is of the train on the opposite platform, and they have burnt an extra calorie (or two) for nothing.
The sign saying three minutes to the next train seems to be rigged. Surely, 180 seconds isn’t that long? The fellow to-be-boarders swell in numbers, more and more zombies walk around with earphones staring blankly into their mobile devices.
The metro arrives and everyone (earphones or not) suddenly rushes across the safe line to meet it, perhaps they can stop it early by being an inch or so away from it.
And the doors open. And of course, you get swept in with the crowd, when people insist on entering the overstuffed coach before letting those who want to exit exit. Before you know it, you are inside, the platform’s empty, the open doors are your only source of oxygen because the air from the vents gets respired by the billion people stuffed inside the coach in around half a second and all you can smell is sweat.
Then there’s this moustached man running up the stairs to enter before the doors close but the driver always shuts the gates off a second before he enters. (I wonder if he plays the game as a source of entertainment).
Then you search the metro for empty seats, perhaps some haven’t been reserved for old people/disabled/women/SC/ST/OBC/Some-new-category-they-invented, only for nought.
Accepting your fate of standing for the remaining journey, you thank the gods that you don’t have to pass through Rajiv Chowk (or curse them if you have to).
Someone asks you where you are going. They tap and whisper “Patel Nagar?” You shake your head, letting them aside and watch them do the same with the next person as they arrive at the door long before they open.
The train stops and someone else behind you realises that they have to get off at Patel Nagar too, and they barge you aside and rush to the door, playing a light game of ‘lets push the otherside back’ with the boarders.
Finally, your station arrives and you hear a cool female voice saying, “The Next station is. Karol. Bagh. The doors. will open. on the. left. Please. mind. the gap.”
And you step away from hell, give your condolensces to those getting off at Rajiv Chowk, haggle with the rickshawallahs and cringe at the five missed calls from Ma which you never realised came.
EDIT:
1. The title has been borrowed from the eponymous Bollywood film.
2. Rajiv Chowk – The central station- all different routes meet here, hence it’s always overcrowded.
3. Karol Bagh/Patel Nagar- Arbitrary Stations.
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That level of humanity is not for me. I can deal with mega-cities in small doses only. My sympathies for dealing with that mad dash daily.
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Not so much of a mega city as much as it’s mega population-density. Thank You, but it’s about thrice a week for me, always with regret.
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At least it’s not daily. I’d just have a difficult time dealing with the hoardes, literally everywhere you go, daily. In a city like New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc. I’d go nuts!
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Oh, yes, it’s quite claustrophobic- the lack of personal space in a crowd but you learn to adjust after years of living.
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Thank you for the description of your journey. Perhaps the mention of the smells of close proximity to a lot of humanity would also help the ambience. Suddenly, I like. G:)
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Thank You! It would, perhaps, but I’d rather keep those at a bare minimum. 🙂
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Understood – very wise. G:)
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Suddenly, I realised how disconcerting it must be that you have to go through security to go through a metro queue. Great post as always, Udit. Please keep cultural lessons in your queue of scheduled posts. I’m learning a lot.
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Firstly ‘Queue of Scheduled posts’ seems quite hard to ignore as a) The post was scheduled and b) Queue. (Was this deliberate?)
Thank You. I’ll make a note of this, if an Idea hits me suddenly.
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Well, I wanted to use the word you liked and I assume that you have lots of posts lined up and waiting to be released into the WordPress wild. x
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We all do, don’t we?
There are some, yes but I am not finding enough time to do more, hence I’m stretching them out.
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Great policy, Udit. Very smart. Have a great Sunday afternoon and be well until we meet again. x
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I’m okay with suddenly. Especially when you’ve done your hundredth train journey like this and suddenly you don’t notice the madness anymore.
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Hahahaha, No you don’t. I personally have learnt to also use earphones and walk around at your own pace (unlike those scampering about) in these situations, you can avoid becoming a sheep, then.
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I can relate to it totally :p rajiv chowk feels like as if everyone is on a mission …people keep walking in every possible direction :p
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Yes, it’s a pretty made place to be at- I swear it always has a long queue present, regardless of the time/ frequency of the train.
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Yeah true 🙂
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Haha perfectly articulated hassle with just the right amount of humor! Relived my last metro ride!
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Thank You, Gauri. I don’t think it revived to many happy memories, however.
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Haha, riding in the Delhi Metro is the antipode of happiness, or for that matter anything good.
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It’s convenient and cheap, and not much else.
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Good read. I learnt something new.
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Thank You. 🙂
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Reading your post makes me grateful that I don’t have to deal with what you wrote about whenever I take the train here, especially since I take the train everyday when I go to school.
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The post was a bit of a hyperbole, the problem here is that I use the central route more, which is the most crowded.
You seem to have the better end for the deal though.
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Yes i could relate to every word. All i had to do was, mentally ‘find all Delhi Metro’ & ‘Replace with Mumbai Local’ 😀
Note: My single experience with the Mumbai metro was comparable to London & NY.
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Transport in Mumbai and Delhi aren’t that different it seems (unfortunately).
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Life in a Metro is the same no matter where you go. All busy & always in a hurry.
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Haha, Yeah, that’s quite true.
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Hahaha hey Delhi metro has a few good points too :p
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Yes it does, it’s quite cheap, convenient and punctual. And the stations are clean, quite rare here, I’d say..
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dequeue and enqueue (couldn’t resist sorry)
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Lol, Thanks for this 🙂
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This reminded me of my days in Delhi – aah! I don’t like crowded places much, especially public transport. My first time using public transport here, I freaked out because some weirdo was staring at me. *awkwardly laughs* The friends who were with me told me that I’m so not cut out for this, and that I should just get people to drive me to places. 😐
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I only use the metro. The buses are..better left alone. And yes, crowds. Better left alone too.
Oh, I see. Well, atleast you have an excuse for going anywhere you want to in a car, it seems quite classy. (Stare back. Like, two inches away from their eyes. It works. I think. )
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Very creatively written!
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Thank You!
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hahah typical India, well written!! (although the women’s side is so much better you have no idea, it’s nothing like this)
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Thank You, Tara. (Remembered the spelling this time; I do know it’s way better- less crowd, more room, and no moustached people).
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Sounds a lot like Manila in the Philippines!
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Best of luck for your next journey.
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This blog reminds me of my days in Delhi, when metro service had just started! Thank you for the nostalgia!
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If it reminded you, those memories couldn’t have been too pleasant. Glad you enjoyed it, welcome!
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Great piece, and puts together perfectly the whole “metro experience” which makes you wonder, why everyone is in such a rush, seeing people go mad just to leave the train first. It has it’s advantages however, the way it has connected NCR is beautiful, and of course for the kind of observer you seem to be, each ride must be a treat for your mind!
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It’s the only reliable, clean and cheap public transport available. It’s kind of brilliant in every way, apart from being overcrowded.
I’d rather not observe these things though! Not exactly pleasant, are they?
Thank You.
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Pleasant or not, they are interesting as hell!
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That’s quite true! There are a few memorable incidents splattered here and there in my book of metro rides.
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Would love to read such a book, then!
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Haha, alright, I’ll definitely inform you if I publish anything! 🙂
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I live in New York, so I know the horrors of the rush hour and crowds. At least the trains look much cleaner. Nice post.
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Oh, yes, except that every hour here is your rush hour and our rush hour means you have to wait for the next train in order to find space to get in.
The stations/trains here lack bins/sweepers, yet they are always spotless. It’s kind of a change from the streets. It’s the mentality that makes it so.
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Agreed. Wow that is pretty bad.
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Oh, boy! One can imagine! 😛 I experienced the Delhi metro once during a visit. It was quite an experience. My cousin and I exchanged laughs as we got pushed along with the crowd. You find the entire situation funny when it’s so unlike the subways you are used to traveling in. But, hey, that’s life. And it’s always fun to experience new things!
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Haha, I see, an opposing view to mine.
Travelling with company is always more pleasant, I’d say.
Thanks for dropping by!
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Not completely, but yeah, with the right company, you find things more amusing. 🙂
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Oh yes!
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Although I live in Kolkata but I definitely know the crowds of the metro. Its so suffocating. But I had the honor of riding the Delhi metro during one of my visits. I am happy that I’m alive:D great post.!:)
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Brave of you to take on such odds! Thank You.
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The Metro’s opening up in my city as well, in a few moths and I don’t know whether to anticipate or dread it, after reading this, honestly.
But gosh, I love the Indian-ness that this posts reeks of. I’ve been on a Delhi metro only once or twice (on those obligatory tour-of-the-capital trips) but thw way you write it, I can just about relate to everything, down to that potbellied, bored security guard.
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Thank You!
You can do both, actually.
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