My Words My Way: October 2012

Day 1, Monday…

Delhi or New Delhi, better known as the capital of India, is a hub for the entertainment and full of life people. And, the city is famous for its ‘Never say Never’ attitude. With each and every corner decorated with simplicity and elegance, this metro city is definitely not like the rest.

Have its share of originality with people hailing from various backgrounds contributing towards its rich culture. And Delhi, with various other World heritages, now has the Metro service as its lifeline connecting one part of the city to the other. A lot of people across the city commute by the Metro Coaches on a daily basis among which I was also a face as a frequent Metro traveler.

I, as an individual who have been born and brought up in Delhi used to feel proud on my city for several other reasons and when Metro Rail concept was introduced way back in 2003, this reason also got accumulated in that list. A Delhi Government initiative and the project led by Mr. E Sreedharan made the ‘Delhi Journey’ easier and worth commuting for many of the commuters like me who used to sweat out in our daily journeys in the local buses. It was then thought, that we have put forth our footsteps in the positive dimension for the beginning of the 21^st century era and perhaps we are the foresighted centurions but 10 years down the line now, people have different perceptions towards the soul of the city.

This time I got a chance to observe the changing perception of people. The location for which I got posted this time was far away from my home and after seeing the chaos on Delhi roads, it was a wise decision to commute through the Metro Rail. So, I began this journey from the very first day of the week.

It was Monday, and Delhiites were on the roads in the full strength making opening day of the week the busiest. Like many, I also took the path of the Metro Rail in order to avoid the peak hour rush on roads. It normally used to take around 20 minutes to reach Metro Station from my home but it took more than 45 minutes to reach there and all my excitement to reach the office at time via metro rail collapsed after I saw a long queue standing at the entry point of the station.

It all started when I reached, and reached to see the glimpse of the crowd...

Assuming it to be my fate, I also joined the long standing row of people. After joining in the league, I heard someone saying that he was standing for almost 25 minutes in the queue and still he’s on the same position as when he just joined it. After listening to all these things and standing for almost 15 minutes now on the same position, I thought of intimating about the same in the office.

Somehow, the crowd started moving forward. All of a sudden, as people began to move, many more people entered the metro station and rather joining in, they preferred moving ahead in spite of coming along in the queue. One-Two-Three and so many of them went ahead, but many of us kept standing being the rules obeying gentry waiting for our turn. Seeing all this happen, someone in the queue leaves it and moves with the people who weren't following it. Soon, another did the same. And, as it is rightly said that, ‘The survivor is the one who evolve with the times.’ I also preferred to move along with the other people. It was surprising to see that people who weren't following the queue were just requesting some of the passengers standing in front of the queue to allow the passage to go through and they were able to do that. People standing in the queue kept moving slowly but the ones who played smart were the ones who were able to pass through easily.

This was when I realized that despite of the rules maintained by the authorities, people were able to clear off the basic hurdles easily and this was when I learned that one also has to be smart to be able to reach the metro train timely. Also a sense of realization came by witnessing these things by self and now I could relate to the changing perceptions of people.

Finally, I boarded a Metro coach and was feeling a bit relieved. The rush inside the Metro was even worse than the rush outside it. But, it now have became the habit of commuters and moreover the increasing cost of travel these days via different modes of transportation made it more lucrative for them to commute through Metro Rail. Different faces from across the corner were there but no one was willing to move an inch owing to the fact that the coach was completely packed with more and more people coming in. Unfortunately, I was also standing with only one foot on the floor of the train.

Metro Rail reached next station. We were now moving towards our respective destinations at least, that was something which kept me composed. My expectations again went through an eclipse and Metro Rail became faulty at this station. Passengers were asked to wait for half an hour on the platform. Now, the reasons which many used to give were clearly visible for the changing opinions, and now I was also getting irritated by it. Another Metro Coach came in and every one of us boarded that. It started moving, and after sometime when it was all about to end, an announcement was made by the Metro officials which was sufficient to make passengers furious. Announcement made was, ‘Due to some unknown reasons, the service has to be barred for an hour for which the inconvenience is regretted.’ It was enough to make anyone furious and why wouldn't anyone be?

It was now very evident, the reason of the changing perceptions of people. I again intimated about the same in the office. It was so embarrassing to intimate about these things again and again when I should have reached the office timely. It took almost 45 minutes for the Metro Rail Corp. to render its services again. The Metro Rail began to move and the next station which it stopped on, I disembarked in a fear after seeing the bad service this day with a promise to never return and to never take these services again. Came out of Metro station, boarded an auto and reached the office. It took 500/- INR for me to get a drop at my office. It was costly and not even wiser, so the promise of never returning back didn't last longer and in the evening, I had to board the same Metro Rail back again.

It wasn't that irritating this time as it was in the morning especially when I was getting late to reach my office and thankfully I reached my destination properly without any hassle. The reason to be even more joyous this time was that I also got a seat and I didn't have to stand during whole of my journey. Journey of the ‘Evening Metro’ rejuvenated me and exhausted the troubles of the ‘Morning Metro’. And now the wait was for the next day and the speculations for the scenario waiting on Day 2, Tuesday.