I wrote at length about the Mumbai Local in my previous post. Being a Delhite, I thought I must also write a parallel piece about the Delhi Metro.
The seemingly swanky metro stations and the swanky trains have surprised Indians and foreigners alike. Much like Mumbai, Delhi metro is fast becoming the lifeline of this metropolis bustling with activity.
I still have clear memories of my conversation over lunch with a Senior Engineer at the Yamaha HQ, Japan .We had been discussing about the Asian countries and the discussion somehow got to trains. The widely traveled Japanese Engineer was all praise for trains in Shanghai and even Hanoi. My worst nightmare came true as he got talking about his experiences in Indian trains. Talking about dismal state of Indian trains, while in company of fellow students from China, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, was very discomforting.
Gulping down tasty “Indian food”, for the first time in 5 days, served by otherwise very courteous Japanese, I stopped just short of rebuffing the engineer’s comments on Indian trains. (I simply love the way Akshay Kumar talked about India in the movie Namaste London).I politely requested him to board the Delhi metro on his next visit to New Delhi. The Delhi metro is any day better than the Japanese local trains (Not the bullet of course).
Now people might say the Metro is more imported than desi.I disagree. The technology might have been imported from Japan but the Indian Sweat, toil and blood make it more Indian than Japanese. Taking into account Delhi’s unique pre metro state of affairs, its one of the finest Indian engineering marvels. Thanks to E.Sreedharan and his team.
The Delhi metro, as in the case of Mumbai local, is a world on the move. I have attempted to broadly classify the Delhi metro travelers.
The College going student
Delhi metro is one of the best things that could have happened to the university going crowd (All fellow students would agree, I am sure). Beaming students can be seen chirping and gossiping all along. The college going crowd lends Delhi metro its vibrant look. Thanks to college crowd, the Delhi metro is also the best place to check out the latest fashion trends.
The Babe
The babe tries and looks busy, hooked to either the cell phone or the latest best seller in town. The snobbish looking female invariably finds herself to be the centre of all the attention.
The executive
Donning a smart business suit, the executive can be seen fiddling with his laptop or his PDA. Thanks to hectic Delhi life, the poor soul has no respite in the metro too. Who says Delhites hardly work…Delhites work hard.
The cobbler
Delhi metro has come to the rescue of these daily wagers too. However I have made some disturbing observations. The cobbler would rather squat on the metro floor rather than occupy a vacant seat. There is a glass ceiling somewhere. We guys don’t quite like to share a seat with the daily wager. The Delhi metro isn’t quite The Great Leveler, the way Mumbai local is.
The Birdwatcher and the Over Zealous photographer
This is by far the most abundant specie on board the Delhi Metro. The birdwatchers often go a step further and try and click pictures. Delhi crowd must learn to be a little more decent.
The Nasal Music fans
Wearing garish printed shirts and sporting excessive accessories, these guys can be seen listening to loud nasal baritones (U know what I mean) on their cell phones. Often enough the music becomes excruciatingly difficult to bear. The music director in question would love to travel in one such train. These guys set new fashion statements too …lol…
Just to put it on record, as the recorded female voice says “Listening to loud music in the Delhi metro is a punishable offence”.
Each metro ride is a great experience in itself…A lot can happen over a metro ride: wink. You might just meet “your someone special” while traveling by the metro.
"We guys don’t quite like to share a seat with the daily wager. The Delhi metro isn’t quite The Great Leveler, the way Mumbai local is."
ReplyDeleteI do not agree... I agree to the fact that there are people sitting on the floor when the seats are vacant but it is not because of the differences you mentioned. A very small section of people are there who fall in this category which u have described but it goes also for mumbai crowd too..
Cheers
P.S. I think i was able to put my point :P.... hehe u got this aseem... wat i mean... :) and am i missing something here... kiski love story bani?
Aha!
ReplyDeleteNice one again. Could nt agree less on the Delhi Metro being a World Class Metro service.
I echo your sentiments when I compare the Delhi metro with the Boston and New York Train Services. But then both the American Shuttle services have existed for a long time now and demand a total overhaul. You can find big fans (that you see in Indian Shaadis) installed in most NY/Boston train stations. Its a welcome respite for your lungs when you walk out of the American train stations.
The american counterpart of your Delhi babe is however mostly not the center of attraction even though she may be wearing 50% of the clothes your average delhi babe will wear.
Interesting insights nonetheless!
Hemant
nice piece yet again...
ReplyDeleteand we need to complement delhi on the fact that coz of the huge success of the metro here, similar metros are now being built across the country, also in mumbai....
also i think the long and monotonous announcements in between the stations can be put away and replaced by saying just the station names... dat should suffice as well...
also one thing common everywhere is stricter implementation of rules, like the one about listening to loud music....
another thing i have noticed is that ppl in the metro are not willing at all to vacate seats for the ladies and the old, i'm not pointing fingers but its a general observation... it only shows the lack of courteousness thats crept into our society thanks to westernisation... now dont get me wrong, westernisation has had a lot of good effects but also some dat we are better off without...
so, i wud like to appeal to anyone and everyone to plz follow the rules, not only in the metro, but also in general life...
and sorry aseem, but dis one became more of my blog than a comment on urs but i had to take everything out....
cheers mate
i totally agree wid dheeraj.
ReplyDelete"and we need to complement delhi on the fact that coz of the huge success of the metro here, similar metros are now being built across the country, also in mumbai...."
dude not only in india, but DMRC is also bidding and getting the contracts from outside india :).
A fact: Only 2 metro networks in the world are running in profit....Korea and Delhi.
Though Delhi being the more recent one and still in the development stage so the cost of maintenance etc are not high.
Regards
Varun
aseem..a great writer that you are..i would like to express the happiness that filled my heart upon reading this particular blog post..very true and very aptly put.. :) ..i loved this one !!!
ReplyDeletethank you mansi for showering all the praise :) .
ReplyDelete