Harmless action?, I beg to differ

I read a quote somewhere by William James, "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.", it is quite an inspiring quote. However, I am not sure how many of my co-passengers know about William James or heard this quote. Their action or in-action suggests many of them live surrounded in their own ignorant world. After travelling is metros almost every day for past six months, I have not been able to understand the reason behind some actions.

These actions are harmless but then they do make a difference. I fail to understand why one would;
Feign sleep to avoid offering his/her seat to more deserving co-passenger.
Not hold on to the rails while standing. How can tripping or falling over people considered cool?
Walk up and stand right in front of the queue when he/she should be the last one.
Push people to make way in to already crowded metro.
Trying to enter the carriage when doors are closing.
Peeping to see if metro is approaching. Will it make a difference except for the life altering accident?

Not all the actions are harmless. One may believe wearing sunglasses while travelling in metro is harmless.   I had have different experience. I was curious enough to ask a co-passenger with black sunglasses if he suffered from conjunctivitis. I had to be careful, it was rainy day with no sun. My co-passenger was not happy with my question, he stared at me in disbelief. His curt voice and stare will stay with me for a long time. It was not the only incident. Lately, the sightings have gone up to at least three people in day.Though I have learnt to suppress my smile and ignore the urge.

Some actions take considerable amount of planning before they are executed. Once I noticed a family of four in deep conversation, trying to convince the youngest on something. All the family members could be termed as medically obese. They seemed very tensed. When the station approached they were the first one to reach at the doors. My destination was the same station. I saw all four of them running towards the elevator. I knew what was coming next, they would use the elevator and leave the elderly passengers stranded. To my amusement I saw people in the lift asking one of them to step out. It seems the elevator was unable to take the weight of all four members with other passengers. The elevator doors were unable to close. I saw all four of them grumpily walking towards the escalators. I heard the father telling his younger one,"I told you to run (?) fast and be the first one to reach there. You need to loose some weight to be able to run faster. Your pace is slower than a snail."

Another harmless action which reminds me "If people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done", quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Not a perfect match

Its not difficult to overhear conversations, crowded carriages make it a part of your travel. Sometimes you are left with no option but to listen to what is being discussed. I don't mind being a silent participant in conversations. In fact, if luck favors, I get to choose from as much as five live conversations which can range from love chat to family dispute. Not everyone is loud on phone, but almost everyone is audible. Not everyone is shy of having a conversation in public, but almost everyone is self-conscious. Especially the young girls who are been coaxed by their parents to meet prospective grooms. This is one conversation which is repeated so very often. If  I were to average, it would be like one such conversation per week.

Most of the times the conversation would start pleasantly and then end abruptly. All the conversations would have five common conversation pieces.

"Now where did you find this guy?"
"I think its too early to get married"
"Let me get settled with my job"
"Why should I call (meet) him"
"Why are you in such a hurry to get me married?"

But this conversation was different. I was standing in front of this girl sitting on "Only for old and physically handicapped" seat. On another day I would have asked her to get up and make space for somebody who deserved to sit there. Not today, I was too tired from my day's travel and didn't want to argue with anyone. Also, there was no "deserving" passenger in sight. Must be her lucky day. I was trying to make sense out of the absurd advertisement on the platform, when I heard the usual, "Where did you get his information from?". I knew where the conversation was heading. To my surprise I was proved wrong.

She continued,"Isn't he the same guy Mamaji(uncle) was asking me to meet?"
"Well, I remember him."
"Isn't he also from Aligarh?"
"He has also studied from Aligarh University. I remember, our classmates would call him Gulli(?)"
"He was such a dud, I didn't even speak to him in college."
"We also worked together for sometime, ask Mamiji(aunt), I had told her about him."
"Yes, the same irritating fellow, who used to talk too much."
"He was trying to be too friendly with me. I ignored his advances."
"How come he was recommended for marriage?"
"Don't worry, I will talk to Mamaji(uncle) and get you out of this mess."
"I know his parents had approached dad last month, proposing marriage."
"Are you crazy, I would never get married to a weird person like him. I would also not allow you to get married to him."

The conversation ended there. I had to get down at the next station. I am not sure what happened to the girl. Yes, I do know for sure that the poor chap is not getting married anytime soon!!

Not really sleeping...

It's so easy to doze off while travelling. I am forever missing stops while travelling because of my habit of sleeping off. I have a gift of falling asleep anywhere, any time. When I travel in metro, I realize I am not the only one who has been blessed. There are dozens of other people who happily sleep in metro, dozing off, snoring away and falling over their co-passengers. Sometimes people even miss their intended stops all because of that extra two minute nap. One would think waking co-passengers and asking them about their destination would be a good idea. Compulsive good will messenger that I am, more than once I have been in "not-so-pleasant" situations for helping people.

Once I was travelling in the metro bound to Gurgaon, where my co-passenger was sleeping blissfully. I could hear her heavy breathing. Metro was at approaching its destination with next station as the IFFCO chowk. My experience tells me almost everyone gets down at this station, so I decide to check with my co-passenger for her destination. I tried waking her by saying, "Excuse me, do you want to get down at the next station?". Got no response from her. I nudged her gently this time to ensure she wakes up. I finally succeeded in getting a response when she said, "No I will get down at the last station". She continued, "I was not sleeping, was in deep meditation". I smiled in a failed attempt to conceal my surprise. But my smile probably prompted her to continue, "One should use whatever time they have for meditation. The art of meditating is in reaching the phase of oblivion even in most unlikely surroundings". I was sure she was sleeping, however decided to keep quite. She further added, "You are young, if you start meditating now you will be able to achieve this in few years". Well, if you ask me, I am too young for yogic meditation. My dad has tried to convince me for ages (for my bother won't even bother listening) and I have always refused. She went on to tell me what were the different ways to do meditation. The different stages of nirvana (yes, she said nirvana) of human soul which can be achieved through meditation. She  told me she taught yoga and meditation on weekends. She even offered a discount of one month fee if I agreed to join her classes "now". When the train reached the last station I thanked GOD. Before she was able to convert me into a devotee, I collected my belongings and rushed out of the carriage.

The other time I tried to help my sleeping co-passenger, it turned out to be my last such attempt. My co-passenger was sleeping blissfully with occasional snoring. The train was approaching Rajiv Chowk  which is the destination for most of the people. In my effort to be a helpful citizen, I called out, "Excuse me sir, do you want to get down at the next station". I had expected a blank look and probably a "thank you" in response. Instead he was taken by surprise in his sleep and woke up with jolt. His belongings fell on the floor. I had realized it was mistake to interfere in his sleep. He shot me a look of disgust before asking me, "Why did you do that. I was not sleeping. I know when I have to get down. I was carrying a laptop in this bag, what if it was damaged now?". I didn't know what to say. I managed to mumble a sorry and got up from my seat. I bumped into him again at Rajiv Chowk and was not pleased at the way he looked at me.

I have promised myself never to try and wake up up my co-passenger again. Though there are still very many people like me who can't stop themselves. Only yesterday, a girl was sleeping occasionally falling over her co-passenger (a testimony of deep sleep), when her co-passenger tapped her shoulder to inform her Rajiv Chowk was the next stop. She woke up with a blank look and whispered, "I was not sleeping. I know its Rajiv Chowk. Anyway thank you".

Well, if no one is really sleeping....why bother!!

The Underground

London underground is an experience in itself. The whole transport structure is woven beautifully, providing the most modern public transport system yet withholding the era of yesteryears. I was intrigued by the whole map system there. Trust me, it will take more than a while for someone to figure out the station and the line. The map seems to be a big mesh of colored lines intersecting each  other repeatedly at different points. The Delhi metro map looks like a piece of cake. Probably a tourist would find difficulty making sense out of "Badarpur" as a station.

I somehow managed to figure out where I was and which ride will be best suited. The underground stations give you a feel of being "underground". The platforms are crowded and dingy. The real shocker is to see the train, which by all standards is smaller than the Purple line of Delhi metro. There is space for not more than 30 people in the carriage. I felt claustrophobic by looking at the approaching train. More than once I asked myself if it was a wise decision to travel by the tube. The "tube" is an apt name, for you feel crowded and trapped. Not that Delhi metro gives you a space to breathe easy. Lately, it seems the number of commuters is directly proportional to rising temperatures with people preferring metro over other transport. Hike in petrol prices is another culprit.

The carriages are small and seating space is very limited, though the seats are very comfortable. Commuters are very patient in London, even though it was a Friday evening nobody seemed to be in a rush. Books and head-phones were with every commuter just like in Delhi metro. It was refreshing to see people carrying books, Kindle and iPad are yet to replace books here.

I enjoyed my brief stint with the tube, it lasted only for a day. However, it was very enjoyable and I loved watching people. Its amazing to know that they developed the system in 1863 and countries like India still have a long way to go!!

The subway

It's been a while since I last got a chance to write. I have been travelling all this while to two different countries. The concept of "tube" or "subway" has been there in these countries for as many as hundred years. Yet the Delhi's metro seems to be based on these age old systems.

I had to put in some effort learning the map reading and trying to figure out subway routes in Washington. It turns out people from all walks of life use the metro. The peak hours have maximum fares and the train frequency is also pretty good. However, off-peak times the frequency is bad and there are very few people on the trains. It is more scary than comfortable, to be the only person in the whole compartment. Well, I had another lady for company but for few stations I was all alone. I had already read a lot of articles about travelling alone in a subways. However, I was sure all the incidents mentioned late night as the time of incident. It was not all that convincing for me that day hours could be harmless. After a while, guard also announced on the PA system that he would encourage people sitting alone in carriages to move up to another carriages, which was not very helpful. My 8 station journey seemed to go on forever. I was torn between walking over to another carriage and wondering how long can it take to cover remaining 5 stations. As luck would have it,  the train stood still for few minutes while approaching one of the stations. This was the last straw, I got up and decided to walk look for a seat in a different carriage. Its not as easy as the Delhi metro, one the speed of the metro is comparatively fast and second the switch operated door between carriages are not very easy to operate. One of the door didn't open even after pushing the switch twice.

On my way back, the peak hour traffic was helpful. The seemingly universal logic that first and last carriages are generally see lesser footfall, holds true for the Washington subway too. The carriages near escalator had many people standing and travelling. Yes, I also witnessed an incident of interruption while doors were closing. There was a group of young girls and boys who boarded the train at the last moment. It seemed their friends were not able to keep up with them. So they conveniently put their handbooks to avoid closing of doors. Not that I saw it very many times, but it did make me feel good that this act can be termed as basic human instinct which can be found in people across the world. I don't support the idea but can't really blame our "junta" as the only ones in world trying disruptive stunts in metros.

The positives aspects of Delhi metro as very many in comparison. The escalator here are faster and you don't feel you are twenty-feet below the the earth surface. The fare remains constant through out the day with no peak hour fare-hikes. We can never face the issue of vacant carriages, there are days when you end-up with no seats even on 11:00pm trains. Which I suppose is very helpful!!

Public display of affection

Public display of affection (PDA) is very common in Delhi. What is uncommon is sighting a couple on busy Monday mornings stealing a kiss in some corner on Metro platform. Monday mornings are really busy. It seems everybody decides to leave early for work. I am not the happiest person on Monday mornings either. Every morning while walking on the platform my focus is entirely on information board as if that will help me make up those five minutes I lost in the morning. Every day I know that it will take me precisely three minutes to change platforms but I still strive to do it faster. Probably a minute or so will be helpful. This Monday was no different I was hurriedly walk through the crowd with my eyes fixed on the information board. I was on time for now and was hoping to hop on the approaching metro. When suddenly I bumped into a girl walking out from strange space under the stairs. It was not odd for me to get bumped, but yes the spot was very unlikely. The girl had caught me unaware. The good thing about metro chaos is that you can learn the art of maneuvering in maddening crowds. The girl's face looked flushed when she uttered a sorry. I moved ahead and noticed a lot people were looking at the girl. Driven by flock mentality I also decided to look at her. I noticed a boy of thin built standing very close to her. They were back to their original spot, underneath the stairs. The boy had his hands around her waist. The fidgeting was very peculiar. No wonder everyone was looking at them. I guess people could make out what was happening as no one was now looking directly at the couple.

The crowd in general avoids directly looking at the couples probably they don't want to look intruding. But everyone was trying to steal a glance in that direction. The girl kept trying to get away from the boy. But boy seemed adamant. When the metro reached the station she said loudly, "I am going to board this metro. You are acting very crazy". The guy was high on love, he kept holding her close. Some how he managed a peck on the girl's cheek. I guess the staff members were waiting for this to happen. They took the responsibility of moral policing on themselves. One of them held the boy by hand and asked him to walk in opposite direction. While a women staff member asked the girl where she was heading. The girl sensed the gravity of the situation boarded the train stationed at the platform.

I heard some one say, "I don't know when will these young boys and girls understand PDA is not acceptable in Indian society". I heard murmurs of protest but they dies away soon.

It was a Monday morning and passengers were too busy to loose precious minutes on this discussion. I saw the boy again, standing on the platform talking on his cell. He was not bothered by moral policing it seems.

Wrong train....really?

She has been noticing it for a while now, it was very odd but the you can't walk up and ask. This is a public transport after all, everyone has the right to travel. It was also not a case of national security which will enable her to ask random questions. I have also noticed the same over past one week, however it was not an important thing for me. She jostled through the crowd to ensure she is seated next to her. I could only manage to stand near them. I know, not good at shoving people so mostly I end up standing through out the journey.

She did try to keep herself from asking questions but not for long. Fidgeting around and feigning seat adjustment she looked at the her smiling, "Its very hard  get a seat in Metro these days. Did you board the train from Vaishali ?". The girl did not return the smile just shook her head otherwise. Lady was not dissuaded, she kept her smile and asked "Then where are you coming from? You must have missed out your station. Sad that you will have to travel back again". The girl smiled and nodded. "So where will you get down?", she asked again. The girl politely replied, "Rajiv Chowk". I was watching the whole interrogation and felt annoyed. The lady was sure that she has done enough sweet talks and can now ask the direct question. She said, "You know I have noticed siting in the approaching train every morning but you never get down at Vaishali, instead you go all the way to Rajiv Chowk in the same metro. Is it a way to ensure a seat?". The girl made a very sad face and said, "Yes, you know its so difficult to get a seat from my station. So I board the train coming to Vaishali and then can easily find a seat here". I was hoping this would kill the curiosity of the lady and she would spare the girl who was visibly upset. But our aunty was not easily dissuaded her next utterance had everyone gasping in disbelief. She said, "Don't lie to me, I know you are here with your boyfriend. He gets down here and you go to Rajiv Chowk in the same train. I hope your parents are aware of your activities". People including me were stunned by the mannerism and words. I was just about to give this lady a lesson in public behavior that I noticed the girl was crying. Probably thinking that she has been caught. She burst out crying, "Yes aunty, I really love him a lot. But my parents don't agree with us. Are you a relative of Anuj?" The lady was a little scared to see the girl cry, she said, "No, no I don't know him. I was generally concerned this is not good for you future". I noticed an instant change in girl's expression. She wiped her tears and gave a stern look, not impressed by the gesture. "Did you suggest its not good for my future?", the girl asked. "Who are you to decided that. The metro officials allow me to travel 10 times to and fro in the same metro. Then who are you to tell me otherwise?"

The lady had nothing to say, she simply got up muttering under her breath something about the new generation. She walked up to the other end of the coach and stood in a corner.

Well that was some lesson for our good old aunty, who seem to be concerned about every body's business. But yes metro officials have a rule that says after using your token/card to enter the platforms you will have to move out in 170 minutes. Which means that even you take the wrong trains twice it will not take more than 170 minutes to your destination. You can be heavily penalized for flouting the rule. I guess, its bad news for all young couple who hang around metro platforms dating during the day.