Random Conversation #2

Women empowerment can be seen in the Delhi metro these days. Female commuters act very confidently and do not shy away from confronting males who dare to belittle them in any manner. Few instances that I noticed while commuting make me wonder why men still insist on believing in what they believe.

Conversation #1
Young girl notices an old man struggling to board the elevator at the station. She moves forward and firmly holds the old man's hand and urges him forward.

Young girl: "Tau hold the rail lightly and put your feet between the yellow lines"
Surprised by the action old man shook his hand vigorously.
Old man: "Who are you and why are you holding my hand? Girl, don't you have some sense. Stay back. Don't dare to hold my hand again. Where are your parents?"
Young girl: "I am old enough to travel alone. My parents don't have to accompany me".
Old man: "They have spoiled you. That's why you are holding a man's hand".
Young girl: "I hardly think that way. I would have done the same thing with my Grandfather. Now please keep mum and hold my hand. You have already caused a lot of chaos".
Old man: "I will never allow you to hold my hand. I will stand here and wait for a guy to help me board".
Young girl: "No guy will come to help you hold my hand or I will ask a lady staff to make you forcefully do that".

Old man looked around for some help. He saw a boy and asked him to help. The boy agreed to help him.  He made the old man board the elevator, the girl followed the duo. Old man faltered while the elevator moved, the girl took hold of the hand and helped him steady. Old man thanked the boy for helping him and didn't say anything to the girl. Girl just smiled at him and showed him the way to his platform before leaving.

Conversation#2
Crowded metros are an excuse for young men to board the women coaches. Most of the times they are shameless enough to argue back if you ask them to move out. But more than often they find their match in women passengers who would not give up till they leave.

One man was standing in the women coach and leaning dangerously close to a young college girl. The girl tried to move away but there was no space. She put her index finger on his shoulder and pushes him hard.
Young girl: "Do you mind standing straight".
Passenger: "I am standing straight. Why don't you move away".
Young girl: "This compartment is only for women why don't you move ahead".
Passenger: "Can't you see metro is very crowded, there is no space to move. Anyway I don't have to travel far. Will get down after few stations".
Young girl: "Crowded metro is no reason for boarding women coach. Please move or I will ask the guard s to make get down".
Man: "Do what ever you feel like".

The girl patiently waited and called for the guard at the next station. One of the female staff showed up and asked the man to move away. But before anyone could react metro doors closed and the train moved.  The man made some snide remarks on how useless the whole exercise was. Girl was not perturbed  by these remarks. When the metro stopped at the next station, after the people boarded the coach, she simply put her bag between the closing door.
She told the metro security official you need to make this man get down at this very station or I will not let the metro move ahead. Few women in the coach also agreed with her and asked for the same.

The man had no option but to change the coach. He was grumbling. Rest of us were smiling.

That was cool....Grand ma

Holi is one of my favorite festivals. I acknowledged Holi as a national festival well beyond my college years. It was only after I applied for a job in Bangalore that I realized there was no holiday on Holi. Since then, I have never applied for any job in Bangalore or for that matter even in Hyderabad. The celebrations are not the same even in this part of the country anymore, people are too busy to be bothered. I still remember when I was in school, Holi used to be so much fun. It was customary to drag reluctant participants and paint them red and green. Nobody was spared.

I expected to see some action while traveling in Delhi metro. It was the week of Holi after all. Delhi metro officials were very strict with rules for people carrying colors. There were random groups which had girls and boys looking red and blue queuing up for security checks. Security staff would look through bags and request them not to use colors at the platforms.It seem to work with all, as I didn't see a single spot of color. On and off people were wishing security personnel, "Happy Holi", which earned them a smile in return but no allowance to carry colors in the train.  There were random sighting of people colored with dry colors or some who painted red.

I saw an old lady flanked by her husband and grandchildren boarding the ladies "exclusive" coach. The boys were not too happy being pushed into the ladies coach. Another guy and a girl followed them in the same coach. Old lady looked around to sneer at the guy, but the looks of the person made her stop. Somebody offered her a seat near the rear end of the coach. She sat and continued to stare at the individual. His appearance was not adhering to the norms, he had his hair gelled and styled neatly with a mop of hair strategically placed on the forehead. He wore a very tight graphic T-shirt and a pair of rugged jeans. His footwear wear was yellow in color. His small finger was long, painted red and he wore jewelery. His gestures were a little feminine when he conversed with his lady friend. They seem to discussing the color of the hair, shoes et all. Grand ma looked visibly upset.

There were some other guys in the adjoining coach who were also staring at the individual. The guy seemed to be used to stares for he payed no attention. It was not long before the boys started taking jibes at him. Somebody said, "He is standing at the right place, just in the middle of two bogie's. I am sure its difficult for him to decide between the ladies and men's coach". The whole group laughed heartily. Similar comments followed about his appearance, gestures, voice and every thing else. Grandma was sitting quietly seemingly unaware of her surrounding. All of a sudden she got up, held the guy by his arm and made him turn to face the group of rowdies. She spoke in a low voice to one of the boys, " What is your problem? If I see you pestering this guy here again, trust me to call the police at the next station. This boy  is not asking for any acceptance from you. Least you can do is to respect his individuality. How many of you would even dare to that. You should praise him for his courage which made him strong enough to brace his sexuality. One more word and I will make sure that you all are thrown out at the next station.".

People cheered for the lady and clapped. The boys got the message and got down when the metro stopped next. I heard her grandson exclaim, " That was cool....Dadi (Grandma)!!

Metro snag

Today was a bad morning to start with, woke up late and made to have bad food for breakfast. Worst was when I reached the metro station, I was early but still had to board a crowded metro. For a fleeting moment I was tempted to step out and wait for next metro, but decided against it. This decision made me thank my luck when I reached my destination more than 30 minutes late. It could have been worse. Nothing seemed abnormal when the metro started from the station but from the next station onwards it just refused to move. It so happened that the signals were not working properly on this particular route leading to metro snarls. So each station ride was almost 10 minutes long with the bombardier playing the message "There will be a delay in this metro ride. Inconvenience is regretted"' some 50 times. Someone needs to tell them it just not helpful to hear these messages repeated zillion times through a 60 minute journey.

I was not the only one feeling restless over this delay. Everyone was concerned about the delay, be it an office goer with stringent office timing or college student with plans to bunk college. Delays seldom happen in Delhi Metros, it reportedly has a 99% up time. But not everyone was complaining, there were people who jumped into the already crowded coaches just because they felt lucky to catch a stationed metro. It was very annoying to see people jamming in limited space.

Anyhow there is no metro ride which lacks an interesting event, I looked around and found almost everyone fretting over cell phones. Some were calling there offices and saying, "Vermaji please sign for me in the attendance register, I will be late. Metro has some problem, it has been standing here for past 20 minutes. No I don't know what is wrong. Please tune in to the FM channel to get some information". Well, I might disagree with 20 minutes station time, but had to agree FM is a good way to keep yourself informed.  There were some students who were worried about their classes, some of them were heard calling classmates. One boy was visibly upset, he complained to his friend, "What the hell man, I woke up early so that I could attend the class with Anjali, now I will be reaching college after she leaves. Life is very unfair. Anyway you attend the class and ensure my proxy attendance. I will try my luck next week again".  Well, if you ask me life is really unfair. Poor guy, God only knows how early he had to get up.

There was also a girl who was smiling at me, an odd thing in this scenario. But I soon realized she was whispering in the phone, well almost whispering. For some reasons people speak very loudly in metro, though there are people who whisper in such a manner you wonder if they are able to hear it themselves. Her voice was alternating between a whisper and loud conversations. She told the guy on the other end, "Metro is taking so long. We had planned it perfectly, nobody would have guessed we had all this planned. I started early just to be able to meet you there. Why do you have worry I keep meeting a lot of office people at the station. Just tell them your bus has changed the route. Why did you get into a relationship with me if you are not strong enough to face all this. Don't be a coward. I think I am braver one in this relationship". She almost threw the phone after disconnecting the call.

It's been more than 30 minutes and we were not even half way to Rajiv Chowk. Poor girl called her guy again, "I have a good news for you, I will take some more time to reach there. You can go ahead as I will be late to office. I hope you are happy now. Don't dare to talk to me again". That was one casualty of relationship which can be attributed to metro snag.

I reached office almost an hour and half late, my decision not to wait for another metro saved me some 45 minute delay. While going back I was told the time lag between two metros was almost 25 minutes for major part of the morning.

Well it wasn't a great start for the day, however, it was interesting enough!!!

Valentine saga

It being a Valentine's day, I imagined most of the girls will be carrying gifts and flowers. I am sure the crowded Delhi metro will not act as deterrent. I was not entirely disappointed, there were few girls with beautiful flowers with them. Today I was lucky enough to get a seat. Not very fond of this seat, its at the trailing end of the coach and often have lecherous men lurking around. The seat also has electrical charging points right at the top for mobile/laptop chargers. I met my namesake here who mumbled a "sorry" before hovering over me to plug in her mobile adapter. I noticed she had just cried, her face looked flushed and eyes brimming with tears. She was accompanied by another friend who was busy typing messages.

As usual I had a strong urge to play Agony aunt, but before I could say anything her friend looked up and said "What is wrong with my boyfriend calling you?". Technically everything, if you ask me; golden rule says 'no calling my girlfriends and certainly never late at night'. My namesake was annoyed by the question, "He called just to ask if I was talking to you. What is wrong with him?". Her friend said, "You know Anuj he is possessive, unlike my earlier boyfriends, he was not believing me. He told me that he has tried my number some 30 times in 40 minutes. So I asked him to call you and confirm. But why did you tell Rakesh that Anuj had called?". "That's because I felt it was funny , Rakesh would never do such a thing", replied my namesake. "Yes, that's why he fought with you and then called me tell Anuj is not supposed to call you?, said her friend. "If I were you I would have yelled back and would have decided against meeting him today. You are too soft on him. I guess he is your first boyfriend, I had many since school, I know how to handle them. I fought with Anuj yesterday and will not meet him today", she continued. My namesake retorted, "He is not my first boyfriend. He got me a very pretty dress for this Valentine and he is taking me to  'Ek Main Aur Ek Tu' evening show. That's a good enough reason for me". Her friend realized her loss, "How did he manage the tickets, Anuj has been trying for a while".

Just then her mobile rang, "Hi Anuj, no I am not upset with you. I was just messing around last night. Do you remember there is a sale at Select City Walk, let's go there today. We can also watch 'Ek Main Aur Ek Tu', everyone has seen it except us. You can at least try for getting the tickets".

My namesake seemed to have won this round. A triumphant testimony was in her playful pat on her friend's head while they got down at Saket metro station.

Faulty gates

Imagine your anxiety when the elevator door fails to open, I am not claustrophobic but I can get reasonably anxious. What if this happens to Delhi metro, not something you want to imagine. But this is exactly what happened. I boarded a train from my station, which was not very crowded  today. For the next seven stations everything was normal with no one trying dare devil stunts either (extremely rare, if you ask me). Then suddenly it happened at the next station. Metro was slowing down before approaching the station, it came to an abrupt halt just before the station. The stoppage time was unusually long. Metro resumed speed again and reached the station.  There was a customary announcement about the station name and need to "Mind the gap". But the doors didn't open. There were at least twenty passengers at each gate ready to board the train and a lesser number ready to disembark. Initially people were puzzled, looked like disoriented teenagers (well some of them are) who have not attended any kind of crisis management classes.

Not all doors were stuck, it was just the first boggie which had the malfunction. Rest of the coaches had their doors open up in time. Nevertheless ladies exclusive coach having a door malfunction is a perfect recipe for disaster.

The most interesting part was to hear what the ladies had to say on the incident. One passenger observed the problem is occurring due to regular interruption in gate functioning. She said, "Everyone wants to board the metro at the last moment. They don't care about their safety or damage to gate sensors". While somebody thought it was an electrical problem and there would be low voltage supply leading to circuit damages, others quipped about the low quality coaches (probably China imports!!). The most interesting explanation came from an old lady, she vouched its due the hard braking that drivers resort to, that the doors are jammed.

Listening to all these interesting theory, I realized it took almost 30 minutes to fix the problem. I was already late for my meeting and this was not very helping.

Random conversations

Conversations can be very interesting especially when you are not a participant. Overhearing is not an option in a Delhi metro, people make sure you listen to them. Occasionally they will throw a glance and expect your approval nods. Anyhow some of the idle chat can be interesting such as these excerpts:

Conversation 1
Girl 1: How is this new relationship like, I am sure he is a nice guy

Girl 2: I don't know too early to say anything, he treats me nice. It (read relationship) helps me get a status, attend great parties, great gifts, so I am not complaining

Girl 1: You sure have learnt some lessons from your last relationship. How can you sound so casual and unattached. Teach me these skills

Girl 2: There are no skills, I am just letting it be the way it is. Remember Dey?

Girl: Yes, best friend of your boyfriend. Wasn't he keen on you and wanted you to stay away from your boyfriend?

Girl 2: Yes, but things are different now. He feels my guy considers me really special, he has introduced me to all his friends and shared all his numbers. I have also met his family. Otherwise he uses one particular phone just to flirt around with girls

My take....world has not changed a bit....girls are still easy.....(I know you agree)!!

Conversation 2

Lady: Do you mind sitting properly, this is not a garden in your house

Girl: Well  I will sit like this, if you don't like it then you can stand outside the metro

Lady: You should know to talk properly, if not how to sit

Girl: This is the way I talk and there is absolutely no need for yelling at me. You are not my mom

Lady: If at all your mom taught you some manners, you would know how to treat your elders!

Girl: You should be more concerned about your children learning manners and spare me

Lady: Why is it so hard for you to behave yourself

Girl: Why can't you give up and stay quite. I am not used to be yelled at....this is giving me a headache early in the morning

Lady: I don't yell at everyone. You are a special case

Turns out this girl had a knee injury and had to stretch her leg. Being polite sometime pays, might have avoided this ugly encounter. 

My take....if you don't even have a smile to give, you must be very poor. 

Conversation 3

Dad: Hurry up, the doors will close you will get hurt

Little boy: But why are we going through here.....

Dad: I said, hurry up....

Little boy: I like the speed of the metro, its really fast....

Dad: Go and stand with your mom, hold her hand

Little boy: I will not go there, that is a "Girls" compartment....I am a boy, I will stand with you....

Did I see you smile....I couldn't help myself.

My take....kids are really smart, you can trust them to know all!!!

No Kidding!!!

Yesterday was long day for me. Tired by day long activities, I decided to treat myself to dinner with a long time friend. It's easy to travel in the evening through a metro when traffic delays can play havoc with your plans during peak hours. Though the metros are extremely crowded and boarding a metro can be a task. I have not had a chance to travel in Mumbai locals where my friends tell me about packed coaches and being involuntarily ushered in and out of the train. I am sure Delhi metro can now give fair competition to Mumbai locals.

So, after much deliberation I decided to meet my friend in Connuaght Place (CP) which has decent dine outs. My dinner went well and I decided to take a metro back home. After peak hours the frequency goes down and waiting time for metros can be up to 9 minutes. Not willing to wait I decided to hop on to the metro in front of me with out paying attention to its final destination. The advantage on my route happens to be the common route for two metros. I just have to get down at the transit station and board next train to my home. Before getting down my train, I saw a metro leaving from the other side which was going to my place. I guess the idea wasn't all that smart. Finally ended up waiting for good ten minutes. It was very cold last night. I decided to shield myself from the breeze and stand next to a pillar. Another girl sat on the adjacent bench where I noticed a small bag lying carelessly. Though I am not a thriller novel enthusiast still my imagination started working. I looked around for possible owners, saw a man talking on phone, "Must be his bag", I thought. This was a small jute bag which had a newspaper rolled and neatly tugged on the left side. Zipper of the bag was closed, it seems to contain a lunch box. I was lost in my thoughts looking at people around me. I looked again for the bag hoping silently that it was not there. But, to my irritation it sat there, looking more suspicious then ever. Looking around for security guards I could spot none on the platforms. Mean while few more people had started noticing the bag. One girl told her friend, "I have noticed this bag lying here unattended for sometime. We should tell the security guards about it". His friend replied, "Let it be there, don't touch, you don't want an old aunty coming and pestering you for fiddling with her bag". How true, I thought. We waited for the "Aunty" to appear and tell us she forgot the bag. It was a painful wait. There were some CISF girls in khakhi, who I guess also noticed the bag. The train came and we all boarded the train, few of us still deciding what to do. I looked around for metro helpline number (91-11-155370), which I had not bothered to memorize earlier. I logged on my mobile net and found the number. Called the helpline telling them about the unattended bag that lay there. Adding nervously "It is probably a forgotten lunch box bag, please get it removed from there".