Jan 28, 2008 10:22 AM
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(Updated Jan 28, 2008 11:23 AM)
Someone said…**the fruit of patience is always sweet**…I am sure it would be for that someone…but not for me! After waiting for a month and more, I have still not been awarded. Not even a sour reward! So in vengeance, I had to do this…a review in the wrong category. **Did I hear, another someone saying…yet again.*
I am back…discussing the much talked about metro…again! Most of you would have read my intimate(!) feelings about the metro…lonely rides and my innate desires about that “kone waali seat”…the metro so far has been good to me. It has brought me **convenience, accessibility and virtual eyeballs**(through MS)…sometimes it even got me nice cozy shoulders to accidentally brush on…but that is it…it still was not my first choice of transport…till this happened.
On a late chilly Saturday evening, after a **nice-free-Christmas dinner, hot coffee, soulful music, a glass of mulled wine**(which unintentionally was my first brush with alcohol- blame it on freezing winter, bad throat and someone’s recco!) …Warm and relaxed…I knew that I would have a nice ride back home…with someone…a someone who could be a colleague/ a friend/ a friend’s friend…or anyone who “looks” dependable and non drunk! When suddenly I realized that the “someone” was off…**Not going home was one option**…but not a feasible one…so I decided on venturing into the good old metro…Now you all know my love for the metro…and my recommendation to one and all…my only hitch being the post metro ride… **it would be quite a task to risk the Dilli- ki-sardi and Dilli-ke-men in a vulnerable rickshaw…!*
I reached my station at 1030pm…a dense fog and whistles from shady men welcomed me! **“Just walk straight and act confident”…**I chanted this mantra and reached the parking…I knew my eyes played tricks…and the fog would have added to it…**but a no-rickshaw sight** frightened the hell out of me…there has to be a reason…valid enough…?!? I looked around but no.there was me and my lonliness!
2 minutes of intense chit chat(**ending with my dad banging the phone on me!**)…I see a bus…a smaller version … **approx 12 seater** parking right in front of me. Men(loads), woman(just one) and 2 ruffian(not sure of termed as men!) stood beside me…looking at the bus with this strange glee…Closer inspection and I see the golden words **“Metro bus”…
Shakespeare had once said…”what’s in the name”…well…he wasn’t wrong…but in this moment, an apt name which clearly implies what the subject is…**helps!****To cut the short story, shorter…this bus meant reaching home in 7 minutes.right in front of my colony gate.which further meant.** l**ess moments of uncomfortable stares, bone chilling winds and argumentative rickshawallah’s and of course Rs 5!*
*The metro feeder bus** is a new venture of the Delhi government and the metro authorities. It is right now being routed in colonies, dingy roads and at places which attracts a lot of **metro/non metro user****.** A flat rate of minimum Rs 5 and a maximum of Rs 8(for more than 5km), it has attracted the fancy of all.** Spacious seating, sturdy levers, well trained driver and even better trained conductor with ticket vending machine**…it is aptly an extension of the high tech metro! Right now it is being tested in various stations to access the usability, the frequency required and the peak times…**it is a boon in days of stress, late nights or early mornings when you just do not want to get late!** With a waiting time of close to 10-12 minutes, it is pretty viable option…even when you don’t want to ride the metro…it will drop you at your choicest location if it is not running on peak hours…and will ply even**if you are the only commuter!*
I tried my hands in getting some pictures of the bus or the bus users…alas! Woman with a cell phone shooting mundane travelers, a perky conductor or the metro bus interiors would not be taken lightly…so in a sting operation of sorts, **I tried to shoot when I could and what I could**! I am sure you can locate the seats, some men and a conductor…try gazing more and you can see an emergency exit…which is of course my favorite seat!**The bus also has an added facility…a bell!**Ring the bell to let the driver know when you want to get down. My only concern is it is in the range of children who will keep ringing the bell…making it slightly difficult for the driver…
*College goers, students, old people and housewives**…all are using it for a smoother ride…**As for me, my rides are smoother- the minute a young fellow offers his seat and just sometimes his shoulder(!) to shield me from unwanted thrusts and bumpy roads!**Also as a memento of sorts, I have managed to keep the ticket of my first/fifth/tenth(not sure now!) ride…which acts as a motivation…anytime and everytime!
**** In case you are still wondering the relation between the review and the category…life in a metro…didn’t Shakespeare said…what’s in the name! “ In dino…dil mera…mujhse hain keh raha…~!*
