From DTC to Metro

Delhi once gave me shapely arms. At least twice a day, I was assured of an intensive session of physical exercise, equivalent to any modern gym equipped with sophisticated technology. I, as well as my fellow female colleagues, could boast of a 26 inch waist. And that too without a diet, in fact we used to hog like wolves all day. All courtesy, DTC buses. A ride in a DTC bus of those days was quite an educational tour. On a busy route, a DTC bus was a colossal cuboid of humans rolling across the streets. Those lucky enough to have a foot-hold clung to their good fortune. People from all walks of life were forced to forget their differences as they shared space aboard these indifferent machines. Labourer, teacher, housewife, student – all were equal. Summers were even more humbling.


This time the capital welcomed me with the Metro. The Metro is like the latest hottie in college. Everybody is talking about it. Everybody wants to be seen in it. Not one day goes by without me hearing an incident that happened on the Metro. I myself travelled it for most of my interviews. You can do a complete behaviour analysis of the current Delhiite while sitting on those seats.

First of all Metro stations are so secure that you can stand proud while you wait for it. Unlike when you wait for a DTC, you don’t have to rivet your eyes around for suspicious characters. And even if you do spot someone creepy, you know that help isn’t at all far. Moreover, you know the exact amount of time you have to wait, which will be max eight minutes. Unlike DTCs you aren’t going to be spending an easy half hour stagnating under the sun.

All the technology does usher in some snobbery. Swanky swinging automatic doors, tokens and smart cards, stations built like international airports; that’s a lot to brag about. People are generally seen staring into the distance with an air of superiority, mostly with a pair of headphones glued to their ears. They seem unruffled by the multitude of people milling around. For even in the new fangled Metro, there is rush. Sometimes, I wonder how the doors are able to close. I guess you can’t win everywhere.

Women Interrupted!

My first morning in Delhi, I opened the newspaper gratefully. Grateful because its been a year since I read an Indian English daily. And what I read shivered me timbers. A 29 year old married woman was dragged out of her taxi and gang raped the whole night. The woman was a bar tender in a Gurgaon pub. I have known a conservative Delhi, but the new generation has taken over. Aunties no longer flap their tongues when a girl and a boy chat in their ‘mohalla.’ Girls are no longer confined to salvar kameezes and loose T-shirts. Its nice and relieving to see that. But if this city was ever unsafe for women, now its even worse. And there is no relief in sight.If you look at the rape pattern in the city, you can conclude that we don’t have any serial rapists. These are apparently normal people, who belong to normal families. The only thing that sticks out is that they seem to have no fear – of the law, or it’s enforcers. Not that these people belong to a powerful mafia group or the underworld. So where does this absence of fear come from? Is it money? If you have an answer, please let me know. Maybe I’ll feel better.

Delhi is a vast city and full of opportunities. There are hundreds of smart and exciting jobs and careers for women, but can a woman dare take such a job, or choose such a career? Those who have taken these jobs and chosen to be wild and versatile, are they courageous given the level of dangers, or just lucky so far? The sad fact is, women of Delhi, who are smart, opinionated, bold, cannot safely work in urban places like a bar or a pub, a disc. So should they just tame themselves and do jobs that are safe like teaching, accounts and day shifts? How do you fulfill your dreams in such a place? And I wonder: was it wise for me to come back here to restart my career?