Random Musings of an Idle Mind

I commute by Delhi Metro every day and needless to say its an exhausting but at the same time an interesting experience for me each time. I feel like a curious kid who is eager to and tries to absorb as much details about the fellow commuters as possible while I am in the Metro. Well, to say the least its a great learning experience watching people get on Metro and get off it - it kind of reminds me of the struggle we face in our day to day lives - pull someone, push someone, make your presence felt, etc. - PHEW! And then there are times when I feel like a wandering soul - just enjoying the ride and in no hurry to get anywhere in particular (I must admit that is rare though). Anyway, this post is not about the Metro experience (I think I can dedicate an entire blog to Delhi Metro). Generally, I travel by Metro listening to music and reading at the same time. 

So, this morning I was reading this book Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (yes, the Julia Roberts' movie is based on this book) and came across a very interesting piece about how an entire city has one word. What the author wants to convey is how a particular city can be described by a single word that connects its people, how everything in this city is associated with that one word E.g. New York has the word ACHIEVE, Los Angeles has the word SUCCEED. 

This one-word-for-the-city thing got me thinking and my mind started wondering about the one-word for our Indian cities. When I think about Delhi, the word that comes to my mind is FOOD since everyone everywhere in Delhi is thinking and talking about food all the time. All our conversations either start with or end with something to do with food. For Mumbai, possibly ACCOMPLISH because every individual in Mumbai is out there earning a living for himself/ herself. Similarly, Jaipur is HERITAGE, Bhubaneswar RELIGION, Chandigarh MERRIMENT, and so on... And as I smile to myself trying to think about the various cities and flavours our country has, the Metro ride ends (only to resume the next day)!

P.S. Yes, I am back! :-)

A tRiBuTe to F.R.I.E.N.D.S...

Noone said it better than the Remembrants did, and noone portrayed it better than the F.R.I.E.N.D.S did... :0)

"So no one told you life was gonna be this way

Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A

It's like you're always stuck in second gear,

When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month,or even your year, but...

I'll be there for you...

When the rain starts to pour

I'll be there for you...

Like I've been there before

I'll be there for you...

'Cause you're there for me too.

You're still in bed at ten, though work begins at eight,

You burned your breakfast, so far things are going great,

Your mother warned you there'd be days like these,

But she didn't tell you

when the world was brought down to your knees that...

I'll be there for you...

When the rain starts to pour

I'll be there for you...

Like I've been there before

I'll be there for you...

'Cause you're there for me too.

No one could ever know me.

No one could ever see me.

Seems your the only one who knows what it's like to be me

Someone to face the day with.

Make it through all the mess with.

Someone I'll always laugh with.

Even at my worst, I'm best with....you- yeah"

cRiBlOg...

Alright, first things first... Hats off to the people who commute to their respective workplaces/ colleges/ schools by public transport in Delhi.

Its been 7 days that I have been using the Delhi Metro for commuting to the office and boy, I am tired already! I watch people running to catch the train like it was the last train to their destination, pushing so many lost (or may be lazy) souls like me on their way.

And trust me, during the peak hours, you don't really have to make an effort to get on the train. There is a huge pool of hands and bodies that'll push you into the train. The same is the case when you get down. Its the time in between that amuses me the most. I wonder why DMRC pasted those labels on some seats mentioning "For Ladies Only" and "For Old & Physically Challenged". How many of us really care? Women standing in front of the Ladies Seats is a common sight. How many men get up and vacate their seats for some female standing in front of them? Well, for the 42 different groups I have boarded the train with (I change 3 Metro trains to reach the office and 3 on the way back. And the 7 days I have travelled in Metro makes it 7*6=42.. simple mathematics, of course, the groups may not be mutually exclusive).. Anyway, so with 42 different groups of people I have boarded the train with, I have seen hardly 4 guys vacating their seats for some aged lady. When a lady is standing in front of these seats reserved for women, most of the guys will either start looking at their shoes for like eternity as if its the first time they are looking at their own feet. Then, there is another kind of males- the ones who would start staring at the women standing in front of them. I mean hello??? Whappened to courtesy and manners that we were taught wayy back in school? Alright, the men I can still understand if they need to sit but what about the guys in their twenties? Where are we really going? And the condition is equally bad if we look at how many people get up to give their seats to the old people. Having worked all their lives, sweating it out for their families, the least they deserve is a little more respect and courtesy from the younger generation- or are we growing old already? And in all that push and pull effects while you are standing in the train, you get all crazy ideas of having a Ladies Special Metro that would arrive after every two general Metros and similarly, a Senior Citizens Special Metro may be... I mean a general Metro would anyway suffice for the people who don't mind the push and pull effect to avoid a slight delay in reaching their destinations. While, the lazy ones, like me, can wait for the Ladies special Metro.. But again, different people, different opinions... You start looking at the two major stakeholders- the users who can't possibly do anything about it, the Government that already has such a nice service with a Metro arriving every 5 minutes. So, what can possibly be done about it?

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are only my views. One may agree or disagree with the same.

To dO oR NoT tO dO...pun intended!

Deadlines, submissions, readings, meetings, presentations, term papers and so on and so forth... And that too, for something I know I don't really subscribe to. Something that I do not have my soul in. And why do you do certain things that do not interest you? Bandwagon effect. Yes, the answer is the bandwagon effect or peer pressure in this case. You do something because you know everyone is doing that and you do not want to be left alone or lag behind. You do not want to be seen as a laggard. But then, is it not better to do something trivial with your heart and soul rather than doing something huge, half-heartedly? Considering the larger picture, is it not something each individual (with certain exceptions, the probability of which being not more than 5%) does? We all make compromises, we all do things others do, we know we do not like something and yet go for it because we want to comply with the norms of the society. We worry more frequently than not about how others will perceive us. Is conformance to the norms really what we want to do? I sit, I ponder for a long time, I sigh, and I resume working on my submission...