Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The Delhi heat and the college commute


I must give some credit to our college...oops University administration to schedule our exams in this heat.Or maybe there was some plotting and planning with the higher authorities...??
The daily commute to the university leaves us drenched in sweat, red hot and thoroughly cooked as we stumble across the "under-construction" road.The auto wallahs have chosen this very moment to hike their already exorbitant prices, almost doubling their rates as we look for other options.After much arguing and a shouting match we come to an agreement and fix a price in between.
The rickety ride leaves no opportunity to hurt us, as we are bumped and bruised all the way. The heat wave blasts our faces with hot air out of the furnace as we try to shield our faces from becoming another tandoori dish.
The metro ride comes as a blast of cool air, literally and figuratively as we manage to get the much coveted seats.But our relief is not to last as we change the metro lines and jump into the busiest one ever.We are pushed deeper into the crevices of the metro compartment as more and more people fill in.It is a surprise that the frail looking metro can hold so many people at a time.So, in the metro, we are sandwiched between en-number of people.I rest my bag on the stomach of a large man behind me, firmly hold the pole next to me and then i loose sight of everyone else accompanying me and my other body parts, each, a sandwich with some other assortment of body parts, bags, clothes etc. So much, for a comfortable metro ride.
As the metro doors open, the people rush out and it is an awe inspiring spectacle to watch the huge number of people who come streaming out of the metro.Reminds me of an ant infested area when ants swarm out of their hills.
The sweat infested metro air was cooler than what hits us on our face as we stumble out.And after that, it is a matter of choice and time.Bargain with the auto wallah or cough up the amount to reach your destination in time or sit in the rickshaw and perspire all the way to your destination.

1 comment:

  1. they should extend the metro 2 college... atleast we can den expect some development to take place in the 'jungle' surrounding our college....

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