What Delhi metro teaches us about life…

The 391 kilometers long Delhi Metro is the lifeline of one of the world's biggest megacity. Its the nervous system that keeps Delhi and its satellite cities alive. The extensive system of 12 lines and 286 stations doesn’t just takes its weary traveler to their destinations but sometimes if we observe closely, it teaches a few things about life.

Its chaotic but hang on and you’d reach your destination.

“Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence.” —Buddha

You can get on any station of the Delhi metro, it is almost always chaotic. There are people pressed against each other, barely able to stand. Still somehow managing to make space for incoming travelers. The variety of passengers, of all ages, of all income group and of different ethnicities board the same train, travel in the same coach. For a brief moment in time, in the pursuit of their distinct destinations, they share the same journey. Together. The travel time and distance of each passenger can be different but in the end we all get home.

In the perennial chaos of life, we forget that the person we are pressed against is also a fellow traveler. Sharing the same turmoil.

A little investment on metro cards are better than tokens.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”― Benjamin Franklin

Life is not easy. It is age old wisdom that one should always be prepared for the journey. There are thousands like us. Desperate to get past all the lines, the security checks, the hurdles. If you want to get to the train without breaking any rules, then get a metro card. Otherwise there is just two options. Either get stuck in the queue or break the line. None is desirable. So better be prepared.

You won’t always have to suffer, once a while you’ll find an empty seat.

“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.” — Ashley Montagu

Life is suffering. Especially for those who travel from Noida to Delhi University. We don’t just pay money to reach our destination. We pay with our time, our body, and our sanity. But, there are ways to maintain sanity in times of long and dreary journey. Discover new music. Watch that show you always wanted to…one episode per trip.

Once you are not desperate for it, you’ll find an empty seat. But you wouldn’t care for it. You are having a good time without it. But I would suggest — take the seat and offer it to someone in need.

Just wait. It gets easier.

“Life has got all those twists and turns. You’ve got to hold on tight and off you go.”— Nicole Kidman

Some journeys are drag. Some situation and experiences are unpleasant. The repetitive nature of life, evident in long daily commute is what drains our spirit. The currency of life, that is time, feels to be slipping away in those moments. But somehow, life gets easier. Things fall into place.

Sometimes government lays down new tracks and start a new line to make our life easier. Sometimes we get unexpected opportunity. Sometimes we bump into a stranger that becomes a reason for our smile. Anything is possible in this crazy world. The two main ingredients of life is — logic and magic.

When the logic doesn’t work, magic would.

You always have the choice to ignore everything for a while.

“Your inner voice is the voice of divinity. To hear it, we need to be in solitude, even in crowded places.” — A. R. Rahman

You had a rough day or a bad night. You want to move on and let things normalize but the noisy atmosphere is unpropitious to your sullen state of mind. We are faced with such situations in life, where we want to be better but the external factors continuously go berserk. I think that external factors just like a noisy metro can not be controlled. And its vain to even try. All we can do is plug in the ear pods, start some soothing music(or heavy metal, whatever you prefer), and ignore everything for a while. Things will get better. Our station will come.

Its a circus, learn to enjoy it.

“We’re all going to die, all of us; what a circus! That alone should make us love each other, but it doesn’t. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities. We are eaten up by nothing.” — Charles Bukowski

Cacophony and chaos- two factors constant in the journey of Delhi metro and life.

We keep crossing unknown stations where strangers becomes co- passenger and partners leave mid-way. In between, there are shenanigans of the world and of the people in it. Forever active, always running. Striving for excellence while struggling for survival. A circus, on wheels. The interesting thing about being a part of this circus is that the performers are also the audience. So, after playing our part we can always sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

“Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don’t take anything too seriously, it’ll all work out in the end.” — David Niven

There can be many more points to this thread but my purpose is just to invoke this peculiar thought in reader’s imaginative head. The metaphoric representation of life in Delhi metro is everywhere, one needs to take a closer look.