#MetroDiary 27: Give and Get Feedback; Anyone?

Yesterday's Times of India said, Delhi Metro is introducing a feedback system. It is some Railway and Transport Strategy Centre from London!! Have you ever heard of a such a thing? I mean, a strategy centre for feedback? I have never. 

Well! as far as metro commuters are concerned, they need no specialist for feedback. They absolutely know when and how to give feedback and when and how not to take one. 😉 Like the other day, a woman pushed past another pregnant one who was standing as the first one in the queue to board at Rajiv Chowk, did not take the feedback on her behavior, even when 3 others said she broke the queue and pushed in. She refused to agree that there was any queue. Our country-folks are behaving more and more like the government, they seldom listen 😀

Although when seated next to a friend or traveling with some, the commuters fail to run away from the feedback. "You are wearing a maroon lipstick!! Why? It's not even 'going' with your dress!" said an indignant friend to a poor hapless commuter who just boarded the metro, the other day. "You are behaving like a majnoo! Jab ki woh koyi laila nahi hai (whereas she is no Laila)!" told the boy to his seemingly distraught friend. I am sure it was to make him feel better in long-term, but in short-term, so many eyes veered towards the target of this communication, that I am sure, he had no chances of feeling better, short-term. 

Feedback are given not only in words though. They are also given in copies and being this early morning metro rider, I meet a specific type of commuters, whose job is to give written feedback. I mean, the teachers. They carry a shoulder bag full of copies of poor kids and the ever-feared red-ink. Oh! that reminds me I had once told a man to remove the red-pen from his life as he almost spent all his days finding out whats wrong with him and his life. Of course he did not! I think he was a teacher. I mean, that was his true calling. He loved his red pen and so did this teacher whom I met in the metro the other day. She however was not as harsh with her red pen. Not so eager to put cross over parts of whats written. She tried hard to read despite the bad handwriting. Her face lit up when she saw beautifully written answers. As I focused hard on her seat, she focused equally hard on her copies. She read every sentence, added words with her red pen, and of course circled out some. Her effort was very humane. 


My cousin taught me the other day that feedback should be "HUMAN" when I wanted to give feedback on his message on how we all can learn to look inwards from the Sunflowers on a cloudy day. He said feedback should be HUMAN which is short form for,  Hear, Understand, Motivate, Acceptable, and Negotiate. Do not ask me how! I did not get it. I just refrained myself from giving a feedback after that. 😀

However, I wish I could tell that married man with salt and pepper stubble on face, in the metro today to be HUMAN (or at least humane) in his feedback when he called me "auntie" today. I quickly had to take a few photos of myself and send them to my dear friends to see what made him call me one. They of course "understand" him and were "motivated" enough to call him a few not so kind names.