#MetroDiary41: I never lie


After encountering almost empty metros in the holiday season, one can see people returning to grab their seats in the new year. Although the holiday fever was not really over last week and people coaxed themselves and other to work. That brings me to the first story of this post. This was a woman sitting right next to me. I kept on re-visiting my evaluation about her profession as her conversation with the people on the other side of the phone had too many "beta" (son) in them. My first instinct was that she was a teacher. Teachers are the most patronising of the lot! Followed closely by some paediatricians. In both the cases I think its kind of professional hazard. Anyway, this woman was definitely not a teacher. And I was relieved that she was not as the conversation progressed. I finally figured out that she worked with a leading automobile company by simply looking at the surname of all the people she called. I know! I know! They are more akin to suffix and not surname but is it too strange to think that the kind of capitalist societies we are becoming, one day all people working in the same company (we do not call them factories any more) will be called by the name of the company, itself. It will show a new way of love! Anyway, this woman almost woke up the whole compartment along with the poor souls on the other side of the phone. "Are you still asleep? Aren't you supposed to be at the gate at 8 am? How will you reach now? Oh! Is it not your morning shift today? Whose is it? Pravin's? He is not taking my call (she did not even call him!). Will I tell lies to you? Can you reach the gate as some customers are already waiting? I will make sure you leave early?" She disconnected and called Pravin now. The dialogues were almost all repeated except the shaming was of another level! Pravin must have felt really "sinned" for being in his pajamas at 7.45 am. I would not have been surprised to find Pravin in the confession box of the local church over the weekend! After Pravin it was the gatekeeper, another manager, and finally the "clients". Everyone had to hear the line "Mai jhooth thore hi na bolungi!" (How can I lie!) If you ask me, Pravin should take his manager to the confession box too but I cant tell that to Pravin unless I get his phone number. Can you people help?

The same day evening my colleague and I boarded the metro while discussing a piece of news which mentioned that since the last two days, the first compartment of the Violet Line metro had turned into a women's compartment. The last compartment in the line was women's compartment thus far. However, upon boarding the compartment we saw a hoard of men sitting in the compartment. We were too busy in a discussion to make the effort to engage with those men to move. However, another woman had boarded the train and decided that she should let the men know about their impending predicament in the form of a fine. However the nice gesture of the woman was met with the most terrible diatribe on how women do not know about a thing and still come out on roads to make it inconvenient for others (read, men) and how women want every compartment to be turned into women's compartment. It swayed violently between "patronising" the woman standing and calling womenfolks names. I had to lend my ear most reluctantly and lend my voice willingly after that. Asked them to wait till the next stop when security personnel would surely board. I was not sure though as I had only seen security personnel checking the women's compartment at Central Secretariat. However, they indeed came in as the metro entered the next stop. And the women in uniform used the same dialogue! "Don't you read the newspaper and follow the signs before boarding compartments? Are you illiterate? Do you just go out of home to make it inconvenient to others?" It was so ironic that we almost jumped with joy! My conclusion is when you do not get a chance to go to the Sunday mass to confess (or avoid many such opportunities to confess), you invite a swift justice. Another colleague on the other hand, informed me about how men in his compartment really acted "sanskaari" when a woman fell unconscious in the rush hour metro. They were of the opinion that any woman who feel unwell could easily ask for the seat and they would offer it to her. They would not even care if it was reserved for women in the first place or not. My colleague (male) who faces the antics of this crowd in the Green Line every day did not seem convinced at all though. 

And last but not the least, as the season of love is almost there, which I do not like given that my bouquet of flowers to myself start costing almost double, I was looking for stories but all I could find is a woman reading Sexing the Cherry! Now this book has nothing to do with the spirit (or ghost) of the valentine and rather remains close to the second story of the post, I have to now resort to a conversation my friend picked up from a young couple: 
Man: Why are you not talking to me?
Woman: Why do I have to talk all the time?
Man: Are you upset?
Woman: Arre! Why do I have to be upset?
Man: Has anything happened?
Woman: Now it will!
Man: Why are you playing with the phone? 
Woman: I am reading news. Can I? 

Now that was intense! News-reading in the times of romance! Couple-goals millennials! Read The Wire and The Pioneer sitting side by side. And read last year's post on romance in the metro together https://dillimetrodiary.blogspot.com/2018/02/metrodiary-20-duniya-wale-pyar-ke.html




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