Skip to main content

My commute back and forth...

By

I had written this some time back, but was not sure about posting it since I was not aware it would strike a chord with anyone. But then, I saw the article "These Experiences On The Delhi Metro Will Make You A Tad Nostalgic", and especially the one I have pasted below. It struck me then, that perhaps, I was not the only one feeling like this.


This is something that I often see on the metro while travelling to and from office. Most often from office. An incident that occurred a some days ago upset me most. A lady boarded the metro, she was perspiring, the coach was not very crowded, so she planted her bags in a corner, looked around and sat down, on her bags. Hmmm… I thought there were announcements in both Hindi and English that requested passengers not to do just this. But, she did nevertheless, want to take a wild guess why? Because no one offered her a seat. This woman may have been in her mid-50's if not older, visibly wrinkled and was also looking like she would collapse any minute. Ok! I am sure she can deal with a few stations before she actually collapses. She pulled out her bottle of water, took a gulp and looked around again. This time so did I. What I noticed, caught me off guard, another girl, much younger than her, saw her looking and made a beeline for the seat that had just been vacated as she boarded the train. All this while the  woman had just about managed to get up and collect one of the two bags she had with her, dragging the second behind her. Then she noticed the seat was taken and looked around in dismay for another. She tried to hurry to the other corner which had an empty seat, when another two girls squeezed into this space. It seems that just as she chose to ignore the announcement about not sitting on the floor, these other passengers chose to ignore the other announcement, "…please offer the seat to someone who is needier than you".

The thoughts that raced through my head - what is happening to us, are we becoming so self-absorbed that we don't notice needier people or so callous that we don't care?

Perhaps, these girls were unwell, tired or had some other  very good reason, that I was not aware of. But, this is the situation always, and when I say that, I really mean always. Women with toddlers, babies, pregnant women everyone is standing, looking around with pleading eyes, desperate eyes or whatever those expressions are. But, no one, ever, offers them their seat! What is happening to us as a society, pushing, shoving, snapping?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most read ones here:

Yes...um...No. Oh, wait! Maybe...!!

By
Video source: It's simple as tea Consent - what, how, when, till when…the questions are unending and rightly so. It is confusing and it is complicated. I believe that is a good thing, because it is only when we are uncomfortable and confused that we start digging deep and un-layer things or issues. It may drive some of us to engage in conversations and discussions, and I’d say why not? It helps the unlearning, learning and understanding, doesn’t it? So, my confusions, questions and discussions with friends and colleagues left me wondering what is consent -what, how, when, till when, whose? I chanced upon this lovely article using tea as an example , and then some in this video - A Lavni about consent . It helped me to understand quite a bit about the yes, no, and maybe, and some of the in between. This also set me wondering. What if, people (hosts and hostesses) feel obliged that they have to offer you something tea included if you are a guest at their pla...
Post a Comment
Read more

Learning from my toddler

By
Toddlers may be young and small too, but that doesn't mean they haven't learned how to manipulate us intelligent adults into getting exactly what they want! From the minute my little guy started talking, I quickly picked up on a few tricks he had for trying to persuade me into doing whatever it is he had in mind. Besides clinging to our inflated calf muscles to get out of going to preschool or day care, here are some popular toddler phrases and their deciphered meanings. 1. "No, no, Mommy.  Me not tired."  I'm totally knackered, but I know that I'll miss all of the fun that goes on after you put me to bed.   2. "Pleeeeeeaaasssssseeeee Mommmmmmy!?!" If I repeat this over and over and over again and drag out every syllable even further every time I say it, she'll totally cave. What a strategy! 3. "I want Papa! No! I want Papa!" I absolutely and totally detest whatever it is you're telling me to do, so I'm g...
Post a Comment
Read more

The inevitable…

By
So the inevitable happened:   I became a mother. And went through all the motions mentioned in ' Time to face the music '. I was experiencing motherhood in projectile vomit and runny bottoms on freshly cleaned floors. And I was the latest victim of Murphy’s Law — you know, the old adage that states if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. Usually it involves discovering we ’ ve got a flat tyre and an irate boss making hissing sounds together! It only happens once in a while. Well, not when you have a newborn. When you have a newborn, it happens ALL. THE. TIME, and it goes a little something like this: 1. Your husband says babysitting is fun and the kid’s has been an absolute darling — for  him.  But as soon as you get home from frantically finishing chores and trying not to fall asleep at traffic lights, baby starts to scream bloody murder as horror scenes from Ramsay Brother flick flash through your mind. Moms are just so lucky! 2. 3 seconds ...
Post a Comment
Read more