Rajkumari Sharma Tankha
I have been travelling in Delhi Metro ever since it started its operation in 2002, some 15 years back. Initially, it was the excitement of travelling in a fast-paced AC coach, but later it became a compulsion. Compulsion, in the sense that I no more wanted to haggle with the autowallas, and I have no wish to stand in long jams at the traffic signals. And, like I said earlier as well, Metro travel is entertaining. It brings you face to face with many different kinds of people. Some are genuinely generous souls, some downright selfish; some smart, some clumsy; some are chatterboxes while others are always on mute buttons, conversing only through their nods.
Among all these, exist five kinds of people, who stand out singularly due to their peculiarly annoying habits:
- The loud mouths: These are the people who have no control over their volumes, who by their shear shreakiness of their vocal chords make others around them forced listeners to their daily routines. I encountered two such girls today. Returning from their college after giving exams, they were so loudly talking about their yesterday’s preparation (or the lack of it), and also boasting about the branded smartphones they were carrying. IRRITATING.
- The sleeping toms: These are the people, generally middle-aged men, who are usually sitting on the seats meant for women/aged/physically challenged. They are otherwise active and busy with their phones, but the moment a woman/aged/physically challenged person enter the coach, they quickly go off to sleep. SELFISH
- The sitting-on-the-floor types: These can be seen squatting on the floor in a coach, despite constant announcements forbidding people from doing so. Often these are groups of college-goers, leaning on each other’s shoulders totally oblivious of the people around them. LAZYBONES
- The bags-at-the-back ones: These don’t care a damn about anything in the world. Again despite announcement requesting people to hold their bags in front so as not inconvenience others, these men and women, girls and boys, will only hold their bags at the back, in the process hitting and hurting others. And then, don’t even say a small sorry. UNCOUTH
- The perpetually-hungry: The Metro coaches, especially the ladies ones, are always smelling of chips, wafers, pickles, or a seasonal fruit, thanks to those who cannot control their hunger. It’s not allowed but these people take some special pleasure in flouting the rules. They not only eat with impunity but often dirty the coach with tidbits of the item they are eating. STARVED
