During my many sojourns in the Delhi Metro, I have realized one thing that no matter how much Delhiites are ridiculed, they have some degree of respect towards the elderly. One thriving example of this is the fact that men and women of all ages are more than forthcoming when it comes to vacating their seats for an elderly person. However, from a personal perspective, this trend confuses me, besides making me feel good about my city. For starters, apart from the folks who are extremely old and look weathered and worn-out, how do I always know about vacating my seat? I don’t want to offer my precious, hard-fought seat to just about anyone who has a few more grey hairs than me or someone who just looks old, someone who has a congenital condition that causes too much wrinkling. I want to offer my seat to only those who are truly elderly, and for me, this demarcation starts at the age of 60 years. Anyone below this landmark should be able to sustain their bodyweight on his/her two legs. This creates quite a predicament.
This is my first submission that will focus on the Metro typecasts I have come across. I have a slightly cynical outlook, and thus, I am going to begin with a typical kind of Delhi Metro passenger that needs a serious reality check—I call “it” the “Rajouri Types,” and this is particularly applicable to the women who board the metro from the Rajouri Garden Metro Station and the nearby areas. You must be wondering what could be so typical about such women. Well, there is nothing wrong with them except for the fact that they are highly prone to thinking that they belong to an elite class that should be treated superiorly within the Metro. Recognizing this pseudo-royal segment within the Metro is not difficult. You don’t need to have the acumen of a Sherlock or possess an obsessive tendency to observe to identify them. The Rajouri type is instantly recognizable. For starters, she looks like a walking advertisement for the latest cosmetic products. The hair is usually dyed to a certain shade of blonde and tied loosely to ensure the highlights get the highlight they deserve. From what adorns the ears to the fingers, everything about her is blingy—it seems that the rule here is the bigger and shinier, the better. Most likely, she would be carrying the latest phone and holding it in a manner that announces it to the entire world. But look closely, and chances are that the phone might not be the original stuff. It is very likely to be a well-concealed imitation, bought from locales like the Ghaffar. The overall aura is of someone who is heads and shoulders above the other, poor North West Delhi inhabitants. There is a bit of NRI-borrowed slang and tone borrowed when speaking, and the perfume reeks of an old habit of spraying so much that everyone in a near 100-meter radius can smell the floral stuff. You can count on carrying a high-street shopping bag that reinforces the ability to spend big, even if the bag contains nothing but a borrowed attitude. The lipstick shades are usually loud - lots of darker hues of reds, maroon, and purple. If it happens to be the wedding season or a period around the festivals, expect the body art in brown to scream for attention even if the invitations are yet to come in.
