After a gap of almost 4-5 years, I started traveling in metro in 2022.Â
Just like others, I am also greedy for a seat. There are days when I am lucky and there are days when I have to cover my journey while standing.Â
However, everyday, I can't help but notice the crowd. It's like every person has a story running their lives. Some are happy, some are anxious, some are running late, some are on time, and some are catching up on their sleep. There are kids, there are elderly, there are young professionals dressed smartly, there are adults on their way to their workplaces, there are entrepreneurs going for their field work or meetings, and there are college goers who are either listening to music on their smartphones, making notes or revising for their exams.Â
There was one of the rare days when I went in the non-ladies coach. A girl sitting by my side was sketching something. A few minutes later, I noticed she was sketching an uncle sitting right opposite us.Â
The moment I took a sneak peak at her art book, I was mesmerized. Her work was par excellence. The extrovert me wanted to talk and compliment her. But the introvert me stopped me from uttering any words. I just kept on taking glances at her art book sneakily.Â
Two days ago, I was in the ladies coach. I was resting with my eyes closed when suddenly I heard a lady shouting. I opened my eyes to see and I noticed she was talking to her phone. The conversation went like this:
"Maine apko kaha hai na ki time se aya Karo. Ap hafte k 7 din Mai se 4 din chutti kr lete ho. Ab main office jaane se pehle kaam kar k jaungi ya meri mummy karengi jo buddhi hain. Time pe aya Karo. Ab bahut ho gaya hai. Kitna ignore karenge. Aur ap inform bhi nhi karte ho ki didi nhi aa paungi. Aise thori na hota hai."
The other day, I noticed a young girl sitting opposite to me noticing, rather staring at a girl sitting just beside me. Let's call her X. It went on for good five minutes. Curious to know, I turned my gaze to my side. I noticed a girl who I feel was from the LGBTQ+ community or was maybe just tomboyish. Let's call her Y. X kept on staring, noticing Y from top to bottom. Y was wearing a cheque shirt, loose jeans, had minimal style, with hair chopped in boycut. I felt sad. Young people are giving the community a stare, clearly indicates their inhibitions towards the LGBTQ+ people. Whereas, we should be the ones to accept everyone with open arms and be the change makers. I couldn't say anything outrightly but I then gave a look to X to make her realise through my eyes that she is wrong. Fortunately, she moved her gaze away from Y. But this incident made me question the state of the youth nowadays and how quick we are to judge people. We ourselves aren't Aishwarya Rai or Shah Rukh Khan, right?Â
Metro rides can be fun at times. I have heard females talking to their mothers discussing food, their recent outings, bitching about their in-laws, talking to their friends, kids, catching up with colleagues.
There are millions of expressions, emotions and stories. I witness them everyday. My creative mind just starts imagining- what would be the story behind the female reading a book, or scrolling Instagram, or eagerly waiting to reach home to meet her kid. At the end, what I have is bits of information and lots of imagined scenarios, waiting to be converted into stories.