Delhi Metro
on Jana Gana Mana (India), 14/Dec/2010 03:49, 34 days ago
I'm now getting the hang of my daily commute - an hour on the Metro sandwiched by a rickshaw ride. As described by Sam Miller in "Delhi - Adventures in a Megacity", the Metro is both a a monument to modernity and a harbinger of change.Nowhere is this more apparent than the starting point of my Metro commute - Karkadooma Station. The all steel, glass and concrete structure of the station and elevated railway rises above the hustle and bustle of Karkadooma - a rather rundown shanty suburb in east Delhi consisting of rickshaw repair shops, street vendors and traders, and beggars but still, it has a tangibly strong community feel.However, with the arrival of Metro extension a year ago, that is beginning to change. It's almost possible to see the change daily. A gentrification (almost) with the building of upmarket houses and new hotels, surely Karkadooma in it's current form will cease to exist within the decade.As an aside, I did say in an earlier post that I would mention my Metro experience. Firstly, the positives....it is clean, reliable, punctual, cheap, quick and easy to use. And the downside.....it is very popular (read crowded) and the elements of etiquette that one takes for granted on most other underground systems e.g. standing to the right on escalators and letting passengers off the trainfirstbefore boarding are completely absent. The latter makes for almost comical viewing as dozens of awaiting passengers plough into an already crowded carriage the moment the doors open. It is somewhat less comical (speaking from personal experience) being someone in that carriage and attempting unsuccessfully to leave due to the force of the inward stampede and carried on further up the line!