Who gets the seat?
Ever since Delhi Metro saw the light of the day, “We The People of Delhi” are a blessed lot. No more dhakke kha-ing in the busses, no more fear of life from Bluelines, no more haggling for fare with auto-rickshaws, no more scared-to-go-to-distant-places looks, no more cursing the Delhi Transport Minister… In short, “The Daily Commute” just got better. No surprises when I tell you that Metro soon became popular, with lakhs of people using it every single day.
A typical metro rail has about 200 seats, but can easily accommodate more than 2000 people due to the large standing space inside the coaches. Seats are hard to find during a typical metro journey, so people resort to various tactics to get one! However, in order that the needy are not deprived of a seat, a message keeps playing inside the train during the journey :
Please vacate seats for the Physically Challanged, Senior Citizens, and Ladies.
That’s where the problem starts!
Picture this:
After a hard day’s work, you decide to get back home in Metro. An obvious choice, if it connects your office to your home. What you really want is a comfortable journey, and lo! you are lucky enough to have got a seat. You sit back and relax, trying to picture the scene at home when you finally reach there. Then the metro comes to a station where a lot of people board it (Rajiv Chowk or Kashmere Gate). The seats are full, and getting one is possible only if you get the tag of being “Physically Chalanged, Senior Citizen, or a Lady”. We live in India, dude, where the sole aim of people is to twist-and-turn things to their advantage.
You get a tap on your shoulder. You look up. Its a lady, in her mid-thirties. And she tells you to vacate the seat for her. Why? Because, as she tells you, “metro says so.” Fearing embarrasement, you get up. Your idea of a comfortable journey gets fucked up. And the worst part : you cannot help it.
Am I averse to giving away my prized possession (read: my seat) to other people? Hell No! But I like to give it to others only if they need it. Mind you — Only If They Need It. The lady in question asked for it, just because Metro requests people to vacate seats for ladies. Was she in a dire need of a seat? Hell No! She took advantage of a so called ‘rule’. Is it a rule? Hell No! It is a guideline for people to follow out of choice. Was she morally right in asking for a seat? Again, Hell No!
Recently, Metro introduced another feature in its trains. From now on, four seats in each coach (a total of 16 in each train) are labeled as “Only For Ladies”. The lady in the above example would have been morally right if the person was sitting on one of those seats. Else, its the survival of the fittest — or rather, earliest.
Talking of personal experience, I have always vacated seats for the Physically Challenged, Senior Citizens, Pregnant Ladies and People with Small Children. These are the types of people who really need a seat. Those who need it, should have it. Those who don’t need, and don’t get — should keep standing. Just because a person belongs to the fairer sex does not mean that she is entitled for a seat in the train. What metro announces in not an order, but a guideline.
Its high time these mean ladies know it.
