Delhi, A Myriad of Dreams

Delhi, a myriad of dreams. A landlocked place with the people pouring everyday like the increasing pollution associated with this land. The peculiar borders of this city includes the diverse cultures of Haryana and UP alongside the Delhi’s own who proudly call them ‘Delhiites’, the diverse land came to be called Delhi NCR (National Capital Region).

A fancy line I once heard from a chaywala outside a metro station, he told me ‘This is Delhi, what happens in India tomorrow happens in Delhi today’. Yes, truly considering the sense of fashion, business, technology, yes Delhi being the capital enjoys being the first mover in every aspect.

Delhi’s connectivity, yes definitely I am taking about the Delhi Metro. It is something which didn’t go down first in the country, they never were the first movers. The metro came into the scene under the then Delhi CM Sheila Dixit was a great initiative to prevent the growing traffic and pollution control. The Metro services was started back in 2002 and nobody ever anticipated that time that it will become the world 9th largest metro communication service. The Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi and its satellite cities of Bahadurgarh, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Noida in the National Capital Region of India. By far the largest and busiest metro in India, and second oldest after the Kolkata Metro it is the world's 9th longest metro system and 16th largest by ridership. The network consists of eight colour-coded regular lines, running 317 kilometres (197 m) serving 231 stations. The system has a mix of underground, at-grade, and elevated stations using both broad-gauge and standard-gauge. Delhi Metro operates over 2,700 trips daily, starting at around 05:00 and ending at 23:30 hrs. In 2016–17, the Delhi Metro had an average daily ridership of 2.76 million passengers and a cumulative ridership of 1 billion passengers yearly.

Now, let’s get into experience of travelling in one. Basically, I am from Chennai and yes, I have travelled in a metro too. But this experience was one that is cherished and considered as one of the best travel experiences one can undergo. It was a busy morning in Delhi when I landed at the airport. The moment I stepped out of the airport gate, I was ambushed by a number of cab walas, all pushing each other just to get one passenger in their vehicle. For a short span, I felt like I was the celebrity there but as I was gleaming with pride, I looked to my left to see the same happening to every other person stepping out of the airport. With my pride held high, I slowly escaped from that part of the airport and asked for directions for the metro in the airport. I have been told by a lot of people that it is a must try experience for everyone who visit Delhi at least once in their life. Since I can only understand Hindi, I went to the counter and casually asked for a ticket thinking I will be having a hard time replying to the guy in Hindi but he understood by my stoned reaction that my Hindi is pretty bad so he addressed in proper English and he asked me where I wanted to go to. I happily grabbed my ticket and followed the footmarks on the floor that leaded me to the station.

Usually if you travel in a metro in Chennai, it won’t be that crowded and would be deserted because people don’t use the metro that often in Chennai. But the metro in Delhi was brewing with energy, no proper space to walk. This showed how busy the city was in the morning. I sat alone with my travel bag to my side, looking at the structure of the trains and the beauty that it carried. The metro was properly lit and filled with the different sounds coming from different people carrying different cultures and traditions with them.

I got down at the New Delhi station, felt the cold rush of people walking past me as I looked up at the sky, and I said to myself, ‘Oh my Delhi’.