As I was getting onto a metro towards Sikenderpur, I had no idea which direction I should head to, so instead of referring to the Delhi Metro Map, I popped this question to the old man wearing a white sprawling kurta and donning a huge military moustache. He smiled and commented that he was heading the same direction as well and that we should take the metro towards Huda City Centre. I was pretty happy and congratulated myself for saving the time of breaking out of the line and go looking for the map; little did I know that I was going to learn a very important metro lesson in my life.
As I was about to get into the Huda City Center Metro, a hand grabbed me and pulled me back. I turned to see it was the same old man with the military moustache, who held my bag while shaking his head. He grimly said, "Looks like you are new here and don't know how to commute via the metro. When you are headed all the way to Sikenderpur and are taking a metro during non-office hours, your best bet is the Vishwavidyalaya one which takes you to Qutub Minar". I was extremely confused. Why would I want to go to Qutub Minar when I can get on a direct metro to my destination. Before I could speak my mind he took me to a far off line half empty line. He smirked and said that the last coach was always the least loaded and had the most space. As the next metro came, I noticed that it was headed to Qutub Minar and had come from Vishwavidyalaya. The reason became evident as we entered the semi empty coach; Uncle Military even managed to get a seat using his seniority. He smiled and said, "Son, the country is full of opportunities like this and there is scope for reservation everywhere, it is important that you know how to grab one".
While the metro trudged along, we exchanged niceties. He told me about his family and how he recently became a grandfather while I shared my notes on living in Noida. All was fun till the metro reached Qutub Minar. Almost everybody had used the same logic as us and the people dashed out of the Qutub Minar metro and lined up to take the Gurgaon metro.
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On seeing this grim situation, Uncle Military then took me to the other side of the station where we boarded a metro back to Saket. It wasn't quite so crowded but was filled with a group of young teenagers who in all probability had skipped class to go and enjoy at the Saket Mall. Uncle was clearly not impressed as he grunted and kept on muttering curses to their parents as they hadn't properly disciplined their children. "In my days, studying was a luxury and we wouldn't skip even a single class as it was quite a privilege".Things were pretty smooth after that as we boarded the metro to Huda City Centre and then got down at Sikenderpur. I thanked Uncle Military profusely for having given me valuable metro lessons as he dropped me off in front of the MGF Metropolitan Mall.
Sadly I found out that there was huge complication. I had reached Gurgaon about an hour late and my date had bailed on me. The restaurant workers informed me that she was in tears when she left. I had shot her down and was 'Forever Alone' once again. There is definitely a lesson to be learnt in this...
' Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television.' - Woody Allen
