For Delhi Metro Riders: How Old is ‘seat-worthy old’?

During my many sojourns in the Delhi Metro, I have realized one thing that no matter how much Delhiites are ridiculed, they have some degree of respect towards the elderly. One thriving example of this is the fact that men and women of all ages are more than forthcoming when it comes to vacating their seat for an elderly person. However, from a personal perspective, this trend confuses me besides making me feel good about my city. For starters, apart from the folks who are extremely old and look weathered and worn-out, how do I always know about vacating my seat?

The Actresses are Revealed

This happened to me when I was naive about the ways of the Delhi Metro. I was comfortably seated in the General, non-Ladies section as the next stop approached. A fair lady, in her mid-30s approached me. She had a body language which suggested that she couldn't take "No" for an answer. However, I did not mind seeing her in the eye and not moving from my seat. There is nothing wrong in holding on to your seat when the Delhi Metro offers dedicated lady's compartment and reserved seats. As a man and a paying customer, there is nothing wrong with me wanting to comfort my aching legs and bums.

Metro: The Last, Save Haven for Women in the City?

This might sound shocking to some of you but to me it makes perfect sense. The recent wave of anguish and helplessness among people and their attempts to protect the women of Delhi got me started thinking if there was a place that could be considered safe within the capital region. Come to think of it, women have been groped, molested, raped and murdered within their homes, offices, public parks and upmarket hang-outs. What does this suggest? Firstly, we, as a city, should stop priding ourselves for living in the capital of India. A city that has its soul bloodied with women and minor girls on an everyday basis just cannot be projected as the

Metro Service Updates Missing: How About Express Services?

The Metro continues to serve the city without grudges or any discrimination. Its' services have been diversified and amplified to ensure that the Metro riders are further comforted. However, there is something missing in all that is being planned for the Delhi Metro. I have a recommendation and I guess, it does make some serious sense. There are a lot of folks like me who use the Metro for traveling daily, from the city to the NCR.

The Cleavage Watchers: No Dearth of Voyeuristic Enthusiasm

This won't be surprising to those who have the slightest bit of observant sensibilities. However, it could be shocking to those who remain lost in their own world, within the confines of their utterly blissful ignorance. In a way, I actually admire the latter kind for they don't realize the absolute mediocrity and retarded mindsets that surround us. By now, you would be wondering what am I blabbering about. I realize the introduction to this discussion is a bit too long but I just wanted to create some sort of a cerebral platform before I dive into what is a shameful fact about riding the Delhi Metro, i.e. the presence of slightly perverted, overtly enthusiastic voyeur lovers who are always on the lookout for an opportunity to glance down a lady's cleavage. Yes, this also suggests that I tend to look around too much but I don't go around eye-balling cleavages unless they are shoved in my face, in an unavoidable and sudden manner.

[Suggested Reading: Why Adhaar Card is Not Worthy of Our Troubles]

PDA of the Worst Kind: The Metro-antics

The reason I have turned "Romantics" into "Metro-antics" is simply because displaying your love, lust or whatever makes you stick to your guy/gal in the presence of at least a thousand watchful eyes unashamedly in the Metro is just beyond my levels of comprehension. How can anybody explain a guy and gal, sandwiched between, sweaty armpits and massive bellies stopping just short of pecking each other? This is probably the worst kind of PDA I have

Dem Lost Souls

Being an avid Metro user and a keen observer, I couldn't help notice people who choose to remain clueless and wander the Delhi Metro platforms as if they are sightseeing. For the uninitiated, I am not talking about people using the Delhi Metro for the first time or those who are genuinely dumb. I am talking about folks who use the Delhi Metro rather often and actually know the routes. However, they have this penchant to ask for directions, reconfirm the routes and re-reconfirm what they already know. These Lost Souls can be found at

South Africans Lacked a Plan Against Clarke

The current Aussie captain, Michael Clarke, is doing exactly what his predecessors did so well, i.e. scoring runs by the gallon. However, I would like to point out that the double century by Michael Clarke in the 2nd test match against the South Africans also speaks a lot about the quality of bowling. Yes, most of you might be wondering how can a team that boasts of Morkel and Steyn be accused of poor bowling but the fact remains that as a bowling unit, the Proteas did not have a definite plan. This is shocking considering that Michael Clarke has already scored a double century against them as recent as last week. I was under the impression that the SA bowlers would test Michael Clarke with some sharp, short-pitched bowling. To my utter surprise and dismay, Steyn just kept on bowling length on a pitch that was barely green and Philander just never tried to hit the helmet Clarke was wearing. There are no guarantees in cricket, just like in life, but now we would never now if the results would have been different had the South Africans bowled with purpose rather than hope.

Ind-Eng 2nd Test at Mumbai: Pujara-Ashwin Stand Tall

This certainly does not look like the kind of pitch where any side is going to score in excess of 350 and the match will definitely go beyond the fourth day. Considering this and the fact that India had lost more than half their side for just about 160, the ongoing partnership between R Ashwin and C Pujara is of immense importance. In my opinion, this partnership will decide the course of the match. The two batsmen are batting sensibly with Pujara closing on his second century of the series. To surprise everybody, including me, Pujara has just completed his 2nd century against the visiting English side with an uncharacteristic pull shot. He had been tested with the short ball early in his innings and when batting on 99, most analysts would have bet their money on Pujara not playing this shot. However, Pujara played it perfectly and kept the ball down. India are now about 230-something and if Pujara and Ashwin can hold fort, reaching a potentially match-winning score of around 280 does not look impossible. 

Ojha & Ashwin: Not Contemporary Greats But Utterly Useful

This is a bowling partnership that the Indian team had been praying for some time now. Strangely, Kumble and Harbhajan never managed to create the kind of spin combo that the Indian team and fans had always hoped. This is despite Bhajji and Kumble having played together for nearly a decade. In stark contrast to this, Pragyan Ojha and Ashwin seem to be gelling rather well.

The Similarities: Both Ashwin & Ojha are traditional spinners. I am referring to the fact that they depend upon flighting and allowing the pitch to play its part. While Bhajji has always been too quick to be labeled a typical off-spinner, Kumble was a far cry from being your conventional leg spinner. Some cricketing experts have even labeled Kumble as being a skiddish seam bowler with a leg-spinners' action. Even more, both Ashwin & Ojha are equally poor fielders. Both of them are slow to move and even worse in anticipating where the ball is going is going in the outfield.

The Challenge: Ashwin & Ojha face the challenge of keeping their places cemented in the Test squad. This is not surprising since Dhoni and the selectors in general seem to have an inclination towards retaining Harbhajan Singh irrespective of the number of times the Turbanotor fails to deliver. Secondly, with more than 300 test wickets to his credit and a couple of test centuries coming in the recent past, Bhajji will always be preferred, i.e. the moment either Ojha or Ashwin err the slightest in their performance.

Conclusion: The left-arm and leg-spin combination is working fine for India at the moment but calling either Ashwin or Ojha "great" is premature and uncalled for. Nearly everybody would agree that both of them are essentially bowlers with limited talent but an appreciable talent. Both of them need to work upon their overall fitness and fielding to ensure that they can contribute beyond the bowling aspect only.