Metro..

December 2006

The building stood 100m away. Never did I think it concealed something amazing. It was a very small building and can be better called as a structure. I had just come out of the New Delhi railway station and as I approached the building, I could see the fluorescent signboard; a circular one with two horizontal chords and a forward slash connecting them. It was the sign board of the now famous Delhi metro. Though the metros all over the world have signs of similar sort, I do not know if there is one which is exactly similar to this. The entrance was quite normal, typically Indian with pan spit over the walls, but as I descended down the stairs, I was magically transported to another world, without a 9 3/4 platform or the Hogwarts express; ahead of me lay a neat platform; bright advertisements on both side; Kajol was smiling at me with her tata indicom phone. With bright displays guiding me at all places, I think I never stopped at any place looking for directions; I walked as if I was a regular commuter there.
I passed the uniformed persons at the ticket counter and the security persons to reach the platform (Check out the station photo that I took @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharishkrishnan/331001132) . The train entered smoothly and I was transported to my destination within a quick time frame, in a time that’s not possible in the fumy roads of Delhi.


January 2008
As I was browsing through the list of Padma Vibushan awardees, one name struck different. Most of them were famous personalities in different fields. But this name sounded familiar, but I was not able to relate it with anybody. I read the name once again E. Sreedharan. Then from some corner of my mind, I recollected him as the Managing director of Delhi Metro. A quick search in wikipedia gave away his resume (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Sreedharan). It reveals the strong personality and integrity of this person who has executed some biggest railway projects within the stipulated time and budget, given the red tapism in the Indian government.
The Delhi Metro is one among them. It had made lakhs of people happy just like how I was that day, and it still continues to do so.
Hats off to that gentleman. India needs more Sreedharans in the future.