“Unveiling Delhi’s Metro: A Journey Through the Robotic Emotions of Urban Society”

This experience is written by Sakshi Bhandari, a student of class 12th at Nanakmatta Public School of Uttarakhand. She writes, “Just like people form perceptions about things without seeing them, I had also developed an idea about the big city before visiting Delhi. Based on what I had learned in sociology, I believed that urban societies were slightly individualistic, with significant segregation of groups and functions. I thought that people in cities preferred to live in their own world rather than interacting and participating in the lives of others. While this definition of urban society wasn’t entirely incorrect, it wasn’t entirely accurate either.” Read the further story in her own words.

However, as soon as I set foot in Delhi, I realized that my preconceived notions about urban society were flawed. I remembered that sociology acknowledges the existence of multiple versions of truth and multiple perspectives within society. This meant that nothing was entirely wrong or right; there were many truths to discover. From my first metro ride in Delhi, I consciously let go of my biases and seek diverse truths from diverse perspectives.

The Delhi Metro became a significant source of understanding the city, the behaviour of its people, and their actions. To me, the metro stations of Delhi felt like a different world, a world of robots. People seemed solely focused on reaching their destinations without caring about anyone else but themselves. There was a lack of communication, emotion, harmony, and interaction—a fast-paced and busy world. The metro system served as a perfect example of how technology has become ingrained in human life.

I noticed that everyone in the metro was constantly engrossed in their smartphones as if their entire world revolved around them. No one seemed to consider communication and interaction necessary anymore. The time spent on phones had reduced the time spent in face-to-face communication with one another. Coming from a place where people would strike up conversations and make companions even on a 15-minute journey, it was challenging for me to comprehend this aspect of Delhi’s metro riders. It felt as though they were all in isolation, uninterested in experiencing the beauty of the world outside their mobile phones.

Additionally, I realized that the city had an individualistic trait, with people preferring to think and act in their own unique ways rather than imitating others. In the metro, most people were glued to their phones, while those who didn’t use phones would either sleep or get lost in their own thoughts. No matter how bored people seemed, they chose not to engage with the person sitting next to them. On my very first day in Delhi, I perceived the metro station visitors as robotic. I found them rude and lacking in empathy initially. It seemed that they were solely focused on their work and reaching their destinations. My friends and I were the only ones in the entire metro who communicated and shared emotions with each other.

However, my perception of Delhi’s public underwent a transformation when I witnessed several acts of kindness. One day, when one of our schoolmates fell sick, an old man sitting in the metro offered him his seat and provided support. On another occasion, an elderly gentleman got up from his seat and offered it to three girls from our school. Yet another time, an uncle stood up and offered me his seat, prompting two or three other uncles to do the same for our schoolmates. Finally, an uncle noticed me standing and kindly informed me that he would get off at the next station, allowing me to sit comfortably. These few incidents shattered my preconceived notions about the people of Delhi.

While I still believed that they were somewhat robotic, as I observed their punctuality and determination to reach their destinations, I also couldn’t deny that they possessed emotions. In the metro stations, I witnessed a system-like behaviour among them, where they adhered to rules and followed the prescribed manner of doing things. It seemed as though a system was ingrained within them, binding them to their functions. However, I now understood that their seemingly robotic nature might be a result of the city’s formation through migration and urbanization. When people come to Delhi to work, it’s natural for them to be hesitant to initiate communication and solely focus on their reasons for being there.

Through multiple perspectives, I discovered many truths within Delhi’s metro stations. In this journey of trying to understand the people of Delhi, I eventually labelled them as “Robots with Some Emotions.”