The Standpoint

Operation Seat Capture
By
Nikita Mehta

When one thinks of strategies, one thinks of soccer, cricket or wars. But believe me; the most complex strategies of all go on in the mind of a regular Delhi Metro traveler. It’s a whole new war inside the metro by the name of Operation Seat Capture as soon as they enter the war-zone.

It all starts when the train is just about to arrive at the platform. Heartbeats get faster and muscles tauten. As the train gets slower at the platform, the eyes of the soldiers start scanning the insides of the metro like hawks for the lone seat left on the seven-seater. Decency and chivalry die. Doors open like the iron gates of a kingdom; soldiers armed with their heavy machinery a.k.a..huge suitcases and dome-sized gunny bags enter the battlefield and the war is on.

The weapons are your hands, legs, elbows, feet or the heavy machinery in case you are privileged. Missiles of fists and bags fly everywhere and in the midst of the pandemonium, pushing for the way, emerge as the winner and capture the lone seat. Victory, oh glorious victory!

But it isn’t over yet. The war is still on. This is India. Who said a seven-seater is only for seven people? Ah..Western mumbo-jumbo! A soldier with the width of 500 cm decides that a space of 2cm is enough for her to fit in. So, using her elbows and oh the nuclear bomb located at the back as her weapon, she squeezes in and leaves everyone to rest one fourth of their backsides. Oh yes! The runner-up is here!

The defeated soldiers are left standing, defeated by the missiles of fists or their own sense of chivalry and decency. But there is still hope as they wait for the next seat to get vacated. The war is over, but the strategies are not.