A tale of two metros

Planning to commute in Kolkata by bus? Might not be such a good idea, writes Vijaya Sharma.

I was in Kolkata this time for the new year. What struck me immediately was the different atmosphere in the central areas of the city as compared to Delhi's high-flying zones.

No youngsters speeding away in cars to honk in the New Year. No rowdy groups as seen in Delhi's premier and upmarket complex, Connaught Place, no shouting on the streets and scaring away ordinary denizens like you and me. No cars with loud blaring music careening close, oh so close, to you. Can't really enjoy when such groups strike terror in your heart. A word for women out there: you will certainly feel more safe in Kolkata than in Delhi. Good and bad elements are present everywhere and tragedy may strike you anywhere but Kolkata is certainly a safer place for women to move around, alone even late in the evenings.

Commuting in Kolkata is much cheaper than in Delhi. I also discovered why most go ga-ga over the Kolkata metro. It is fast, smooth,cost effective, non-polluting. But soon one will be able to say the same of Delhi also, what with so many metro rails coming up and even the first underground metro being inaugurated.

Delhi's first underground metro was inaugurated on December 19. The four kilometre stretch runs from Delhi University to Kashmiri Gate. The metro rail project, undertaken by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), and aided by Japan, is truly a different story. The DMRC met all the deadlines, commuting was not a hassle despite the fact that huge areas were cordoned off and dug up to place the metro infrastructure.

But we continued commuting to office on the same routes with almost no changes in the route. Hats off to the efficient work. One does not get to see such punctuality and professionalism in Delhi, so often.

The metro will also be Delhi's offering to the tourists when the city hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2012 and, here's three cheers to the PM's big thinking, it will also be among the Capital's strong points, among other factors, when it bids hard to bring the Olympic Games to India in 2016.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seems all set to acualise BJP's poll slogan India shining, with his planning.

Also by refusing international aid in the wake of the tsunami devastation, he has sent out a message to the world community that not for nothing does India stake claim to a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Thousands in India may have perished and thousands still missing, but India is not only taking care of the victims but is the first country whose Navy has sent out a fully-equipped hospital to Sri Lanka. India is also among the core group of countries named by the US for providing relief to to the tsunami-hit victims of Asia.

Coming back to Kolkata, something else baffled me. Kolkata is among the four metro cities of India, the other three being Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Why then are the public amenities not so friendly towards non-Bengalis. I mean, if you desire to travel in the buses of Kolkata and god forbid, you don't know how to read Bengali, then chances are you may keep standing at the stop helplessly, staring as the buses honk past you.

Why?

Because the destination name plates on all the buses are written in Bengali. Either you should be familiar with the bus number, or you must know Bengali. Or the other option: keep asking people around which one is this and which one is that and generally be deemed an irritant by those around.

Strange isn't it, and something not expected in a metro city?