Of people and travel

I take the Metro every morning to college and back home after college and I love observing people.

People do very interesting things when they are alone. Some look at women like they've never done before. Some head bang and go into Air Guitaring and Air Drumming at the drop of a hat. And yet, there are others who observe the others (yours truly including).

Then there's this quintessential Kaboor fellow who gets a call and the whole train looks at him, for his phone has the loudest ringtone and he doesn't know how to answer the call. Then there is this Punjabi guy, along with a couple of his cronies, who plays the 'best' of Bhangra mixed with hip-hop for the benefit of the whole train. There's this odd Tamil mama who's voice actually overshadows the voice of the PA system.

And yet, by default, I switch off my player soon as I enter the metro train and start listening and observing people. The other day there was this French couple who were standing right next to me and jabbering in jet speed in French. I managed to catch hold of a certain word, and with my ultimately filtered knowledge of French, recognized that word a full 20 seconds later. I asked them if they were French, in French btw, and made them smile like crazy for some reason. After 2 sentences from me, they switched to English out of compulsion and passion for their language.

I am madly waiting for a cricket match to happen and India to lose. Honest to God, the electric train in Chennai is the best place to be after a cricket match. The discussions and the analysis they make are out of this world. The mamas and the mamis, both in all their wisdom, discuss the match with such fervor and elaborately describe Sachin's cover drive to that one pitiable person who missed the match due to a power cut.

I am loving college so far and I really hope this initial sheen carries on.