Karmayogi: A Biography of E. Sreedharan

by M.S. Ashokan

The metro’s role in transforming the culture of the city commute in Delhi has been phenomenal. The media took note of and highlighted the civil behaviour of metro employees or passengers, which was in stark contrast to that in most other public spaces in the cities of the region, where road rage and criminal assaults on fellow citizens were very common. The regular spectacle of filth and squalor around the major railway stations in Delhi could not be found anywhere on the metro. It would be interesting to note that the railways and metro lines lay just a ten-minute distance apart. Both are used by the inhabitants of the same city. The usual abomination of spit-stained walls at the stations of the Indian Railways or the piles of trash on their platforms were not sights to be associated with the metro. It is a great example of a confident, self-respecting and high-class service inspiring a culture of civility in its patrons.