The metro was crowded as ever. I made a room
for myself near the junction of two compartments as usual. While people
generally get busy with their mobiles, I make use of this time, while commuting
back from office, in observing people and their behavior. It often makes for
interesting study in inter-personal relations. It is quite normal on this Yellow
Line for commuters to rush out and in in huge numbers at the Rajiv Chowk Metro
Station, since it is the junction of Blue and Yellow Line metros. On that day I
saw a mother and her teenage daughter in the crowd waiting for their turn to hold
on a seat as the metro entered the platform at the Rajiv Gandhi Metro Station. As
soon as two commuters vacated their seats, the mother was successful in
grabbing one of the seats. She then swiftly held her daughter’s hand and pulled
her down to occupy the other vacant seat. Indeed the little girl was most advantageously
placed to occupy the other seat. But the young girl got up and offered her seat
to another elderly lady standing just behind her. I watched the development
quite amusingly and also the expression on her mother’s face which was anything
but benign. But the young girl stood there unmindful of
the spiteful expression on her mother’s face. She just drew her mother’s
attention towards one of the passenger information that we all come across
everyday while traveling in metro only to ignore in our daily grind - “Offer your seat
to someone who is in need of it more than you”. The mother wasn’t pleased.
We expect our children to imbibe moral
values. On that particular day, I found that little girl had displayed her
moral values in a real life situation and to me she appeared more matured
compared to her mother. On the other hand I also felt pity for her mother whose
action, though not in good taste, reflected the concern of a mother towards her
child. Who was right? I leave it for the readers to decide.
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