Everyone thinks they are different from the crowd but a simple metro ride can destroy this illusion.
When the train arrives everyone wants one thing and that is for the doors to open. People on the outside want to walk inside and those inside the train are eager to walk outside.
Once you are inside the train everyone wants to sit down for their journey but at least in India, most people have to stand.
You will find people who are traveling home after work.
You will find those who are passing the time by using their phone so that they don’t have to think.
You will find a woman wary of a man’s touch. After all, this has been her battlefield for many years.
You will find the man who is scanning the crowd to find a safe space for his female companion.
You will find people who are more interested in the crowd than their phones.
You will find someone who is secretly trying to dig their nose. Maybe the metro air conditioning spiked their cold.
You will find the secluded couple who are trying to forget about this crowd with each other.
Then you will realize that you have been like all of these people in the past. Once you start to see yourself in the crowd then your sense of self starts to fade.
My sense of self also started to fade in this metro journey but then my station arrived and the doors opened.
About the author
Chirag Saxena is the author of ‘Reinventing the Wheel’ and a content marketer by profession. He takes great interest in philosophical questions.