The marvelous ‘Namma’ Metro Ride!

Ever since the Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit system, known popularly as ‘Namma’ Metro, Phase I was thrown open to the public, on June 18th, 2017, my friend and colleague Mrs. Shamim Banu and myself were planning gleefully to take an end to end, bumper to bumper ride on the Metro. 

After many postponements, similar to the inaugural date of the Metro, we finally hopped in on 14th October 2017, to see how Namma Metro is doing. Our plan was to get on one southernmost station in a line, the Green line, because that is closer to us and travel to the very end of that line. Then return to the central Kempe Gowda station and traverse the other line, the Pink one, from end to end.

We took a cab from home and got dropped at Jayanagar Metro station. There was a flight of steps leading to the station, where we were to buy the tickets. We did muse that Namma Metro might not be very ‘Elder-friendly,’ if at every station they must climb so many stairs. What about people in wheel chair? They shouldn’t even think of travelling by Metro, I suppose! 

The Jayanagar station was prim and proper, clean and neat, and quite ultramodern. From there we bought tickets, Rs.50 each to Nagasandra, the last station in the Green line. Within two minutes as announced, the train arrived as noiselessly as would a pussy cat and exactly at 10 AM we boarded the train. 

We got seats and giggling like school girls, we sat and arched our backs to see the scenaries outside. The train whizzed past South End circle, Lalbagh, and National college. It entered underground stations as it passed through KR. Market and Chickpet, when the crowd started picking up. We crossed the central Kempe Gowda, Majestic station. One lot got down but another of equal size got in. 

                                                                                                  Crowded escalators at Majestic 

The train emerged to glimpse the outside world after crossing Sampige Road station, Mantri squire station. By the time we crossed Mahakavi Kuvempu station and Rajajinagar, the crowd became less.  Then we were passing through lesser known stations like Mahalakshmi, Sandal Soap station and then of course the well-known Yeshwnathpur station. Goraguntepalya and Peenya stations quickly passed by and Peenya Industry, Jalahalli, Dasarahalli staions speeded by and finally we reached Nagasandra station, the endpoint of Green Line. 

It had taken us 41 minutes up till this point. The ride was smooth and no hassles. There was enough standing place inside the car and these were clean and of course new. We didn’t see any graffiti on the walls or anywhere else.  

Promptly we went to the ticket counter and bought tickets from Nagasandra to Majestic central station and there on to Byappanahalli, costing us Rs.58 each. It started at 11 am and we reached Majestic centre, where we got down and got up the escalators to climb two levels and then reach the point where the trains going to Byappanahalli, the Pink line, would come. 

    

As we waited for the train to come, we noticed arrow marks indicating where people have to stand in queue to get in and which blocks of area are to be left free for the people getting down. I was really surprised to see people standing in queue very tamely, one behind the other. People have learnt their manners at last! And what no one could enforce, Namma Metro had achieved, we exclaimed to each other. 

The train came, and there you go! The queue melted in a second and people just rushed to the doors. So much for our people learning any manners! One improvement, they left some passage for the disembarking people for a few seconds and then rushed in to close that also.  

We got into the train by 11.40 AM. Interesting stations were to come in this route. First was Sri. M. Visveswaraya station – Central college, then Vidhana Soudha, the heart of the city, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar station, and Cubbon park station, which were underground. So, missed viewing the glorious citadel of the city, the famed Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the power in the State.  

                                                                                    

                                                                                               Shamim at an escalator 

Eyes were rewarded as the train emerged into the open on Mahatma Gandhi Road station. I was eagerly trying to catch the sights of familiar places. But the train was so overcrowded, I didn’t even get a seat to sit. It was the second Saturday, a holiday for government offices, and what were people doing travelling in the Metro? Can’t they sit at home and relax? Shamim pointed out that private offices and companies might still be working. Hmm, bad luck for us!

We reached Baiyappanahalli after crossing Halasuru, Trinity, and Indiranagar stations. It was 12.01 PM. By now I was feeling a bit hungry, craving for a mid-morning snack. I had not packed anything thinking that we can buy something or the other at the stations. 

                                               

                                        Arrow markings, showing space on the platform

                                                     for disembarking people

Unfortunately, there were no stalls at all inside the stations. No coffee or tea even. Wonder why? If some are mad enough to want to travel in the Metro from end to end, as we did, should they not have some food to eat on the way, so that their energy level does not drop, while shifting from one line to the other? I think Namma Metro must think afresh on the matter and make some arrangements for sale of packed snacks and bottled drinks including iced coffee or tea. 

                                                                                                Shamim waiting in line

Also, there were no toilets at all at any station. These need not be at the station where trains come and go, but at least near the ticket booths or at the entry and exit points of the stations, such facilities need to be provided for. 

At Baiyappanahalli we tried one experiment. We now had to go to Mysore Road station, the end of the Pink line and then return to Majestic central station to switch to the Green line and reach our place Jayanagar. Can we travel without buying a ticket from Baiyappanahalli to Mysore Road? We tried and crossed over to the station, where train to Mysore Road was coming. We climbed down the stairs and joined the crowd. Voila! No checking!

  City near Mysore Road, 

            as seen from the Metro

We got on to the train and arrived at the Mysore Road station, the endpoint of the Pink line. Shamim was quite stricken by conscience by now and insisted we buy the tickets for our journey up to Majestic centre and then to Jayanagar. So, we got our tickets another Rs.45 each and reached Jayanagar by 1.25 PM.

We decided to give a miss to four stations after Jayanagar in the Green line, these being Rashtreeya Vidalaya Road, Banashankari, Jaya Prakash Nagar and the last station Yelachenahalli, as we were quite tired by this time. We hopped on to an autorickshaw and proceeded to Al Bek restaurant for a sumptuous lunch. As we sat and broke the butter naan, scooping out Nlli Nihari, we reminisced.  

                                                                                        

                                                                                     Tree tops full of flowers 

                                                                                                        seen from the Metro

Well, for one thing it was mission achieved. Second, we had a first-hand knowledge of Namma Metro and could recommend it to our friends and acquaintances. Third, I would hope that the present MD. Metro will read this and take pride their achievements and also take note of the suggestions we have made, we being their former senior colleagues!

Like the absence of escalators at the entrance to the stations; necessity of toilets and vending machines or snack bars inside the stations. At the same time, we are hoping the ticket-less travel we made at one line will either be ignored or overlooked!  

 Congratulations and long live Namma Metro! 

The Splendor of Athens

The last day of my visit to Greece, was a day trip in tourist bus, in the city of Athens, the capitol of Greece! I was dying with anticipation! Imagine, touring the city which laid the foundations of the Western Civilization. It was the cradle of Western civilization. 

Athens was the heart of Ancient Greece, it’s empires and civilization. In the classical age, it was a powerful city-state. It was the center of art and philosophy. It was the birthplace of democracy. Its architecture is still influencing public buildings in the world today. It was ‘Numero Uno’ in many matters!

                                                                                                     

                  Temple of Zeus       

                                                                                       

We passed through the Temple of Zeus, where as usual only a few columns were standing for the visitors to view. It was almost at the center of the city. We also glimpsed the Hadrian Arch on the site, constructed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. This got me interested to look up the history of the city Athens. 

 

                                                                                                    Hadrian Arch

Athens has 7000 years of history. The city might have got its name from the goddess Athena offspring of Zeus, whose face is beautifully drawn in many places, including the hotel where we stayed. 

  Goddess Athena, painted on the hotel's walls

In 1400 BC, Mycenaean civilization flourished here, which in turn drew inspiration from the Minoan civilization that flourished in these places in 2000 BC, especially in Crete. The remnants of this Minoan civilization, I had the privilege to visit in Acrotiri excavations, in the island of Santorini. 

By 6th Century BC, classical Greek civilization started and democracy was introduced here in 508 BC. Play writers like Sophocles, Historians Herodotus, and Thucydides, Physician Hippocrates and most importantly philosopher like Socrates lived and contributed to their civilization, which would lay the foundations of the Western civilization. This period was called the Golden age of Athens.

As we passed through the Academy of Athens, with the sculptures of Socrates and Aristotle adorning the front, I recalled the famous “Academy” of Plato, which he established in 387 BC, where he taught and where Aristotle studied for twenty years. It survived till 529 AD, when it was closed under orders from Roman Emperor Justinian II. 

Similarly, Aristotle established his own academy called “The Lyceum” in 335 BC, which was destroyed along with its famous library in 267 AD, with the sack of the city by Goths. 

The rich heritage of these philosophers and their writings motivated people to cherish free thinking and democratic mode of governance, with discussions and arriving at decisions, which are still with us in the modern world. 

                                                                                     

                                                                                                                 Parliament

We passed the Royal palace, which now functions as Parliament, the National Library, with Doric style heavy columns with round capitals at the top with no base. You can see this type of architecture replicated in the columns of our own Rashrapathi Bhavan in New Delhi.

We also passed by the National Library, Athens University and the old Parliament which is now a museum. National Archaeological Museum also passed by. For want of time we couldn’t stop and gawk at these beautiful monuments. The loss was ours alone!

At the modern stadium, designed just like the classical ones, we disembarked and looked around. It was massive and built completely of white marble, the material that the ancients used in building temples and buildings in the Parthenon and other places. It was built in the same place where ancient stadium stood centuries before and it could accommodate 65,000 onlookers. The very first revived Olympic games were held in Athens in 1896 in this stadium, and later the Summer Olympic games were held in 2004. 

                   The Stadium

Finally, we reached the Acropolis hills, which house the ancient Greek classical buildings famously known for Parthenon temple. This temple was dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the Greeks considered as their patron goddess. The construction was completed by 432 BC, and was meant to celebrate Hellenic victory over the Persian attack and as a thanksgiving to their goddess. It also served as a city treasury. It was of classical Doric style. 

On the way to Parthenon, Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The temple was damaged and reconstructed thereafter. During Byzantium time it was used as a church and during Ottoman’s time as a mosque. But in the 15th century AD, the Ottomans used it as an ammunition dump. In the battle it got ignited and major destruction to the temple and other nearby buildings resulted. Many marble sculptures were taken away and some sold to the

British in 1816, who exhibit till today in their British Museum. 

             The columns of Parthenon

A row of Caryatids, marble statues of young women, that supported the south porch of the Erechtheion building in Acropolis, was a beautiful vision to hold, the originals kept inside the Acropolis Museum on Acropolis hills. The fine folds of the garments worn by these young girls, who supported the building, could be seen through the marvelous work of the sculptors. 

  

                                                                                      A row of Caryatids serving as columns

Two Caryatids in the Museum

To recapitulate history of Acropolis citadel, there were three wars that happened to be fought here. The first one was in 490 BC, when Persian army under the rule of Darius I attacked the rebellious Greek states, and the Persians were defeated. Parthenon was built to commemorate that victory. 

                                                                               

       The Acropolis Hills with Parthenon          

Persians under Xerxes attacked once again and after fierce battle the Greeks won the battle again at Salamis in 480 BC. Resenting the ascendancy of Athens, other states fought them in the Peloponnesian war from 431- 404 and Athens was defeated and its power and prestige declined. It is interesting to know that both the Emperors Darius and Xerxes are mentioned in the Bible in the books of Daniel and Esther. 

                         Massive columns of Parthenon

Greece was swallowed up in the expanding kingdom of Philip II of Macedonia and then later the Empire of Alexander the Great. It then passed on to the hands of Romans, who had great fascination for Greece for it was Greek civilization that was ruling those days. 

It is good to remember that the whole New Testament was written in Greek, which was the lingua franca of those days. The New Testament writers used a form of local Greek known as ‘Koinonia Greek,’ which was commonly spoken by the populace. 

   Entrance to Parthenon and other buildings

                  crowded with tourists

Byzantine rule followed and in 9-10th century AD it came under the influence of the Crusaders and became prosperous. But in 1458 AD, it was conquered by Ottoman rule. In 1832 AD, the Greeks fought and won their independence.

Sculptures in the Museum. Fine folds of the       dresses seen 

Today Greece is a modern democracy, with a population of 6,65,000 people, ranked 39th richest country in the world. However, during 2006-2008, it came under the Great Recession and government debt crisis, when its GDP growth turned to minus. It picked up and got out of the debt trap with severe austerity measures, but still it is growing only at 0.02% in 2016, which is very low.

        Modern tram running in Athens

                                                                                        A statue of a Runner, in Athens metropolis

This was obvious in some ways, as we did see many poor people lying on cardboard planks in the city squire and in front of other buildings, with a cup in the front to receive alms from the passers-by. 

The economy is still to pick up and I sincerely wish and pray that the great ancient Greece will be restored to its ancient glory and prosperity and I wish the government and their people well.