Why are we so joyless?

You can do this in the NYC Subway.

You can do this on the London Underground.

You can do this in the Paris Metro.

You can dance, you can sing, you can busk, you can cuddle, you can kiss, you can wear (or not wear) what you want, you can record videos, you can be happy, you can be free, you can be joyful, you can be expressive, you can be you, as long as you are not inconveniencing or harming others.

In fact, other people will most likely join you in celebrating whatever it is you are. They’ll laugh, sing along, dance, applaud, or even ignore you and leave you alone, not seeing it their place to tell you how to express yourself or lead your life.

Like it should be. In a civilised, democratic society.

But you can’t do this in Delhi Metro. Because we are heartless, joyless, uncultured, pompous pricks full of ourselves and our inflated (and misplaced) sense of purity and self-righteousness.

Fuck you, Delhi Metro. And fuck every other ‘authority’ that tries to police freedom of expression.

Don’t fall for the polite tone of the announcement that claims this is being done because it causes inconvenience to other passengers. Make no mistakes. It is being done because we are assholes who can’t stand other people’s joy.

And it isn’t as if the people who make the rules are somehow different than us, the regular folks. After all, they come from the same society that looks at a couple simply sitting (no, really; literally simply sitting) in a metro compartment, and ‘feel awkward’. It isn’t people who make the rules that need to suddenly become more fun-loving and progressive in their outlook. It is the entire society that needs to introspect and change from within.

In fact, this isn’t just about the metro. We Indians seem to travel to foreign countries, enjoy their public performers, wonder why we don’t have talented buskers in India, and then we come back and mistreat and abuse those we do have. I really think we ought to loosen up a bit.