I make up and down trips in the Airport Metro on almost every working day. After the Aero-City station, the train suddenly enter the elevated section of the railway, I raise my chin from the pages of India Today / The week in expectation of something new in the opened up horizon. Each time I observe something new on either side of the rail-way. It is like a panoramic canvas with myriad colours changing images every day. sometimes it is a parade of puffy capped soldiers,(the area being the Cantonment) in the lawns of one of the Defence buildings, or herds of village women squatting in circles preparing dung cakes in the open grounds, green spinaches and blossoming Mushrooms, gazing buffaloes, besides the ever flowing fleets of swanky cars, smart red and green DTC buses on either side of the metro; all add to the canvas every day. The beauty of the canvas is eye catching when the train pass through the ridge where the leafy tree tops along the ridge looks like flowing mounds of green clouds. Lucky if you find a monkey family feeding on a shoot of the tree on a sunny day. New Delhi is celebrating its centenary, I am entering my forty second year of Delhi life and am very fortunate to be alive to see the changing colours of this Cosmopolis. Malls apart, noticeable advancement is its transportation systems. There were times when I had to wait for hours to board a DTC bus with passengers flocking inside, roof top, and clinging on all protruding parts of the dull and poorly maintained DTC. The plight of the ever-crowded bus reminded of a monster eating sacks from the rear and vomiting the same from the front, each time it stops. That was it. Many Delhi Babus have struggled their ways making it to the North Block, Patel Chowk, CP , Daryaganj, Okhla etc..etc.. when there was no AC bus, No Metro rail, leave alone Airport Metro. Few of my contemporary Babus retired to rest after a long spell of wrestling and yelling in the Delhi roads to catch a DTC in order to reach places. All things are bygones. Now, Delhi’s roads carry smart Air conditioned buses with obliging drivers and conductors. Not to mention the praise worthy Metro. A sad news the man who changed the face of Delhi is retiring to his humble hamlet in Kerala. No one, it seems, has suggested a ‘Bharat Ratna’ though all cry for the same for Sachin and Bachan OR even Ishwarya’s new born unseen daughter are hot in the air.

This week end we are proceeding to Kerala. This Christmas will be in Kerala. Will have lots of Starry trees next time.