Delhi has a pulse. It is alive and in its veins runs the Delhi metro. The metro is like a second home to me, considering that I spend more than four hours of my day travelling through it.

But there is a side to it that only a Delhi girls know of. A side that every woman travelling in the general coach of the metro, witnesses each and every day.

This is not a story of silence. It is a story that screams of what every girl hopping on the metro feels and goes through.

It was 8 in the morning, and I was travelling on the yellow line from Green Park to New Delhi metro station. Anyone who’s ever travelled through this route can imagine the kind of rush there is, at this time.

It was the same that day too. I hopped onto the six coach metro that arrived at the Green Park metro station even though it was crowded because I was getting late for work and could not afford to catch another metro or walk all the way up to the women’s coach in the front. So, even though I saw how crowded this particular metro was, I got into it, anyway. I tried to keep my bag in front of me and my back to either one of the poles or the door, to avoid getting groped.

Even then, I had to bear men staring at me openly, shamelessly, from head to toe. Soon the metro started entering the Rajiv Chowk station and as the doors opened, a swarm of people jostled and pushed and tried to enter into the already crowded metro. I had to get down at the next station and so I kept repeating to myself that in another two minutes, my ordeal would be over. But, right then, I felt some one pushing his junk into my ass. There wasn’t even space enough for me to turn and see who was doing it.

I tried screaming, “bhaiya, peeche hato”, but it was to no avail, ‘coz I couldn’t turn around and didn’t even know which pervert was touching me out of the many people who were pushing against me. I was stuck where I was and couldn’t move.

To make matters worse, he started rubbing against me and even dared to pinch my breasts. Right then, the next stop, where I had to get down, arrived and I was determined to give this guy a hard kick in his crotch. But you wouldn’t believe what happened next with me. As soon as the metro doors opened, I was thrown out of the train, along with the whole crowd, like a duffle bag, even before I could see who the pervert was. I was lying there on the ground, feeling disgusted with myself. No one even had the time to look down and help me stand up and so I got up on my own and walked away to work. And let me to tell you, this is not the first time something like this has happened.

It has happened even when we travel in groups. Although sometimes the metro is so crowded that you don’t know if someone is genuinely rubbing against you or if it’s happening by accident. But men can stand with their backs to girls. And if they don’t, I would advise you ladies to be very, very alert.

I learnt this lesson late in life. But when I did, I took nobody’s shit. When an incident like this seemed to be repeating itself, I punched my elbow into the stomach of the guy standing right behind me and spat a mouthful of cuss words at him. He had the guts to act surprised and ask why I kicked him.

To which I told him that whatever he did, got captured in the metro’s CCTV camera and he should accompany me to the police station to learn exactly why I punched him.

I am a proud Delhi girl. I am proud of this city and its people. But look at the courage of these perverts, who are waiting only to grab every part of you that’s accessible to them. Look at the ones who stay silent when these molesters are at work.

It takes some heart to witness injustice happening right in front of you and still not doing anything about it.

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