Transportation in Delhi

Roads in Delhi are democratic: they are for everyone, anything with wheels, and all animals. This is what I have seen on major roads: trucks, buses, three-wheeled trucks and auto rickshaws, bicycles, bicycle-pulled carts, pedal rickshaws; cow and horse-drawn wagons, people riding elephants and walking with camels, cattle grazing in the median, dogs and pigs, pedestrians and cyclist going both with and and against traffic, cars doing u turns in the middle of traffic, drivers going across lanes to get a parking spot or drop off a passenger, and cars going backwards towards traffic. Jay walking thrives. Somehow, everything flows, and everyone gets to his or her destination safely.

City buses run frequently during the day. Passengers give their fare to an employee, not the driver, who takes the money, gives change, and gives the rider a ticket. Transfers are not available. I have found these bus employees to be very nice and helpful. I always ask for my stop. One time the employee got up and walked through the bus to tell me the next stop was mine. Some men have offered their seat to me when the bus is crowded. I have been the only white person riding the bus. The overwhelming majority of the passengers probably do not own cars. The bus is the least expensive transportation. I pay anywhere from five to twenty-five rupees ( ten to fifty cents) to go around Delhi. Some buses are packed with people, some are air conditioned and cost more for that luxury. A colleague told me that the bus stressed him out so much when he was a college student that he would arrive to school exhausted. His ride was two hours one way, and his bus was always jammed full of passengers.

The metro is clean, efficient and can be very crowded. The lines are not all complete yet, so many places are not accessible by metro. Security checks all bags and people before they can enter the metro area. The price varies according to where one is going, but the metro is not expensive, around twenty to thirty-five cents depending on the length of the journey; passes are available for frequent use. I do not like trips in the metro involving changing lines or trips that go into notoriously crowded areas. My first ride found me at Kashmere Gate where people were so tightly packed that the crowd moved and pushed me along. Children were crying because everyone was so squeezed in. I feared for injuries due to the metro doors closing on people. Thankfully, I got in with enough room to be away from the doors, and I got out, fighting against tightly packed people, to my destination. Since that first metro ride, I have learned the best times to go and better yet, I learned that the first car is a "Ladies Car." No men are supposed to be one it. The rationale is that we ladies deserve luxury, less hassle, and our own space. I like the Ladies Car!

Rickshaws are inexpensive, but most pedalers do not speak English. These are good for short distances. I still think of the protagonist in City of Joy every time I see a rickshaw. I have mixed feelings about using them.

Auto rickshaws are less expensive than taxis and very bumpy. Again , language for me is a problem. Some taxis are fixed price. I have been told settling on a price before is a good idea.

One thousand cars a day are sold in Delhi. I do not know if that means they are used in Delhi also. The roads are very busy, and traveling takes a lot of time. From where I live to Connaught Place. Khan Market, or other areas in the "center" of Delhi takes at least an hour. Some employees and college students travel up to two hours one way to get to their destinations.

Indian Maids

Almost everyone I know has one or two maids that work six days a week. Their hours vary: two to eight hours daily. The maids usually live in slums or lower income areas, and their pay is obviously low as their services are so available. I was told that residents of South Delhi have no maids right now because the police cleaned up the slums for the Commonwealth Games. I believe this because my tour last Saturday of the slum children of Delhi was void of children due to the police cleaning the streets and taking the children to home outside Delhi for the Commonwealth Games.

Maids are typically undependable: frequently they come late, leave early, or simply do not show up. This is tolerated as people both need them and regard this as the culture of maids. My maid, Manju, is a typical example of this lifestyle. She is paid 1300 rupees a month, which is about $30. She is supposed to work 2 to 6 p.m. She is only twenty-one and a very slow worker. She spends a lot of time on the phone, sneaks cat naps, comes late, leaves early, and delays doing most tasks I request except cooking. She eats one meal during her shift, and I supply quality grains, pulses, and vegetables. She is an excellent cook, and honestly, I do miss an outstanding meal and fresh chapatis those days she bunks (skips). Many times she will sit down and talk with me instead of working. The first month she worked for me she did not show up seven days, and she cut off about thirteen hours from other days due to tardiness or early departures. Four days I was not home, so I do not know if she came those days. So far during the three weeks of the second month, she has been working for me, she has not shown up seven days and has cut off four hours from other days. I have been asked for a raise and an advance for medicine. She was very unhappy when I followed through with my clarification of expectations in September when I said I would not pay her for the days and hours she did not work. "My pay is very low," she tells me. I reply, "No work, no pay."