Opinion Delhi Metro reinforces ban on reels

There’s something distinctly urban and urbane about the unspoken contract between commuters on public transport. It is a shared space, and there is an expectation of decency, even privacy. It is rude, for example, to stare into the book or phone of the person sitting next to you on the bus or loom pelvis-first when you are standing, facing a seated fellow passenger. But perhaps most common, and most irritating of all for the regular commuter, are the joy riders who spoil it for everyone.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has announced — once again — that “filming reels, dance videos or any other such activities that may cause inconvenience to the passengers is strictly prohibited inside the Delhi Metro”. To bring the message home, the DMRC has tried reasoning with narcissistic, inconsiderate would-be “influencers” by trying to teach them the most obvious civic manners — “Delhi Metro mein passenger bane, pareshaani nahi (be a passenger, not a nuisance)”. This latest plea came barely a month after DMRC used an image from the Oscar-winning song ‘Naatu Naatu’ and posted, “Dance is fun but Delhi Metro mein Na-Naacho Naacho Naacho”.

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Perhaps it all began with commuters — often young — playing music loudly off their phones, headphones be damned. The problem should have been nipped in the bud then. Now, India’s most expansive metro rail has become a set for every vanity project and a stage for every performance meant for Instagram, TikTok, etc. Quite apart from being an annoyance, the constant filming-and-posting is a violation of the privacy of all those who do not wish to be cast as background actors in someone else’s social media story. Perhaps there’s nothing to be done, and the DMRC’s attempts are pointless. And the quiet dignity of anonymity, once the hallmark of public transport, is just another casualty of the age of the selfie.