Seating disorder

Railway commuters in our city fight for seats as if they were ancestral thrones. Furthermore, most of them behave as if they've never seen a seat before; let alone sat on one. This whole conundrum about wanting to be seated—no matter what one’s age is—tells us something about our priorities. Who knows? We could have built a far better city if our inhabitants showed half of the passion in other stuff what they do in winning a place to rest their butt on. No surprise why there are heated arguments in crowded local trains for space to either stand or sit. Which also explains why a window seat is treasured so much despite knowing that the journey can’t possibly be long—or smell-free—enough to enjoy it thoroughly. But then, being hassled commuters, we tend to pretend that the journey shall go on forever just because we’ve bagged the windy position. Against such a melodramatic setting, it was a pleasant surprise to find a young man who wouldn’t take a seat despite having several chances. He preferred to stand in the aisle between the benches and continued to read a book he held in his right hand. On being asked by a fellow commuter to make the most of the available space, he zenfully replied, “Office jaake baithna hi toh hai.”