MIND  THE  GAP !

“Malviya Nagar. Station. Doors will open on the Right. Please, mind the gap !”

I went to a theatre for a film yesterday, Sunday, the first time after at least eight years! I took the metro to the mall. I heard the above announcement about 40 times – at each station from Janakpuri West to MG Road and back. It made me think.

We have a smart, energetic, young, dynamic, forward looking new government in place. All of us eagerly looking forward to its initiatives to revive and revitalise everything around us. The “doors will (certainly) open to the Right” as opposed to the “left” or half-left policies we have been living on for decades.

A warning follows immediately after this announcement: “Please, mind the gap!”. The metro lady refers to the gap between the train and the platform – “please, don’t fall into that gap and hurt yourself!”

For the government, I would think, the humble request I would make is, “Please, mind the gap – the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor; the gap between the urban and the rural; the gap between people belonging to various communities ……. “

Please, mind the gap!