Train that moves Delhi

DELHI METRO IN RASHMI SADANA'S THE MOVING CITYIS A FORCE THAT ATTEMPTS TO BRING ORDER TO THE CITY

- AMIT KUMAR

HAVE YOU ever wondered how the Delhi Metro has become a site for new possibilities, imagination and plans for the city? At the same time, it shapes the urban lives and riders' experiences in new ways. The Moving City is a field account, in which author Rashmi Sadana observes the Metro's nuances while on the commute, compares train travel with that by road, and speaks to riders and residents living near the Metro about their experiences. She also interviews Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials, architects involved in the Metro's construction, students of urban transport and mobilities, former chief minister of Delhi, late Sheila Dikshit, and non-profit Hazards Centre's director Dunu Roy.

The book is divided into three parts-crowded, expanding and visibility. But these titles do not wholly represent what is inside them. Instead, the book is non-linear, and its subsections unrelated to each other. Each section is a new account. So, readers can read the book in or out of order and will get to know about heterogeneous elements, voices, perspectives, arguments and experiences from the ground up. Published by a university press and written by a professor of cultural anthropology in a public university in the US, The Moving City is an account that can be read by non-academics, too. It is a fun read for those who do not know Delhi Metro well, and for those who are regular commuters.