Unbelievable half an hour!

That's a title as suggested by my sister and cousins who accompanied me yesterday for a ride on the "Namma Metro" - The first ever metro train in Bangalore city.The most hyped attraction of the city which has missed several deadlines and finally made its grand opening this October is the first step in bringing some peace to Bangalore traffic I'd say. With the reach of Metro, not really that attractive as of now, I guarantee that upon its completion in the years to come we can see some organized structure in the movement of traffic in this city.

The plan was in place. Sis, I and two other cousins had the idea of enjoying this ride when it opens to public. What better day could it be than the Karnataka/Kannada Rajyotsava to make this event dream come true! Yes, we headed out on the road early yesterday morning (Pretty early). Reached MG road at around 8:30am. Walked past the Deccan Herald (office of a daily newspaper) and there we walk the first time ever into the station of Namma metro. The hoardings put up for the opening ceremony was still lying there and we made the best use of it by posing for some photographs :)

The mere 15Rupees ticket per person for a ride from MG road to Bayappanahalli (The route covered in the first phase of construction) was the selected itenary. Each person gets an electronic token that’s to be used for the onward journey only. (Helpful for new commuters: Place the coin on spot provided at the terminal entrance gate for it open. Carry the coin with you all through the journey so as to drop it to exit at the destination terminal gate). The excited us entered the platform and as we ascend the escalator we see a train pass. No rush no hurry - the mantra we adopt. This helped us get a glimpse of the train move away from us. Fellow passengers - some doing the same as we were upto (first timers), some real passengers who commute everyday to work, some kids celebrating the Kannada rajyotsava - started pouring in. Though not huge in number, almost all the seats filled up as we boarded the train. Photography is prohibited and since we had some camera phones, I have a two pictures on the board to share with you all.

That's me!


Beautiful green view outside.

You'd not believe it - a routine 45 minute driving or a bus ride on the road, took just 14 minutes on this metro. I am lucky to get a glimpse of a beautiful top view of part of Bangalore.

Some highlights of the ride:

-As you approach each station there are announcements made in 3 languages to let people commuting know about the whereabouts.

-The CCTV's are installed inside.

-There is a provision for mobile recharging as well :)

-Heritage glimpse of Karnataka played on the TV that is placed on the side walls of the train.

-The route the Metro operates on is put up on the sides of the train (On the top of the door is where you'll locate this)

By the time I noticed and grasped these details we were at Bayappanahalli. As we walked out to buy the return journey tickets I noticed that there are lifts operating between floors to carry the physically challenged people. After buying the tokens, we headed back to the platform and boarded the train - next 14 minutes passed by, before I realized it and we landed at MG road.
Half an hour - to and fro - ride the metro - MG road to Bayappanahalli. That’s the reason behind title.

As we walked out of the station we noticed a few kids dressed in yellow and red (karnataka flag colors), skating down the road marking the day special - Kannada Rajyotsava.

The perfect morning completed with a normal shopping routine at Commercial Street after munching on the authentic breakfast at ICH (Indian Coffee House), Church Street.
Its one of my best hop stops in Bangalore for a quick snack.

It was a splendid Kannada Rajyotsava for me.I loved the experience on the whole.