Moving City: Scenes from the Delhi Metro and the Social Life of Infrastructure

by Rashmi Sadana

The Moving City is a rich and intimate account of urban transformation told through the story of Delhi's Metro, a massive infrastructure project that is reshaping the city's social and urban landscapes. Ethnographic vignettes introduce the feel and form of the Metro and let readers experience the city, scene by scene, stop by stop, as if they, too, have come along for the ride. Laying bare the radical possibilities and concretized inequalities of the Metro, and how people live with and through its built environment, this is a story of women and men on the move, the nature of Indian aspiration, and what it takes morally and materially to sustain urban life. Through exquisite prose, Rashmi Sadana transports the reader to a city shaped by both its Metro and those who depend on it, revealing a perspective on Delhi unlike any other.

Genres: India, Nonfiction, Sociology

262 pages, Hardcover

Published December 7, 2021

Reviews

[charlie medusa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rashmi Sadana tu es vraiment la reine que tu penses être. merveille de petit livre, que je suis férocement heureuse d'avoir pu découvrir grâce à une super géographe qui a fait sa thèse sur le métro de Delhi et qui connaît donc bien ce livre, qui parle donc du métro de Delhi à travers une analyse ethnographique. le bouquin évite complètement l'écueil dans lequel tombent bien d'autres ouvrages de la discipline (à mon humble et agacé avis), à savoir un certain regard surplombant, quasi déshumanisant, ce qui est ironique pour un champ d'études qui prétend donner du sens aux actes des individus bref ça en dit long sur la société.

très très accessible, le peu de jargon qui y figure me semble largement acceptable - et compréhensible -, la structure par saynètes, qui scande le texte de la même manière que les différents arrêts d'un métro scandent sa ligne, rend le tout hyper entraînant, abordant un sacré panel de sujets et d'atmosphères, et cassant aussi joliment au passage nos représentations occidentales de ce qu'est un métro et de ce à quoi ressemble la vie à l'intérieur. bravo !!!

[Suyogaya Awasthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

• “In urbanization, you think big because you are thinking decades ahead."
• The length of the book is 296 pages.
• The core of the theme of the book revolves around the author telling a brief and broadly delineated account of how the pervasion of Metro in the city of Delhi has affected the needs and lives of people of Delhi and thereby creating a beautiful excursion for the readers to see and experience the core of the city both pre and post establishment of Delhi Metro.
• Delving further, the book has been divided into 3 parts with each of them featuring several chapters, and the tone of the book is set from the contents section itself as the titles remain suggestive of what is to come for readers. As we progress further, each of the chapters comes in a form of a phase-wise description of the technological boom that is Delhi Metro and its vital linkages with urbanization and its impact on the populace. The book begins with a subtle introduction section that features the descriptive aspect of Mundka Station and their certain characters share their experiences at the station. The first chapter of the book is titled “The Train to Dwarka” where the author goes on to describe the usual scene around the station and how it has brought a change in their lives and this can be best understood from the fact that the author goes on to mention that the Aroma, Smell, Noise, etc. are all missing. The next chapter is titled “Mandi House” where the author begins by stating the importance of the year 2006 and what all was involved during the construction of the station here also the pangs endured during the urban transformation are very well shown. As the chapters progress further, each of them tends to feature a well-placed analysis of the evolution of the city as a whole and at the same time features instances with which the readers can easily relate including:- People jumping around to catch people’s attention, Children looking at their reflections, etc.
• The writing style of the book has been kept very simple and very engaging at the same time. Additionally, the book goes on to feature exquisite analytical details which reveal the human side of things which is for the readers to explore and peruse. Additionally, the narration style of the book remains to be another bonus as the language used remains easier to comprehend and features real tales that is not laced with fiction which can potentially derail the underlying intent of the author and thus making this book a must-read for anyone willing to take a literary journey to see and witness the evolution of Delhi Metro and its synchronized relationship with the City itself.

[Sheen Pandita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captures the essence of the delhi metro, from riders to drivers. What place the delhi metro holds for the city and its people. I really enjoyed reading about yhe differnt people who the auther met and talked to in the metro. It showed how their aspirations also were fueled by the metro and its travel. But of course not for everybody.
Overall, a good read to give a purview of the city through the lens of the Metro.

[abby]

read for modern india reading colloquium