New Delhi, April 23: “The Delhi Metro... is an important motif for the youth. People meet up at Metro stations and it has almost become a dating spot.”

THE Metro may have turned out to be a boon to the youth of the city, but its chief value lies elsewhere — in its ability to provide thousands of Delhiites quick, pollution-free access across the length and breadth of the capital. And the Metro has so captured Delhi’s imagination in a span of four years that it now figures in numerous personal blogs, travel blogs, mailing groups, photographs and omnipotent jokes.

Sunil Deepak, a Bologna-based blogger, says the Metro has made it possible to go “off the beaten track”. He adds: “With the Metro, travelling in Delhi has been transformed. (They are) swift, comfortable journeys. Coming out at Chawri Baazar from the deep Metro tunnel is like being in “Back To The Future” — 21st century meets 17th century with narrow winding streets, running sewers, people spitting paan... rickshaws blowing bhompoo and spiderwebs of thick naked wires running around the shops, houses like those thick gold chains that Circuit sports in Lage Raho Munnabhai.”

Trishikh Dasgupta, a Delhi-based communications officer, photographer and blogger, terms city buses “monsters” and says Delhi’s skyline has improved thanks to the Metro. As may be expected, he supports this argument with his own pictures. “The Delhi Metro has become a part of the city’s culture... (it) is a more safe and comfortable mode of travel, especially for the old and disabled. It is an important motif for the youth... and it has almost become a dating spot,” Trishikh said.

Most people coming to Delhi make it a point to travel by the Metro going by the posts on radak.net, a travel blog. “One of the things I try not to miss when I visit places is mass transit, particularly subway systems. Delhi has a relatively new subway, opened only about six months ago, so I didn’t want to miss it while I was here,” writes one enthusiast.

The Indian Urban Transportation Society, which tracks public transport systems across big cities, has a Metro review and even a link to a Metro mailing group. It also notes that a number of people living close to the Metro tracks have begun using the pillar number as a landmark for their houses.