Last points on earth.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Bunches of bananas are hanging at the patriotically named Indian Juice Corner, with ananas stacked beneath a sign for mango shake. Next door are the stalls of Bombay Famous Nagori Tea, Aggarwal Nasta Palace and Lucky Fast Food. Steps away, auto rickshaw drivers are hoarsely calling out for passengers to Neelam Chowk. Above them, the Metro tracks head towards Delhi.

Such is the world outside Raja Nahar Singh (Ballabhgarh) station, in Faridabad in the National Capital Region. The Violet Line ends here. This is the second in our series on Delhi Metro’s last stops.

Inside the station, waiting commuters stand in shade, silhouetted against the blinding daylight beyond the platform, where poles and wires tangle across the view (see photo). Outside the station, beneath the Metro tracks, there is more to look at. A roadside cart is almost entirely concealed by colourful snack packets. Strings of Heeng Papdi Mix, Kurkure and Salted Peanuts packets hang to the ground. Nearby, sugarcane stalks are lying across a juice cart. A tiny tiranga is hoisted above it.

Partway down the station’s exit staircase, a man is standing by the railing, looking out over the road towards the bus stand, concentratedly picking his nose. Below, a woman is walking along a fence spilling over with yellow flowers, the dust-laden breeze lifting the ends of her dupatta above her trailing shadow.

Inside the Metro station, the man after whom the station is named occupies a corridor, beside the escalators. A framed display, headlined “Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabhgarh,” hangs behind a metal railing. His portrait shares space with photographs of palace arches and gateways. The raja’s brief biography unfolds across display panels between the photos. Afternoon light is falling across the display’s glass. Commuters are continually passing in front of the deserted corridor, their reflections appearing on the glass, briefly mingling with the words of the raja’s life. During these minutes, nobody is stopping to read the panels.

The panels trace the raja’s life. Born in 1821, Nahar Singh inherited Ballabhgarh as a child and was crowned in 1839. Popular tradition credits him with killing a lion during a childhood hunt. In 1857, he backed the uprising against the British, keeping the road to Delhi open for troops, arranging their camps, and sending soldiers and provisions. After the uprising’s failure, he was publicly hanged.

As it happens, the Violet Line runs from Raja Nahar Singh through 31 stations before reaching Lal Qila metro station, whose Gate 1 exit directly opens onto Chandni Chowk, the site of the raja’s execution.