September 06/26/GTNS New Delhi What began as a journey to a college centenary celebration turned into an unexpected public interaction when Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled by Delhi Metro to Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) on Saturday.
The Prime Minister’s presence inside the Metro coach surprised fellow passengers, particularly schoolchildren and young commuters. Instead of remaining a routine journey, the ride became an informal interaction between the Prime Minister and members of the public.
Modi spoke with children and students about their interests, aspirations and everyday experiences. The interaction created a relaxed atmosphere inside the coach, with passengers seen engaging with the Prime Minister during the journey.
One of the most striking moments came when a young boy spoke privately with Modi and expressed his admiration for him. The exchange, captured in visuals from the journey, quickly became one of the memorable moments of the Prime Minister’s Metro ride.
The interaction was not limited to schoolchildren. Modi also spoke with other passengers, including women commuters. A passenger from Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, spoke about the changes she had witnessed in the city. The Prime Minister also interacted with a family travelling with an infant and extended birthday wishes to the child.
The Metro journey came ahead of Modi’s participation in the centenary celebrations of SRCC, one of Delhi University’s prominent institutions. The college is completing 100 years of its academic journey and marked the milestone on Teachers’ Day.
The choice of public transport gave the visit a different character. A journey normally associated with daily commuters became a moment of direct public interaction, particularly with the younger generation.
The SRCC event itself carried a larger educational and economic message. In his address, Modi reflected on the institution’s century-long contribution and spoke about India’s development, youth aspirations and the changing economic landscape. His return to SRCC also carried personal significance, as he had previously visited the institution in 2013 when he was Gujarat’s Chief Minister.
For the young passengers who shared the Metro coach with him, however, the occasion was far removed from the formal setting of a political speech. It was a face-to-face encounter in an everyday public space.
That contrast became the defining feature of the journey. Inside a Metro coach, conversations centred on children, dreams, education and personal aspirations. At SRCC, those individual aspirations were placed within the much larger discussion of India’s future.
The episode also highlighted the growing importance of youth in the country’s public narrative. Students entering colleges today are preparing for a world shaped by artificial intelligence, technology, entrepreneurship and rapidly changing employment patterns.
By combining an ordinary Metro journey with a major academic occasion, Modi’s visit produced a distinctly human side to the SRCC centenary celebrations. For the passengers who met him, particularly the children, the journey was not simply a commute—it became an unexpected memory of meeting the Prime Minister on their way through Delhi.
The centenary of SRCC ultimately brought together two very different settings: the everyday world of public transport and the formal world of higher education. Modi’s Metro ride briefly connected the two, putting ordinary commuters and young students at the centre of a national news story.