Subway musicians, like subway pickpockets, form a layer of the special subterranean society. They are territorial, holding on to their benches and corners. They are punctual and hook their fleeting audience to their favorite tunes. There are those itinerant ones too, who set up their mikes inside the train and time their songs to be just long enough to cover two stations and pass the hat. Then you pass through one more endless hallway.
Cigarette butts decorate the sides of the floor like runway lights.
The tunnel has advertisements on both sides. Most stations also have knickknack pushcart vendors, almost all of whom are Sri Lankan or Indian immigrants, trying to sell belts, wallets and general junk. Once you have passed these obstacles, then you only have to deal with the beggars before you become one with the riders on the platform. Subway beggars are as varied as the general population itself. Then there are these other marginal personalities who simply hang around the stations and don't do much traveling.