Monday, April 12, 2010

Hustle 'BUS'tle

Mornings.... the busiest part of the day.. Every morning has a similar routine to follow but is yet so different from one another. My mornings are dominated by my bus commute to office. Sounds boring, exhausting I know but it's actually not as bad as it sounds! I change a bus in majestic so here is a brief description of how it is....

'Majestic' Bus Stand is the place where hustle bustle resides. People are so busy running after their buses that they hardly are aware of anything else around them which is also the case with me. I get so engrossed in walking my way past people and squeezing through the crowd, looking into my watch again and again realising how late I am, that I doubt I would even notice my best friend walk past me. Rushing through the crowd, I crane my neck to look at my platform hopeful that the bus is already there, I look closer to see if the bus is full and if I spot an empty bus, a smile instantly appears on my face and spotting a Volvo bus at my platform is like a winning a Jackpot!

There are times when I have to wait for the bus. At such times I take a quick look around me to see if there is a huge crowd waiting for the bus (just to know what are my chances of getting a seat) and what else do I notice? Different...very different people. Some very normal, some wearing 'jhing-chak' shirts, some tightest of tight pants and some who behave like they have come down from an island where the female gender is non existent!

When the bus arrives there is a mad mad rush to get into the bus and here is something very amusing - the last person getting down from the bus, trying so hard to get down but being pushed back into the bus with all might by the crowd trying to get into the bus. Sad for this last person. Always make it a point not to be the last one getting down the bus. Anyway, Getting a seat in such a situation is like a feast but believe me letting go your seat for an old grandma is a bigger feast (totally makes your day, trust me)

Okay, when the bus finally moves (after making sure there is no inch of it left unoccupied) then it is when everyone starts with their style of commuting. Some of them instantly sleep (wonder how?) Some quickly fumble for their earphones and start listening to music. Some look out of the window and get lost in thoughts or perhaps just day dream (I do this at times). Some immediately start talking over the phone filtering all the noise pollution around....and some start reading, the category which I belong to. After a couple of mins, I start reading without a care of how noisy the bus is or which aunty is stamping my foot.
Then I find some curious people almost falling on me and trying to peep and find out what I am reading (all book lovers I bet). Honestly speaking even I play the 'curious cat' when i find someone reading because it's so much fun getting to know of a new book then finding out if it's a good one and then trying to get hold of the book :)

When we travel at the same time, to the same route every single day there are people we get acquainted with. It's the same with me, there are some I befriended while waiting for a bus, some I would have seen a million times but who ignore, some who I would have seen just a couple of times but still give a smile that says 'oh! yeah.. I have seen you before'

Before I realise, I'll have to close my book and get down at my stop...this is my bus commute...not bad at all, isn't it?

Hmmm.... So this is about the hustle bustle that I experience every morning.. What are your mornings like?


10 comments:

  1. Wow Dee....this is real good stuff...as u said... even though its just traveling from one part of the city to another, there are so many things that happen in betwen, that none of us notice :-)
    Very well written..loved it....especially the 'jhing-chak' shirts :-)
    Actually, bus commute to all of us is borin and painful...but u made us look at in a completely different way...
    It can be funny...interesting...and so much fun :-)

    Good work Dee :-)

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  2. hey nice one Dee!really a much optimistic way of looking at our bus journeys!keep up the natural narration which we always like!

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  3. No words ..
    guess "same pinch" would serve the purpose :)
    Nice write up ..

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  4. nice...very nice...n interesting....great article... :) good way of looking at the long journey....

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  5. @Shil - Thanks babes...yeah u r right..yes bus journeys may be tiring and exhausting but all this observations actually make it fun... :)

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  6. @Niv - Thanks dear...yeah looking at it this way makes bus journeys very interesting n lot of fun... :)

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  7. @Silent Speeches - yeah 'same pinch'... :P:P

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  8. @Kaddi - thanks :) true...may be in bus commutes all this would ve gone unnoticed...but long ones especially with loads of traffic on the way gives enuf time for all these observations :D

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  9. @Giri - traveling on foot board n all huh? well, I ve never done that... :)
    good to know that even u enjoyed ur bus commute to college :)

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  10. "what else do I notice? Different...very different people." - Good one Deepa. You made me remember my college days traveling by local trains in chennai. What fun it used to be just observing and listening to people...yes, reading was how I used to spend my time, but after a few pages unless it is an exceptionally good book, I used to get bored...

    I can almost imagine you day dreaming when you say "Some look out of the window and get lost in thoughts or perhaps just day dream (I do this at times)" :)

    Keep the posts coming!

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