On Board 15E!!!!!

On Board 15E!!!!!

There is so much abundance in life.The sentence could seem redundant,abundance itself indicating an excess,but I really want the excess expression. We are so often so much into our myriad joys,sorrows,successes and failures that we are almost oblivious to the countless little happenings around us that could help us appreciate the abundance I am talking about.

A reluctant commuter on public transport, I am forced to use it since the last three years owing to the distance factor.And that has brought about a sea change in my perspective.Though there is this problem once in a while that I need to resort to the footboard,I feel it's worth the effort,purely because of the novelty each day of commuting brings with itself.

Mundane,as it may seem, a commuter's day starts of f with some uncertainty as to whether he will get the desired bus.That problem solved,he has to get the requisite change to pay the conductor.This could lead to a heated exchange between the two.Things get really "interesting" when the exchange becomes personal.It is really avoidable,specially if it is early morning or late in the evening;but honestly,after a while it is the egos that take over and stopping the argument is not something others prefer-as they either enjoy what is happening(it's actually fun!!!) or are too aloof to bother! It takes some good samaritan to save the day,and the best part is he does turn up when required!

Yes indeed! When viewed in a bus, world seems to have a greater number of real decent people.There are ones who restore order when there is chaos because there are just 50 more people inside than the bus can hold. There are quite a few people who offer a seat to a lady,(chivalry does exist!!) even if she is not that young.People do offer seats to senior citizens and often are keen to help the little ones with overburdened school and sometimes college bags.

But then,there are others as well. There is this student who has hasn't slept,possibly because of his class tests, and drools away on his Physics text,eyes closed,glasses askew ,thanks to the wonderful effect of the almost empty buses in the morning.
As the day moves towards a sweaty afternoon,there is this guy who gets in, his phone in hand,fretting,texting away anxiously. Minutes later,the fretting increases,texting stops and a call ensues. There is a calm in the beginning,invariably followed by anger.Then it is most often followed by a few sobs and some pleading.And by the time he gets down,all is well again.
Any guesses as to who was on the other side?
As the day wears on to a crowded evening,more and more people get in.There is gentleman who
is jostled bigtime and gets pushed to the front.He then spends the rest of his evening,ogling at the mysterious beauty sitting at the far end.This happens every evening.He is supposed to get down two stops earlier to hers. But he has managed to somehow delay himself by a stop more.When he will pluck enough courage to get down in the same stop as hers is the question!

But there are quite a few serious instances as well. The old lady who is not as literate and has to get down at a stop her son has instructed her evokes pity.Once in a while there is this visually impaired person who gets in and gets out later,without anyone's help.His resoluteness to live and achieve,without being a burden on the society is commendable.All of us need to take a leaf out of his book.There are people travelling on their first day of job, there are people who are tired of travelling to their work everyday.There are vendors,there are hawkers to whom the bus is a lifeline.New acquaintances are made everyday.And old ones broken.Reunions happen everyday on the bus; I could meet my childhood friend;you could meet a person you assumed was almost out of your world.These are seemingly little things but momentous in their own right.

And for a person inside the bus,the world outside is totally different.It just whizzes past or struggles to move forward(depending on the traffic ofcourse!).But the colour,the variety,the emotion,the apparent aimlessness of a few people and the sense of purpose writ large on many people's faces is indeed a different spectacle viewed from inside a bus!



The world seems so different when viewed from inside a bus......but then again,each bus is a world in itself!!!!!