Aug 18, 2010

Bus Ek Pal

I take the company bus to work in the morning and return by it in the evening. I am convinced these buses have bombs on them that will go off within 30 seconds of the bus reaching its destination.

What else explains the mad rush for fellow passengers to alight? As the bus nears its stop, people from the back storm to the front. As the bus stops, others will get up and into the aisle. The line to get down is clogged. But they don't mind standing uncomfortably, rubbing more than shoulders with people in front and behind them. All they care is that they be out into the open, where presumably, they will be saved (yet again) from the poisonous gas slowly filling their empty seats.

Me? I sit down defiantly. Some kind of sit-in protest that is doomed because, well, I do also have to get down at some point. Sometimes, I swing my legs out into the aisle. It announces to the hyenas behind me that yes, I want to get down too, but can't you see that people seated ahead of us must be allowed to get down first? And where are your manners? And do you have to get down in a group? Clearly, the signal is too subtle and packed with too much information, because they rush past me, stumbling and saying "sorry" without meaning it. I must be acquiring a criminal education in sparking off stampedes.

It's funny, this urge to dismount at the earliest. There's no visible advantage in having to wait for 2 more seconds. People who are supposed to get down don't stand in the middle of the bus discussing the Kashmir issue or whether P is not equal to NP. So what are the rushers afraid of?

That leaves only one explanation. But it can wait - it's time to go.

3 comments:

Sandip said...

ha ha ha... nice one and I totally agree with the point you are making here... matter of fact, makes me think hum log kab sudharenge?
though i miss all that fun once in a while... there's no adventure in pehle aap - pehle aap, u see ;) and then do you know these guys here have something called as "right of the way" while driving (if i mention this to the folks back home they think i m crazy.) and there's another word that gets added to the dictionary - courtesy!

Hey, would like to hear from you about - some experience you might have had with call center folks, because those are the people who never stop getting on my nerves and want to see if there's any chance of the situation improving...

Unknown said...

I think it's Indian. I see it in the metro, bus or any airline too even if its the last stop. Always, and more so with Indians.

anand s said...

Encounter this everytime in aircraft, as also the ubiquitous Allo-I've just landed in Bombay whatever baritone.
http://ssanand.blogspot.com/2005_04_01_archive.html