Today, while riding on the bus back home (in a state of deep shallow stupor) I suddenly remembered: Holy schmoly, it’s Republic Day tomorrow (yes, I think in terms of holy-schmoly too). Immensely satisfied with this piece of remembrance (not totally unaffected by the fact that it meant a holiday), my eyes, for some unfathomable reason, began a scrutiny of all my co-passengers.
- The (probably) newlywed Marathi couple, with the man pointing out landmarks from the bus window to his wife.
- The 3 college girls sitting on a seat meant for two, chattering away to eternity,
- The poor labourer-couple, for some reason swathed in clothes exceeding the demands of the climate, quiet throughout the journey
- The conductor, seemingly suffering from a split personality disorder- he kept oscillating from a jovial “chalo tikkat - lal-peeli-khatti-meethi” (he equates the tickets with children’s candies) to an angry/aggressive “Agad khasso ne!” (Keep moving forward, people!)
- The twin girls hanging on to their mom’s dupatta- the mom is super-vexed she can’t find a place to sit, while the twins are clearly enjoying dancing all over the place every time the bus stops or starts
- No old people were standing today- had people been offering seats while I was- er- catching my forty winks? (I mean to imply nothing, but every time I’ve seen someone offering a seat to an elderly person, it has always been a girl, myself included)
- The Gujarati mega-clan- some sitting and some standing- cracking jokes with each other and smiling at everyone in general
- The gaggle of school kids, trying to confuse the conductor and trick him into taking less money from them.
Yes, I’d rather take a bus than hire a rick or *shudder* ride a vehicle any day. It saves the environment too.
Still can’t think how the above observations are related to Republic Day.
Whatever.
Happy Republic Day!
