The gesture

The smoke from his two wheeler could have put a chimney to shame and would have flunked the basic emission tests. The rider/owner belonged to the creed who don't switch off the ignition at the longest traffic signal. So i was in line for some serious smoke inhalation My neighboring rider with a small kid and I fretted over our state but neither asked him to do anything about it. And then all of a sudden he turned back; looked at both of us, then the kid and proceeded to turn off his bike.

The act in itself may have had no use, for the signal turned green in a few more seconds but the gesture truly was an endearing one.

Do your best and leave the rest ;)

I had been on this junction a thousand times but it was only today that I observed him. I guess because the snarl at my end was nastier.

He worked hard - shouting, yelling at people to make way, almost abusing the errant hawkers to move aside. One could not miss the urgency in his voice. He wanted the spot clean and the traffic cleared. Just when he was about to succeed, in walked three cows - guess that makes it an Indian Road post ;). And cows do not pay heed to requests or abuses. They have their own rules and their own leisurely pace. He stood wondering what to do!  And then I saw him doing the unimaginable! He picked up a small bunch of leafy vegetable and bribed the cows to get out of the way into a different path. And lo! They obeyed. He got back to his position and continued to man the traffic. Yet again thanklessly!

For a mind that has been uncontrollably tensed it was a beautiful lesson. Accolades or no; acknowledgements or no; reciprocation or no; our only duty is to do the task to the best of our ability. An act well done should give you peace rather than the outcome.

Choosing to be happy

People never cease to surprise me. Every human who changes my perception about the world generally has one blog entry associated. It just reminds me that the world is what you make of it.

The normal route I take to office was closed because there was a religious procession. The car in front of me, a really impressive car ;), took a left to take an alternate route. I followed suit. The alternate route wasn't exactly a main road but more of an alley that passed through many houses. Out of the blue, a water tanker joined us in between and we were forced to follow it. He led us comfortably at his own sweet pace. If you live in Bangalore, you know that the water tankers form approximately 10% of the vehicle population here ;) and on inner domestic roads they are capable of causing snarls and high tempers.

Back to my anecdote, at one particular juncture the water-tanker got stuck in a nasty pothole. Obviously the car behind it had to stop and so did I. Suddenly people came running with buckets, opened the tanker's water-tap and started filling water. All this in a matter of seconds! The little Kannada that I manage, I could understand that they were requesting the driver to just let them fill a bucket each since they do not have water at all. Suddenly the car door in front opened and from the passenger seat exited a well-to-do, formally dressed gentleman. I expected a blasting and some lecture about road and civic sense but he went and stood with the folks and started smiling. In manageable Kananda he asked them to resolve the issue fast because he was running very late and if he wouldn't reach on time he would have to join them with the water bucket. The gathered set erupted at his joke.

We were stuck there for some time till the tanker driver moved his vehicle but all this while the car guy stood happily with the locals. As most of us were fretting about our lost time he chatted away to glory. It just felt nice and human for a change and I realized that happiness is generally our own making :)

:)

It poured suddenly and I could not ride any longer, so I just parked my vehicle and stood near a shop. I saw Mr.I (Mr. Important) coming. Why that name? Well, he wore an important black tuxedo with important leather shoes and carried the even more important BlackBerry. And his driver carried an umbrella to shield Mr.I as they both walked towards where I was standing. So maybe that's not a good nickname but in the context, it was definitely apt.

Their conversation told me that Mr. I's car had broken down and so he was stranded. Probably too important to just hail a cab I guess. He waited fidgeting with his lapel and phone simultaneously when two middle aged aunties walked to him and the fun started.
The aunties: Aren’t you Chinnu? (If that was indeed his name/petname then my nickname was better, wasn't it)
Mr.I: Excuse me.
Aunty 1: Oh, see, look at him. He is so big that he cannot recognise us now. Arre we were your neighbours when you stayed at GM (someplace I couldn't catch).
Mr.I: Oh Ok, but I am really sorry I don't seem to recognise you.
Aunty 2: Aren't you Vandana's son. How is she?
Mr.I: Mamma is fine. Whom should I say asked for her?
Aunty 2: Oh, Chinnu you cannot recognize me. I know you since you didn't know how to wipe your flowing nose.
At this point I burst out as did a few others.
Mr.I (embarassed): Hmm, Aah, hmmm, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Aunty 1: Chinnu, this is very bad. Ok tell mummy that you had met us. Radha Akka and Meena Akka. (Akka means sister). And don't loiter in the rains or you will catch a cold. Saying so they pulled his cheeks and left.

Mr.I was maroon red with embarrassment and I just couldn't stop laughing. Whoever you are, aunties always behave the same way I guess.

Etiquettes anyone?

I was travelling to Nasik in a semi luxury bus and long bus rides are something that I do not really look forward to, unless absolutely necessary. Anyway, this time I had decided to make the most of my journey and had equipped myself with some movies. My journey started and so did the first movie on my laptop. I was watching Omen - yeah the old one. "Mi pahila tar chalel na (Would you mind me watching?)" - the man sitting next to me asked. He was a villager dressed in the typical attire of white dhoti and a semi white kurta. "Mala sanagamner la utraycha aahe. laambcha prawas, tevdha picture baghitla ki kalnar nahin...chalel ka?" (I have to travel far and watching the movie would be a good timepass). I hate intruders in my book reading or movie watching sessions but the man had so earnestly asked me that I could not refuse him. "Pan tumhala sound aiku nahin yenar......", i told him showing him my headphones. He retorted, "Vanda nahin.....aamhi faqt picture baghu..."(No probs, I will just watch the movie). I was wondering how he could enjoy without the sound but I just it let it be because I didn't really have a choice. A few hours into the movie and I got bored, so I decided to change the movie. As i was about to start another one, I suddenly remembered that someone else was watching it too.....I looked at him and he signed me to go ahead and change the movie. This time I started “To kill a mocking bird" (Yeah i was in mood for some oldies).......I loved the movie and was completely immersed in it when suddenly I felt the nudge. I looked at my co-passenger and he was smiling. I put down my headphones and he said..... "Aaala sangamner...picture baghta baghta kevha aala kalalach nahin bagha.....dhanyawaad tai". (My stop has come, thanks for the movie sister). Saying so, he got down.

I kept looking at him. All through my journey I had not given him a second glance. Yet while getting down he had the etiquette to thank me.......and thank me for what...an english movie that he watched without the sound. I smiled........we spend a fortune trying to teach and learn etiquettes from our elite schools...and I wonder if we really do learn anything.

A sweet ordeal

I was travelling from Pune to Mumbai and inspite of waiting for 45 minutes when my bus didn’t turn up I realized something was amiss because usually the buses run on time. On enquiring with the conductor of another bus he told me I had booked the wrong ticket. I had booked the tickets for morning 05:45 instead of an evening one. Imagine a 24 hour time format lover like me making such a stupendous mistake! There wasn’t any time to lose, I decided to fret over it once I had figured a way out to resolve my stupidity. Thanks to Anu who dropped me immediately to the main bus depot I caught a bus just as it was about to leave. But there was a catch! There weren’t any vacant seats, if I decided to take the bus I had to travel standing for the 2.5 hours of my journey. I opted for it. Usually a decision haunts you only after its taken….sigh!!!!!!

So began my journey..err...standing journey.

15 minutes into my journey a teenage girl walked up to me and asked me to occupy a seat reserved for her sister who would have got in late. Happily, I obliged. That saved 30 minutes of standing. When the girl's sister walked into the bus from another stop I reluctantly vacated the seat. As I was standing, a very old grandma looked at me and smiled. I smiled back too. I was now in the self-abusing mode, cursing my stupidity about overlooking such a simple fact while booking the ticket (Yeah, I had delegated this task when I had more important things to do). As I cursed myself in all the languages I knew, the smiling grandma opened a Tiffin box and gladly offered me a paratha as she added "You might be tired standing. Why don’t you have this?". I was flabbergasted and again I obliged. Now a paratha wasn’t a bad offer for I needed all the strength I could gather ;). Just as I finished having my paratha an auntie nearby asked me to sit on her seat's hand rest. I muttered a thanks and declined but she wasn’t to listen. I HAD to sit. She asked where was I going to get down and why hadn’t I booked a ticket? I told her my destination and the reason cleverly disguising my stupidity as urgency. By then we were almost 2 hours into the journey. The bus took a halt and people got down for their various businesses.

When we all assembled back, a mid-aged uncle walked up to me and asked me to occupy his seat as he was finding it inconvenient to sit in the small seat since he was obese(he told me exactly that). I argued till I lost. I am not exactly fond of chivalry but then how many times do we demean ourselves to make someone else comfortable? Not unless we are sure to score a point and increase our self-deprecating-sense-of-humour quotient. But here was man who was offering me his seat because he thought I was too tired to stand. Reluctantly, I did as he wished. Fortunately it was the last leg of my journey.....because I couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Finally my destination arrived and as I got up to leave I thanked all those good Samaritans who just made my journey memorable! I got a feeling that people are essentially good and this goodness manifests in such experiences :)