Bangalore is filled with compressed-air powered red buses. I
love these buses. Unlike the old blue buses, these red buses look a lot like Volvo
and yet they are “common-man“ friendly and hold a lot of space inside the bus
for travelers to stand comfortably during rush hour. But not all of these
buses get good bus drivers. I've had near fall out experiences once or twice
while I was travelling in one of these huge buses.
Compressed air-power buses have a lot of power in terms of
speed as well as brakes. Sudden braking makes the bus going at any speed to
come to a halt within seconds. But the full impact of it is shown inside the
bus. Passengers sitting don’t have to endure much problem. But the one’s
standing gets its full impact.
I was lucky the other day. I was standing near the pole. Both
my hands were busy holding my wallet and in the process of taking out money to
pay the bus conductor. Suddenly the driver hit the brake and the bus moving at
80, came to a sudden halt. My whole body was thrown forward but my sudden instincts
directed my hands to hold fast the pole and with a backward twist, I got the
required support and saved myself from falling down head first on the floor. I
was so angry at the driver, but since I hadn’t fallen I didn’t feel the need to
go and start a boring quarrel with him. Minutes later I got the seat and I
happily settled down with ear phones and music. My friend, who was sitting
behind my seat tapped my shoulder and said loudly with a snigger, “Neha, when
did you learn to pole dance? You are pretty good!!” I turned back to retaliate
and saw that her words had carried to the men’s section and many guys were
nodding in mock approval. “I’ll get you for this girl!!” I growled at her laughing
face and turned back to see the driver, who was happily singing and hitting the brakes roughly at unnecessary junctions.
The bus was getting more and more crowded at every stop. All
the ladies were standing precariously. Poor women, they had no idea that they
had just mounted a bus that was being driven by a moronic driver. And then it happened.
Another one of bus driver’s signature “sudden brakes”. Two ladies standing
beside my seat toppled onto one another, causing the third lady to fall down on
the bus floor. This was followed by loud shrieks and a high pitched quarrel
could be heard loud and clear even through the loud music from my ear phones. The
ladies were blaming each other for falling. They should scold the driver who is the root cause for causing this
catastrophe. I thought angrily. But
I caught the driver, happily waving to a fellow bus driver and totally oblivious
to what was happening on the bus behind him. Was he really oblivious or was he
showcasing “jaana kividu” (a Kannada phrase which means, “smart deafness”) to
the din that was taking place behind him?? I had half a mind to get up and hit
him in the head and then smugly apologize by telling the “brakes” had caused me to
“accidently” hit him!!
Thankfully my stop arrived and I was the first to literally
jump out of the bus with relief. As I saw the red bus making its way through
the narrow crowded road showcasing its power speed and power brakes, I almost
felt like I had just gotten off the knight bus from the Harry Potter movie. It happens only in India!!
