A jaunt to humanity..

Bus journeys are not something that I enjoy, especially if its a crowded, rickety BMTC ride from Kodihalli to Shivaji Nagar (God bless Volvo!!! and curse the BMTC route schedulers - very few ply on my route!!!). But its something that I have to live with, the tales of my brother's bike driving me and mom promising never to sit next to me when I drive the car are legendry. "Why cant these guys follow traffic rules, there's no lane discipline, Cant that jackass see I've put an indicator !!! ","Stop it... Its you who doesn't know the Indian Driving ways, this is not Muscat with empty six track roads" my brother would say.. (so much to say about my cruising skills...)

Back to the story... this being the case, BMTC is like the un-polished, horoscope matched bride that I have to accept with the Pecos frequenting high healers not even bothering to throw a glance !!! So BMTC it was...

Crowded BMTCs interestingly irritate you with a cacophony of jarring songs (hello.. thank you for being considerate and sharing your music, but no thanks..), loud personal mobile chats (and I thought those deafening trunk-call days are over!!!) and odd scuffle for seats. Move over road rage, bus rage is here..

Its not that I am a saint. If its a crowded bus and I am bundled into one and half square feet of floor space, I make sure that when the bus reaches Shivaji Nagar, I block atleast two fellow commuters who till this moment had snuggled in the seats and now want to be the first one to de-bus (my way of ensuring natural justice, after all I've paid the same fare, if he's got a cozy seat, I have the birth right of getting out of the bus first !!!)

In one such expedition yesterday I saw this spectacle... Two school kids were sitting on the either side of the aisle and as usual I had the comfort of my one and half square feets. The bus was noisy as ever and the two kids were having animated communication through gestures. Then one of those loafer looking (munna bhai types, not the MBBS but the Rangeela types) lean guy with long hairs and cap came closer, showed some gestures and took the kid's seat and made him sit on his lap. My social instincts rattled, another paedophile on the loose, was the first thought (I have heard that crowded buses are their favorite hunting grounds!!).

Not daring to take a pro-active step I just waited for the next move. The two guys started interacting excitedly, not with words or eyes but with hands and I realised that they were deaf n dumb. How did the guy and the kid find that out. Why did the young boy so happily give his seat to that loafer??

The communication continued and from whatever I could gather, pleasantries were exchanged, school, class, and perhaps names too. The new friend made it a point to chat with the other kid sitting across the aisle. This was going on when from two stops further two handsome guys got in. One wore a glass perhaps made out of a Pepsi bottle and the other a bright smile that could give any girl in the bus an instant crush. Well dressed in Spykar jeans, Nike shoes and Jansport bag the guys looked very much a typical suave Bangalore College guys. But what atracted all our attention was that the two guys held their hands close and tight, never leaving for a minute...

Letting the loafer and the kid be, I moved my antennas to cover the new Jay n Veeru in the bus. The two guys came and stood next to our kid. Within a second they started talking (obviously with gestures). Even the two smarties were deaf n dumb!!! But again how did they know and how they started talking immediately? I could see the economic, class and perhaps a religious divide (one of them wore a prominent cross around his neck). But none of it ever seemed to matter.... Have you ever bothered even to smile to a loafer looking guy (not the right kind of guys to mingle with right!!!).

I gave a break to my thoughts and tried to follow the conversation. The loafer seemed to be bothered about the spectacled guy. He enquired about him. The friend perhaps replied that, he was deaf and dumb like them and his vision too was weak. Thats the reason he was holding his hands tight. Immediately the loafer got up and literally pushed the spectacled guy to his seat. The friends resisted, but he didn't want to listen and said he'll get down in next stop or so. So the spectacled guy sat with the school kid in his lap. While sitting he took the bag from his friend and held it for him. All this while the two friends were still holding hands!!!

The next five minutes the discussion was about the spectacled guy and the loafer was empathising. He seemed so genuinely concerned!!! The spectacled guy was definitely from a well-off family and I felt that the poor looking deaf n dumb loafer's situation was worse than the spectacled guy. But here is this guy empathising so sincerely to a far more well off comrade...

I am not sure if my writing does justice to capture the emotions that I was going through seeing all this compassion and camaraderie. The boy's respect for elders, the loafer's empathy about a fellow being, a friend's concern for a semi-blind buddy!!! The heart-felt reciprocation of small favours, the interest that they had in each other's lives, the smile that one person's happiness brought to the other.. seeing is believing... All the people around them were watching them, just out of curiosity and boredom. But they didn't feel embarrassed about their deficiencies, they didn't try and hide it. They kept on enjoying each other's company, not bothering what others thought about them. But believe me, I felt my con-science prick me. I've always complained that I don't have this, I didn't get that, Lord has been partial, but after looking at all this, all I could do was offer the vacant seat next to me to the loafer!!!

God has been so un-fair to these angels and they don't seem to complain. They make the maximum out of whatever they have and don't forget the basic human qualities of compassion, respect and co-existence. The bus reached Shivaji Nagar and everybody jostled to jump out and I for once waited for all including the two kids, the loafer and the two smarties to get out...