Of bus rides at jEDI blogs

Of bus rides

Published by Jedi July 16th, 2006 in India

16th Feb 2006. Day 22 in the motherland and it's a slightly slow day. Mostly because another ODI is on. This time around I plan not to see the whole thing but catch up bits of it during the day. The meeting I spoke about in the previous post got postponed. I wasn't too disappointed but would have liked to get it over with sooner rather than later.

Fortunately, I had something else to do which would occupy most of my day. I had to pickup some shopping from the other end of the city some 35 km away at least. Plus while I was there I would visit a few people and perhaps stop by at a few places. This would generally mean gazillion traffic lights, constant traffic jams, never ending queues, crowded streets etc. Usually for occasions like this I hire a day long taxi so that I can travel in comfort and concentrate on other things. This time around I was not in the mood though. I decided to do it the old fashioned way. The way I used to do it eons ago - in the rickety DTC bus.

Somewhere in the back of mind, I had a feeling I might regret this decision, especially when I had to change 3 buses and possibly take a rickshaw ride, but I thought of giving it a try anyway and see how it goes. There were other reasons too. I just wanted to follow the â€˜trail' if you like, see whether any of those old places still remained, find out whether the same buses plied, the same routes existed etc. In short, live the â€˜old times' for a day. Its almost special and exotic in a way if you think about it. Don't get me wrong. I do sometimes use buses when I visit, but mostly for an odd one stop or two. Not for a serious journey like traveling from point A to B in Delhi, especially when those points lie at opposite ends of the city.

ricks

The first bus I got on was a bit overstuffed and very uncomfortable. I almost felt like I was one those sheep that had been piled onto the other, in a truck being taken to the slaughter house. Fortunately, I had better luck with other buses. Not a lot has changed with the bus routes or the buses themselves. In fact, *nothing* really has changed, apart from the fares that is. The second bus never went faster than 10 km/hr I felt and took around an hour and a half for a distance that shouldn't have taken more then 45 minutes. It was a strange experience, I must admit. Almost took me back in time. It was kinda umm.. romantic!

I noticed these DTC bus seats are so hard, its like sitting on an iron grid. While sitting in the bus, I pictured myself from more than a decade ago. There I am today moaning about this bus seat, while years ago I would have given my right arm to get a seat in that crowded bus and catch a breath of air. Have I become someone I used to hate all those years ago or have the times simply changed? The truth is that times really have changed. When you are no longer used to something, you're no longer used to something. Its as simple as that. And the truth is that if I had stayed in India I'd still rarely see the good ol' DTC, White line, Blue line or any other line buses and be mostly in a car or on my beloved bike. Times really had changed, and not only for me, but also generally speaking for India as well. Somehow I still miss those old days!

In some other news, what a great win by India today even though it resulted from a comic Pak debacle. India have bagged the series now but would be great if they won the last one too and made this comprehensive.

It was a tiring day and as I lay horizontal watching Sa Re Ga Ma, I couldn't help but wonder. Does Vinit have any chance in hell of winning SaReGaMa ? Looking at the pattern of voting, not a chance methinks. Regionalism - one of the biggest problems our country faces today. Don't see that changing anytime soon. Perhaps never!

jEDI

14 Responses to “Of bus rides”

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1 suyog Jul 17th, 2006 at 3:39 am

Eh? The much coveted meet got postponed! tch tch!

I have hated travelling in Buses all my life - the only time I used to travel by bus used to be between Hubli and Dharwad to meet my aunt - and man it used to be a pain travelling in ‘em.

Looking back though, I miss ‘em now - there was something… umm.. “romantic” as you put it rightly about them.

Suyog
2 Nirwa Jul 17th, 2006 at 5:28 am

//I felt and took around an hour and a half for a distance that shouldnâ€™t have taken more then 45 minutes.

Hmm.. 45 minutes?! :O That is as long as it would take you to reach Gandhinagar, the State Capital, from Ahmedabad and come back! But yeah, Delhi and Mumbai are the two places where the distances are too much..

Last year when I was in Delhi, I was mighty impressed by the Metro.. and it was surprising to see that it’s still in “good working conditions and clean” Can’t wait for them to start in Ahmedabad!

And the meeting got postponed?! Please don’t postpone posting on it!

Nirwa

ps - I cannot see the rickshaw photo
3 Nirwa Jul 17th, 2006 at 9:02 am

NOW I can see the rickshaw!! I thought you meant the three wheeled wonder fuming poisonous gases!

But it turned out to be rickety cycle rickshaw.. when I was in Delhi, we walked all the way from civil lines metro station to the old delhi railway station.. and god, I was so dead tired (all that after 10 days of trekking) I would have used that rickety rickshaw in sight!

Oh, and finish off your India posts so that you can complete the tag Suyog and I’ve given you! (I don’t forget things easily, one of the many hazards of being born under the sign of Aquarius)

-Nirwa
4 GuNs Jul 17th, 2006 at 9:18 am

Hey man !
Thats a very interesting post. I’ve used buses in all the places I’ve been to. I’ve used the DTC buses this April when I was on my vacation to North India. Written in clear bold letters were the words - “Check for unindentified objects under your seat. It might be a bomb” !!! Call that blunt !

Something in this post makes me ask you this question. Please answer truthfully. How old are you? Tell me in normal human years ! [:P]

Its really pathetic looking at a cycle-rickshaw or even worse, a human-rickshaw driver. I couldn’t gather the guts to place my ass on any of these in Delhi or Haridwar. I tried once in Haridwar and he tried to rip me off royally but anyhow, I generally refuse to let hotel boys and attendants carry my luggage. A lot of times, these are either young frail kids or older men. I just tell them that I’ve been taught to carry my own load.

You keep coming back to India, man. I hope you come back for good sometime. Home is where the heart is. After reading this, I want to ask - isn’t it?

-PeAcE
–WiTh
—GuNs
5 Karan Jul 18th, 2006 at 11:04 pm

You know what. I am suddenly all charged up by this post to write something on buses. Coz all my life, for one reason or another, in India first, and then in London, buses have been the way I have travelled. Always.

Completely identify with the nostalgia bit. Should really write my piece on just “buses and me”. Brill post as always. And yea, just like everyone thought, Vinit had to bite the dust thanks to regional voting. Quite a shame.

Keep writing man!

Cheers!

Karan.
6 Jedi Jul 19th, 2006 at 10:11 pm

@Suyog: I, on the contrary have travelled a lot in buses for some reason or the other. These days however, I find it pretty difficult, unless going around town or a few stops. I quite like the double-decker buses in these parts actually. Although subways are the de-facto mode of transport, buses here are pretty comfortable as well, if not more.

@Nirwa: Its not only the distances that are a problem here but also the traffic. Now there are a lot of flyovers which has eased it up a bit in Delhi but otherwise you find 5 traffic lights with every kilometre. Not to mention problems due to constant roadworks, broken traffic lights, and general rush hour traffic.
Sorry abt the pic. Changed that later.
Yes, the Delhi Metro is remarkable and I must say I am myself surprised by the cleanliness.

jedi
7 Jedi Jul 19th, 2006 at 10:27 pm

@GuNs: Truthfully?? LOL!! I dont even know the *meaning* of the word For the record, 840 in earth years and 75 in Jedi years. 75 is still considered young enough for the inhabitants of cloud city on Coruscant.

Yes, its a pretty scary message. Kinda like the same on packs of cigarettes especially in these parts. “No more cigarette smoking is injurious to health” Around here, you have messages like “Every cigarette is killing you!” written in bold letters on the packs lol

Cycle rickshaw. Well, it does look like slave labour in a way. But I guess it all depends on the way you look at it. The kind of hard physical labour small kids do around construction sites and such in India is no comparison to someone towing a rickshaw. In fact, some rickshaw wallahs might take offense at such a suggestion because they see pride in how and what they do to earn a living.

Yes GuNs. Someday I WILL come back surely. I see this as an extended holiday in the meantime
jedi
8 Jedi Jul 19th, 2006 at 10:40 pm

@Karan: Yeah for some reason I have travelled in buses a lot too. There was a time the bus service in Delhi wasnt bad at all. It still remains the primary mode of transport I guess. Now that the Metro is in place things are getting better.

Yeah, shame about Vinit. Although, the writing was on the wall I still hoped he wouldnt lose that badly.

My nostalgia attack inspired the Great Karan! Off to read your post..
jedi
9 SS Jul 24th, 2006 at 11:46 am

After reading this post I am feeling nostaligic too. I like travelling in buses when they r not too crowded and moving at a decent speed.

I think Vineet was the best of the last 3 and he ended up being the biggest looser. Debosheesh won the first place and Hemant (I hope i m getting the name right) got a chance to sing in Subash Ghai’s movie. people who vote on bases of region and cast and similar things don’t think for a moment consequences of their action. Let’s hope someone in the industry is kind and smart enough to see Vineet’s talent and give him a chance.

I want to finish this comment on a nice note. I have some great memories associated with buses in one way or another. Right now I am going to make my self a cup of tea, lay back and think about them. I can do with a few smiles
SS
10 Jedi Jul 24th, 2006 at 10:21 pm

@SS: Yes, I hope so too for Vineet. Maybe Reshammiya himself will give him a chance, seeing as he’s so popular these days.
Yes, laying back reminiscing is great sometimes. I only touched upon the bus subject here but now I feel I should write another post and go into it in more detail. Nostalgia!

jedi
11 ashmi Aug 17th, 2006 at 11:03 am

hm so u enjoyed the bus ride??? stuffed like sheep, yeah i guess that’s quite a common site here bk in india, all thnx to the huge population that has to be accomodated…..so you watch sa re ga ma…..dnt knw about regionalism biut but yes the new episode with the lil kids proves that our country has loads of talent who can give any good singer a run for his money…..shud watch it if you can:)
12 Jedi Aug 17th, 2006 at 10:31 pm

@ashmi: I watched it briefly during my stay in India. I wish the voting wasn’t as biased and rewarded only talent rather than nationality, but I guess its asking for too much. Yes I agree with you. There’s no dearth of talent. Then again there are a billion people so there shouldnt be
jedi

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