Bus travel is an experience. But never knew that it can be so very interesting. Come to think of it, the conversations we overhear (this is not intentional mind you!) are excellent bloggable materials. And am sure this deserves a special section in the blogs and am going to add special tags.
The travel time last evening from work to home was just over 35 mins. Between, ‘time’ is a tricky thing and I have a feeling it customizes itself according to people’s mood, place, or circumstance. Otherwise how could I have learnt the family history of 3 families spanning over 3 decades in about 30 mins? Many such conversations have made it to our lunch table discussions and then forgotten. They are worthy of being recorded for posterity. Precisely why am going to jot them down here!
Claimer 1: All characters, names, incidents, events cited below are real and have not been distorted.
Claimer 2: Hey you all women reading this. Don’t you ever believe when the guys say that they do not gossip or indulge in small-talk. They do it big time. There will be few smart guys who will attribute that gossip also to the presence of a girl or two in the group!
Disclaimer: Am not sure of the authenticity of the tales spun (err.. facts discussed) by the characters though.. And I mean no offence to you guys who traveled, if you chance upon this blog. Which I doubt..
Disclaimer: There might be mix-ups of conversations of B and Mani. Read on to see who they are..
A girl and two guys, all in their 2nd yr Engineering, were occupying the last seat and D70 is the bus route (in Chennai). They got to ‘know’ each other a little recently (this is my inference from the conversation that followed). For convenience, let me call the girl G and one of the boys B (for I did not figure out their names). The other boy is Manikandan and is brilliant. He himself made that claim and B vouched for his academic brilliance.
(Starts from where I picked up)
B ( to G): What’s the model number of your mobile?
G: Not sure da. Don’t remember actually. I shelled out 7K though.
B and Mani: Too bad you don’t know! Ok, what songs do you have?
G: Eei,check the file storage. My brother only knows da. He listens to the songs as I have pain in my ears when I plug the ear-phones in.
Mani: Why?
G: Don’t know. Must visit the ENT.
Mani: I mean, why don’t you know which songs are available?
G: Oh that! (giggles..) I told you I don’t use it. My brother does.
B: You have two brothers right?
G: I have a younger brother and 3 cousin brothers who are older than me. But they are as good as my own brother and are very fond of me.
B or Mani: Do you fight?
G: Yeah, we fight and forget soon too.
B: Yeah, that’s the way to be. I and my elder brother fight too. We are still close.
G: Do you both have sisters?
B: We both have an elder brother. Do you know something. My brother’s name is Karthik and so is Mani’s (it was at this junction that I got to know that Mani is Mani). And both did IT in Jerusalem college.
G: Same class?
Mani: No, my brother is studying while his brother is [some year]-passout.
G: So nice no?!! Do your brothers take care of you (unga annanga ungale nalla pathikkuvangala?).
B: Yeah. I told you we also fight.
G: You know, my brother takes his studies too lightly. He feels that he should have been born a year later.
B or Mani: Why?
G: No exams for 10th std from next year. That is why. He is in 10th now.
B or Mani: I heard that the exam ban is in effect from this year?
G: No No. I do not think so.
G to Mani in particular: I heard that you study very well?
Mani: See, I just listen in the class. I don’t spend hours studying like how others portray. But somehow, I manage to score well. Just listening in class matters.
G: I don’t know about that. I can’t make sense of half the things taught. Who do you think teaches that well? Most of them (i guess it is the faculty) are recent pass-outs!
B & Mani: Yeah yeah, you are right….
B: But what this guy says is true. I’ve never seen him with books at home. He is either watching TV or playing cricket or talking to me or other friends. His brother is even more brilliant. He was the District 7 (or similar rank, don’t remember) in 12th.
G: Wow! Your parents must have been very happy.
Mani: Yes, specially my dad. You know, my dad has struggled quite a lot when he was young. Very much!
B: Hey tell her about how your dad started da!
Mani: He (the dad) started working in a bakery at Red Hills when he was just 7. His dad ditched him after his (the dad’s) mom’s death and married someone else. He has struggled his way up since then.
B: His (mani’s) mom’s a great support. You know, their’s was a love marriage.
Mani: Yeah, my mom is very broad-minded. My parents still have not been accepted by my grand-parents (must be the mom’s side- my brilliant inference).
G: Sad na?! But it is nice that your dad has made it and has also managed to educate both his sons in professional colleges!
B /Mani : True, true! Really great.
G (laughs): Mani, I then don’t see any objections from your parents when the time comes…
Mani: Yes. They are very open to it.
G: I sometimes tell my mom that I’m going to find my own match. And my mom is too easy on that too. She says she’ll happily save the money to be spent on 50 sovereigns gold and dowry if i elope (laughs again)!
B: Hey what photo is this? (presumably the one in G’s mobile)
G: This is our college symposium. And this is when I went to Coimbatore for [something to do with college].
Mani: We should plan an outing with all our friends. Maybe Ooty or some place. It will be fun.
G: No way. My parents will not allow for more than a day or two at max. Maybe beach or ..
It was time for me to alight while their interesting journey must’ve continued. While the three-some discussed their families so loudly in so public a place like a local transport, what was heartening was to hear them speak highly of their family and there wasn’t a trace of vulgarity!
Life sometimes doesn’t seem complex at all. It can be run as a 30 mins slideshow…
life under the sky 