A Morning Bus Ride...in Chennai....!

A morning bus ride......in Chennai..!

It is good to have a morning bus ride or a morning walk any where in the world. But the same in Chennai is special for me as I rarely do it. This was a morning after a nice rain and it was cool but the sun as the Chennai sun is always, came up bright and warm in the early seven o' clock itself. As every body comes out early, sun also come out early. The problem was there was not a single or tree or plant at the bus stop to take a shade for a while when we waited at the bus stop.

I kept on anxiously looking at the on coming buses and other vehicles coming from the south from the bus station called Kelambakkam and a bus came which was going in my required direction but won't reach my destination. It was marked for Koimbedu another location. So I left looking anxiously at the buses and turned to the bus stop instead to watch and judge the people at the stop at that early hour. Most of the waiters were students both school and college who kept on talking to one another with their huge back packs and all. Then there were a few technical wizards who are called 'Techies' these days. There were two politicians (small time politicians) both in sparkling white dress with one having a very large moustache and the other normal. Both had a couple of pen in their pockets, some papers folded and a little colourful comb jutting out of the pocket from behind the papers it was holding. One of the politician had a white towel with a border on either side, on his shoulder.

Many among all these people spoke on their mobile android phones from time to time. The Techies led the lot in this and I also kept picking up my phone and putting it back from time to time to console myself. Thought of making a call to some one to show every body that I have it, but decided otherwise, for fear of losing the battery charge. I had a journey to have and a time consuming wait (it may or may not be according to the condition at the dispensary where I was going to get my monthly medicines). A couple of times I pulled it out and looked at the time. (These days I look at the time clock in the android and conveniently forget my wristwatch whenever possible. Sometimes, I have the watch but won't look at it as it is inside my shirt cuff and by looking at my android I can see the time, show everybody I have it and then don't have to use it).

While at all these I see the bus coming and I get in at the back side after the while dressed politicians, as the front side is used by all the youngsters and students. While the early entrants got a couple of seats I was not getting one and I enjoyed standing near the conductor seat at the back entrance looking through the clean back glasses at the oncoming vehicles and other buses. This is a good posture as it allows a good view to both sides. In a minute a new idea came to me that the conductor himself is not there and his seat is vacant and why not occupy it. And I did. This is a welcome relief for a little while as the conductor will come sooner or later as he will be scrambling among the customers o collect the fares. I saw him from the corner of my eye at the front, looking at a small ticket disburser and cutting tickets to various new entrants and forgot him for the time being.

I relaxed in my gracious seat and looked both to the front and back as this conductor seat gave a general view to either side of the bus to survey all the travelers. But all the same, the conductor, well trained at his work, will not sit until he has disbursed tickets to all those who are travelling.

The morning sun shined on the right side of the bus and the seat I had was on the left. Again a plus at that. I thought of writing about it and then..Lo..the conductor appears in front of me asking me to come out of the seat which I did..without a second thought. He said my fare and I gave the money and he brought up his ticketing machine and punched the fare and pulled the paper receipt or bus ticket as it is called and gave it to me and sat down. My enjoyment here was over as more people were entering and I had to move forward. On going forward I saw a few people sleeping in their seats as if they may sleep the whole day. It did not seem if they are going anywhere at all, but for their dress up and bags. Some how it was a hurt to those who are standing.

Suddenly a man got up two seats ahead of me and two people tried to scramble in. I couldn't have made it as I was two seats away. Only those who are immediately near the seat can make it. But neither of them could make it as the man next to him at the window moved to the isle seat which was vacated and called for his friend, three seats behind! I was an onlooker in the whole drama. The friend sent a little boy of ten to occupy the seat and sent another boy of nine to sit in his lap. The seat well utilised. I was happy for no apparent reason. The sun was climbing up and I was slowly wearing out. Now I can look both ways but can't see much as more people have come in as the bus was reaching 'Sholi' ! Sholi is for short, the real name is Sholinganallur which is a major four cross with a long long red light. Earlier the red light stops during the mornings in peak hours used to take half an hour to forty five minutes, but now after a few traffic rearrangements it took only ten minutes and we could pass the red light and come to the Kandanchavadi Toll booth stop where more people and a large number of school girls and boys got in. They all were carrying their huge back packs and talking happily to each other. Some girls had jasmine lines well tied to their hair which filled the bus with its aroma.

After the Kandanchavadi stop, I got my seat and was happy to be seated after a half an hours standing. The driver pulled the huge gear lever from time to time as the bus had to weave its way in the huge number of vehicles which had all sorts of vehicles, from bicycles and motor cycles (which were the maximum, next to cars). There were also huge lorries with water tanks, goods carriage minivans and all sorts of cars jostling with one another all the way and the bus driver a patient youngster pulled his lever and managed his way on his extreme left side of the wide road.

The vehicle took a driving test passing through the narrow channel of the toll booth and came out to see the overhead metro going with passengers and after the metro came to a right turn where the light was green but was full of all other vehicles jostling for space. Again the driver did his stick work and moved the bus among all the other vehicles and came to 'Jayanthi Cinema' (which is my stop to get down even though I have never seen any cinema in such a hall or a hall with another name which is there). I got up to the ultimate relief of the person standing on my shoulder and slowly made my way to the front entrance and got down. The outside was busy but was cool and crispy after the overnight rains. That was a cool journey by any means without any extreme waits anywhere in the morning!

The Beautiful Morning Rains!

The Beautiful Morning Rain in our Noida Colony!

This morning it rained in our colony in Noida. It rained heavily. It is a well built colony with good greenery and flowers. But there is enough room left for rain enjoyment by the catchment water flowing around and staying around for some time until it is pumped out !

The light thunder and lightning started before it was dawn and the wind brought the rains as a drizzle first and followed by a heavy down pour through the dawn which stopped by seven of the clock in the morning! This the time for the little kids to go to school. Various children were being either carried by their parents or sent out in little colourful umbrellas to get into their vehicles to be dropped to school.

Some could get into their cars in their sheds or garages themselves and ride through half foot deep water which had collected. The very little children who came out to go with their parents to buy milk, bread or butter enjoyed the accumulated water to the most, by splashing it around.

Normally a heavy rain and downpour will send off the electricity supply for a while but today that did not happen. So, the elevators were working. Inside the elevator was always cosy with the warmth of the little tube light. But one should not look around inside for once the sight falls on the long red spit which normally lies dried up in the corners will dampen the mirth which comes out of the great rain outside. It is customary for the workers to eat paan, ie. betel leaf with calcium and arecanut which when chewed gives a very red colour and keeps away foul odour of the mouth. But if the person spits out it spoils the clean places around and many do spit out even though there a lot of awareness advertisements, but the eaters mostly miss them.

Outside a small wind was there passing through the flowering plants and trees giving out their aroma. But the roads well tarred and the spaces well done up with warps in cement will not allow the water to go down and this floats around for a while when the little children who are lucky to come out can play for a while.

The sky remained overcast with a continuous drizzle which brought the temperature well down and all around enjoyed the beautiful graces of the rain.!

 Other side of the rain was the facility it allowed the animals and being around.  In the flowing waters was a little earth worm going on a visit to its near and dear.  In far away  Kerala, it is the water snakes which start out on visits in the flowing rain waters.  Olden times, it was the frogs which rules the roost in the rains and before and after it.  But now, that has changed as most of the frogs have disappeared and the ones available are few and far between.  Likewise the fish in the fresh water.! The little puppies taking a dip with their mother she dog ever watchful of its litter.  The flowers and leaves floating all over.  The only danger is from the live electric wires if they touched the water by any chance and an open pit where the cover slab has been removed.  If this happened one has to be cautious to climb out or cry out for help.  But such accidents, by the Grace of God does not happen in our Colony or in the city.  At times such are reported from far away places.!

Whatever it is, the rains are always a blessing which is enjoyed by one and all.  If we are lucky, which we are, we will have a wonderful week of rain now! Let me dedicate this to all the rain lovers!

The Steamy Steamy July Delhi

The steam tube called Delhi

The weather, in Delhi and suburbs in June and July,  is good if it rains.  If it doesn’t,  then we are in a steam bath.  The rains will bring in untold problems of water logging after the rains even though the temperature will come down very well and the breeze will be cool. 

Our little Maruti car did it well at eighty in the Express way which is a good road from Noida to Delhi.  The oft-driven route was a joy again to drive through.  Only place it slowed down is at Pragati Maidan where one has to be very careful as vehicles move inch by inch here,  up until the High Court and beyond till one enters the circle of India Gate.  Once we turn left at the end of Pragati Maidan we closein at the long red light near the end of the Old Fort.  Here we can stop and relax as the red light duration is pretty long here.  Once we stop and relax one can see a lady driver ahead continuously making up her hair, another typical regular Delhi Driver keeps his driver door open and elaborately spits paan juice (paan is generally a mixture of betel leaves, areca nut, calcium and at times a pinch of tobacco)  to the road.  Road is considered to be a regular place to spit, if one can stop for long.  As betel chewing is a normal phenomenon which is a heritage. 

The number of vehicle on the road is increasing day after day due to the rapid progress being made in all circles including the increasing number of car companies exhorting one and all to own one’s own vehicle.

Once in the circle of India Gate, the traffic is smooth and we take our smooth turns at our required road to the beautiful Raj path Road from which we go to our Krishna Menon Marg.  The little ‘Gnat’ fighter planes displayed at the Air Headquarters are unmistakably awe inspiring as they are small and had done their heroic bit in the 1971 war which had made several heroes and a new history !

We visited our Bank Branch of State Bank of India where with all the cooperation of all concerned we could get only half our work done.  Many a time things are like that here!  The first officer directed us to another officer for getting a renewal  of an account which we required badly.  The officer to whom I was to approach was surrounded by several people with a lot of papers in their hands.  They were all standing to get a linking of the ‘Aadhar’ which is a unique identification.  The officer concerned under a lot of pressure of the work volume, still, took my paper and offered to do it.  But, then the computer printer would not work. He tried to coax the printer into activity for long and ultimately failed.  Then he turned to his desk top for other works other than printing.  Then the work won’t  go further as the server was not working.  That was the end of our tether. 

We thought of riding back before the office release as the officials returning from office work will swell on  the roads.

Our assumption did not fail.  We got a generally free road through which we flowed back for forty five minutes to reach home in the evening breeze.  The moment we got down it started perspiring. The humid climate will persist till a good rain lashes Delhi and suburbs.  Hopefully in the next  three four days.