Friday, October 23, 2009

KERALA DIARIES: On my way to Cochin


Early morning I got up and decided to go to Cochin to get some work done. During the bus ride to Cochin, one passenger in the bus started making an issue about the price of the ticket.

His argument was that the ticket was overpriced by ‘2’ rupees and the justification offered by the bus conductor that the price was more since it was limited stop fast passenger bus doesn’t hold. Now I am not sure about the strength or validity of his argument or the bus conductors, but I believe once you made your point no need to repeat it. But this passenger was constantly grumbling about the ‘injustice’ by the ‘money squeezing’ bus devils against common folks. The fact that his constant badgering of the bus people was irritating other common folks around him doesn’t seem to bother him. Rather I think their so called ‘apathy’ was infuriating him.

Another thing I never get about these constant whiners – if he doesn’t like the service of the bus why does he choose to continue traveling in the bus. He can always disembark and take a much non greedy bus folks. I guess he felt it was his solemn duty to grumble in face of such ‘injustice’.

I guess there was some benefit of his whining. The conductor decided to give him back his all so precious 2 rupees. But at this point the rupees had become a symbol of oppression, because he didn’t stop even after then. He just continued to grumble and even more fervently in my opinion.

In the end it was one of the common folk fellow passenger who got bugged and told him to shut up. But oh my!! That fellow became a conspirator to the bus folks. This made our fellow passenger bugged and no uncertain terms made it clear that fellow ought to shut up or else.

I couldn’t of course catch the or else part as my stop arrived. But the entire experience reinforced one of my many observations – never a dull moment in public transportation.

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