crazy kiya re

I donno what came over me today… and I probably did one of the craziest things – I almost hiked my way to my office… well the almost here is in the context of attitude and thoughts and not exactly in terms of distance…

I was just about some 50meters from the bus stop when I spotted my shuttle (office bus) speed past the stopping point. Somehow just a couple of minutes before I felt that I was going to miss the bus that narrowly and it happened… as usual I was not greatly surprised – I was used to this kind of things happening…

I looked around and saw at a distance a great congregation of vehicles in what appeared to be a traffic jam (I was on one of the most trafficky roads in Bangalore called the airport road… ) and that was when a crazy idea struck me… actually it did not strike me and all that… I just continued… I mean I sort of did not make any conscious decision, but just you know continued following the bus as if hypnotized…

Thus began a great game of catch me if you can with the bus… I could always see its distinct white body from a distance and the moment I reached within some sprinting distance of it, it would move a little more ahead… like the evading butterfly that keeps moving from flower to flower, always within your site, but always out of reach…

Only there was nothing romantic about today… the day was kind of sultry with the sun just peeping out from the exhausted rain clouds; thankfully it was not raining but the sun was contributing to my wetness. And I was walking up an incline. And with a heavy laptop on my shoulders and it did not even occur to take out my ipod with its outdated song collection.

As I told you, I was not thinking. But slowly I made my way, ignoring the voluntary advances by the autowallas and desire to just stop and wait for the next shuttle that was expected in maybe an hour or so. But my brain would not listen. It just made me trudge up the hill… and the bus moved ahead a little bit more… and so on it continued – I would reach close and it would move a little further… and then on a little further through the gaps in the traffic – so close yet so far.

And so on it went till the bus was the first one at the signal. And I started cursing my fate – anytime now, the signal will turn green, and I would lose the bus forever. And just because I need to get in so badly, it would be the shortest wait at the signal today. And if I miss the bus, where would I stop? Would I follow it for another 3 kms to the next signal. Curse the weather - why was it so sultry today? And curse my kanjoosi – I should have taken an auto in the first mile itself; then I would not have missed the bus, nor would I have had to wait for too long.

And then I looked up, there it was waiting… waiting as if beckoning me to make that final plunge… like a beautiful mermaid beckoning to the prince in the ship to jump into the sea and forever be hers… oh sorry, different story… it is the humid heat, makes me dream off…

But I took the bait… I sprinted across the last 10 meters or so and just put my foot in as the lights turned green. People looked at a sweaty dusty dirty and tired being walk in to their cool mobile abode, just long enough to register a pitiful gaze and went back to their respective neverlands…

Did this little episode change my mind about the traffic and accept it with quiet reluctant respect ? Was traffic good that it stopped the bus from getting away from me ?

naaaaaaaaaah…

Would I do it again?

I hope not !!!