An invisible protective bubble of silence closes around her. It embraces her, clamps her firmly in its protection. The inaudible soft tune carried by a zephyr caresses her. The thundering and roaring din around her fails to distract her from her protective bubble. She closes her eyes, melts into the nothingness around her. Several people pass her by, but she is only aware of the tune that has enraptured her. She is vaguely aware of the people surrounding her. She can sense them, but cannot feel them. She has no qualms about relishing in her solitude amidst a crowd of people. The people within a few feet from her can sense her strangeness and prefer to keep away from her.
The time is 6:10 pm and she’s seated in the bus number 4b. ‘She’ happens to be me. I wanted to experiment with referring to myself in the third person and see how it would turn out. Pretty weird I must tell you. If I hadn’t been the author of this article, I would say the paragraph was a prelude to a story about a lone woman-in-a-man’s-world type. Or an adult fiction. Or a lead up thriller awaiting the entry of masked men armed with hi-tech weapons that could transfer souls from one body to another.
Anyway, I digress, a lot. I know.
Let’s get back into the story. And I will still refer to me as her. I would like to see how the experiment turns out.
So the bus 4B, Seat number 3, by the Aisle. She does not like window seats. Not anymore. Not since she moved from her home and relocated to a new place by the zoo. The wind blowing in her face reminds her of all the best things in life. The best things remind her of her home. The embracing lush green welcoming she received when she entered her colony, zooming past her cycle in the empty roads, smiling to oblivion, smiling at the tall eucalyptus trees that flanked the road, inhaling their scent, dodging not just dogs but also snakes on the way; the list seemed to go on forever. The swimming lessons, the cycle ride to the school, the last talk of the day with her friends, the final moments of chatter, everything comes rushing back to her in a few quick seconds and manage to punch a hole right through her guts. She cringes at the thought of not being able to take a peek at the vast expanse of trees from her doorstep. For the past 22 years she was in an absolutely delicious paradise. Every day began with a smile on her face and a Bournvita in her hand, courtesy ma. A simple gust of wind could do all this to her. Just one blow of breeze was enough to suck her happiness away. So, ever since she had moved, she vowed to never sit near the window. The aisle seat was hers to claim.
And the third party experiment is over!**
Anyway, getting back to the topic, 4B- The bus I have and will be boarding for the next couple of weeks. I have never been good with introducing myself to people and hitting off instantly, and ofcourse, I like the protective bubble. I take my time, observe and dissect the behavior and then make my move. In doing so, I have come across a few idiosyncratic characters.
1) I-talk-only-Hindi-over-phones-lady- I would love to say that she comes traipsing in with the Nokia sliding phone in her hand and constantly jabbers aloud much to the annoyance of the people around. But honestly, she’s pretty ok. Except for the fact that she gives way too much business to her telecom service providers...Bah! Like they haven’t raked in enough moolah with the 2g spectrum! Perspective, people!
2) Paper-Reading-First-Bench-Uncle: Well he looks old! [But he’s in IT. So I guess he can’t be older than 40!] Anyway, Paper-Reading-First-Bench-Uncle is always accompanied by I-talk-only-Hindi-over-phones-lady on the first bench. Initially I happened to occupy this Holy Grail and had to be at the receiving end of sideways glances and hooked eyebrows of onlookers.
3) Oh-That-EEE-girl-with-a couple-of-flings-in-Engg-Coll: Yah! Someone I can bitch about! Always over the phone, can try and compete with I-talk-only-Hindi-over-phones-lady. She happened to be my relative’s classmate! I remember that the Emaciated-guy-with-specs had a thing for her and the Short girl who in turn had a thing for him didn’t approve of it... Back then ’ Yappa! So gross..!Really?! She and him?’ was the response. The response followed by ‘Mm-hum’ sounds and hooked Komolika eyebrows. God! I was oh so corny back then! Ok...That’s information enough I guess
Anyway moving on,
4) LittleGirl- who happens to be married, is always on a marathon talks all through the journey. Demure and short, she listens to romantic songs on the cell phone all the time [Her face betrays the emotion]. At one point of time it looked like she was singing Sahaana from Robot. I stared at her long enough for her to stare back and resume her demure look. Who knows, if I had been discreet enough I would’ve had a glimpse of a few Robo steps also.
5) Aunty-with-an-iPhone4- She walks Hercules, like the whole wide world rests on her shoulder. No smiles. Only serious Damn-no-window-seat expressions! And the expression gets uglier if a 3rd person sits in the three seater of the bus. And her favorite time pass happens to be critically examining the photos of her kids in full zoom. At one point of time the zoom point was focused at her child’s nostrils. You have an iPhone4 and all you do is examine nostrils… C’mon aunty! Drink some red bull and get a life! I do more with my C3 than you do with your iPhone!
More characters remain to be uncovered.
Sadly, to this day, I haven’t befriended any of the above characters. Life will truly complete a full circle the day these people add me on FB. ;)
**It just started sounding weird after a while :P
