Phew...

The things I see while travelling to work.... The school kid throwing a tantrum , getting whacked by his mom. The Marketing executive running to catch the bus, as usual late for his appointment. The girls in their nike shoes and Lee jeans keenly observing the roadside vendor clean his utensils ,as they wait for their College bus. The teenager on his bike, honking and hoping to get to college ontime . The huge tulsi tree. The idol of Mother Mary wrapped in an Indian Saree, complete with a jasmine garland. The lake and the overweight man on his rounds. The little rag picker sitting on the school compound ,looking on, as the students say their school prayer. The wife in the Scorpio, taking a quick nap, as the husband tries in vain to get past the traffic jam. The father and his 3 chubby talkative children on a scooter. The old lady controlling and directing the traffic , right in front of the Traffic police station. The Businessman in the backseat of the Mercedes, reading Page 3 . ( the window was open.duh!!) OK Now that does... I was typing this post and my Director stops by my cubicle.......here's what happened.. Yesterday as I settle down into my window seat (bus), I am surprised to see my Director ( Head of our Business Unit) smile and occupy a seat in front of me. He has a car and a Black Scorpio but due to unavoidable circumstances he had to board our shuttle.His destination was Yeswanthpur, the last stop.( I get down at the second last stop, pick up my broom and wroom on … ( No I am not a witch )) He looked around, greeted us and asked . " Do you guys play cards or something ? " . This aunty( she's married ) smiled and said " No some read ( looks at me), some listen to music (looks at me) and some sleep ( looks at me again )". Grrr How in Mike Tyson's name can I do all 3 ? I smile and get back to reading and listening to the local Radio station , which was playing country music.He chit chats with the other passengers and plugs his ear phones and listens to his watch ( His watch not only shows time but is also a mp3 player and I on the otherhand have to be content with the Sony walkman). An hour later , its just me , him and a couple of aunties.The traffic is unusually more than the other days. In one of the narrow roads , an auto crashes into our bus . "Crack".We check the bus for damages, the back fender is bent..traffic comes to a standstill. The driver tries to fix it , right in the middle of the road.grr.I find my voice( I don't talk much) and urge the bus driver to get it repaired at the Depot, which is also the last stop. The auto driver is not to be seen. The Director enquires" Does it usually take so much time ?" . " Yes ,( I sigh ) and I still have 10 kms to go on my bike" " My God! ,You actually spend 4 hours traveling up and down to work ".I smile . I get down at my stop and say " Have a nice evening" to the rest of the passengers. ( I have too .. ) Back to the present. He stops by my cubicle and says " Vinod , I had a bad experience yesterday " , my eyebrows touch the ceiling "eh ? " ( travelling with me is a bad experience ?). " After the function , Some drunken auto driver ,rammed into me. He was on the wrong side of the oneway.He started swearing at me , that made me very angry so threw a couple of punches.You should have seen his face.( Here he smiles, its the same smile you see on a kid's face when he eats the last cookie , which was supposed to be shared with his sister). Suddenly this guy takes out a huge sword,the one we see in those " Bhai" movies, 2 feet with the end curved, and he takes a jab at me and goes for my head.I hold the sword with my right hand( shows the marks eeww.. ) and punch him with my left. I think I broke his nose. By this time the police arrive and they take care of the situation". I gave him my best " WOW .. you did not punch him... " " Its been 12 years since I got into a street fight ".He sighs and walks off to the conf call.