The Other Side et al…

You know how they say Life comes in a full circle? Well, I’ve seen it…. There’s always the other side… More so if you believe in it…

I remember in my previous blog I had described in no small detail the leering passengers who ‘get under your skin and deny you some privacy’… Im so glad I ended the passage with an acknowledgment of the positive for my next travel was quite a different experience…

I missed the bus. 11 A.M. Hot. No train. Next bus at 2.30 P.M. So then what next? The never-failing PTC (Public Transport) Rickety, untimely and dusty though they are… they would get me home. Then I realize I can’t read a word off those tamil boards. I have a sneaky suspicion (which is confirmed by an auto driver) I just missed the right bus that comes once an hour. Brilliant! Now what? So there has been this lady, a ‘local’ to the area, if you have it, who’s been watching me sweating and sighing and flagging down bus after bus asking where it would go… After a few furtive glances, and growing impatience, she burst out saying (in tamil) ‘You know, none of these buses will take you directly. Why don’t you take this bus… get off here… Then take this bus.. You’ll get beyond the border.’ I was surprised and relieved! She didn’t stop there. It turned out she was merely telling me her own route. She took me to through to the stop and even put me on the bus in which I sailed over the border. :) I don’t know if she felt sorry for the poor panting sight I was, or whether she just thought I was a good kid. Probably both. :)

Adventure didn’t end there. I was still 200 Km from home and wanted to jump into the next connecting bus. Tummy growling. 2 P.M. Now, at the Palghat stop, my staple diet is… Oh what’s it in english…? Its that sweet made of groundnuts and jaggery or something.. called ‘chikki’ in hindi…. :) Now in my hurry, I forget I don’t know it in local tongue (hindi is hardly it down south) I figured it out, finally. There was this kind man by the side who burst out (quite like the lady-samaritan) the local word for it to have it produced thankfully by a struggling shopkeeper. I had carefully memorized it for future use and proudly pronounced it this time at the shop. Only to find I wasn’t the only one who remembered the incident! It was the same fellow as last time and he chuckled away at my earnest-ness and said ‘chikki’?? :) Familiar faces at the Palghat bus-stand, I didn’t expect! I got into the bus giggling and shaking my head….

The smile faded when I found the bus was packed and there were kind gentlemen who had occupied all the ladies’ seats. Dandy. I was just settling into a comfortable position against the steel pole when the conductor said in a booming voice ‘What do you think you’re doing there?’ I turned to find one of the ‘tresspassers’ being thrown unceremoniously from the seat to make way for me and my bag… (To be honest, it was a little embarrassing to see the chap shuffling down the aisle to make way for me, but the emotion faded when I rested thankfully on the seat.) The conductor looked with some furious kind of pride at the situation and went about his business of issuing tickets. Forced chivalry? :) Im not one to complain, after all those seats were still less than a 33% reservation. :)

As I traveled the rest of the journey… my mind wandered back to my previous recount of experience in PTC buses and marveled at the contrast in experience. Perhaps it happened for a reason. This reason. :) You know how they say ‘A little politeness, and consideration for the other person can go a long way to making a charming personality’….? Perhaps I saw all of these that day.

Im guessing its very important to remember the other side, of things… Especially when you feel angry, wronged or irritated… There are probably a zillion reasons why it turned out that way, and you don’t see even half of them at that point… So when you feel like damning someone or something… Its great to remember there’s always the other side, and with all respect for that, its better to smile and let go at that point. It will fade away and at a later point, it will come back to you… To prove you were right… or wrong, as you chose to react…

Its not just the globe, its also Life that’s circular! :) Im guessing it also explains why they say ‘What you give out comes back to you…’

Im sure all of you have known this, and seen this at some point in life… I think its called ‘Perspective’… Keep it going, people. Touche’!

Rajeswari