I was traveling in a BMTC bus one morning when this happened. I was engrossed in a song I was listening to when I heard loud voices in the bus. I turned around to see that the conductor was shouting at a lady as she was not ready to buy a ticket. She was in her late 30's maybe and looked capable enough to buy a ticket for herself. "I had the money in my hand..it has fallen off somewhere. I don't have the money to buy a ticket" she explained. "Why don't you fall off too. Why do you come here everyday and give me a headache" the conductor snapped. When she did not oblige to buy a ticket, the conductor started pulling the basket that she was holding, to get her out of the bus. I felt really bad for the lady and thought I will pay for her ticket but the conductor explained that it's a daily story. The lady gets into the bus everyday but doesn't buy a ticket. When he asks her to buy a ticket she starts swearing him. I saw that it was true. She swore the conductor with all the bad words until the conductor got fed up and thrust a ticket into her hand without taking money.
A discussion on this started in the bus and in no time everybody joined in. "You should buy a ticket while you are travelling in a bus" , "The bus is not your dad's property. It belongs to the government"," What will the God you fear think of this. Will he forgive you..!" all kinds of remarks poured in from different ends. The lady looked towards the window and did not seem to care for anything that people said. Just when I thought it was all over, a quarrel picked up between the lady and two other girls who were sitting opposite to me. I did not understand how and why the argument started and what they were saying to each other as they were talking in a language that I don't understand. It got so heated up that one of the girls got up and barged in to hit the lady. The war of words went on and as if to give a dramatic effect the lady started singing some devotional song saying God will always be with her.. "Yea right..!!" I thought.. fight, swear, do all the wrong things and then expect one song to cover it all up!
While all this was going on, the bus halted at a terminal and an old woman struggled to climb the steps to get into the bus. Another aged lady who was seated inside the bus slowly got up from her seat and extended her hand to support her. I was moved. I saw two completely contrasting pictures here-
an attitude of action and an attitude of over-reaction!
A discussion on this started in the bus and in no time everybody joined in. "You should buy a ticket while you are travelling in a bus" , "The bus is not your dad's property. It belongs to the government"," What will the God you fear think of this. Will he forgive you..!" all kinds of remarks poured in from different ends. The lady looked towards the window and did not seem to care for anything that people said. Just when I thought it was all over, a quarrel picked up between the lady and two other girls who were sitting opposite to me. I did not understand how and why the argument started and what they were saying to each other as they were talking in a language that I don't understand. It got so heated up that one of the girls got up and barged in to hit the lady. The war of words went on and as if to give a dramatic effect the lady started singing some devotional song saying God will always be with her.. "Yea right..!!" I thought.. fight, swear, do all the wrong things and then expect one song to cover it all up!
While all this was going on, the bus halted at a terminal and an old woman struggled to climb the steps to get into the bus. Another aged lady who was seated inside the bus slowly got up from her seat and extended her hand to support her. I was moved. I saw two completely contrasting pictures here-
an attitude of action and an attitude of over-reaction!
