Soon after lunch I was off to Thrissur on an errand and instead of taking my Chevy, I'd boarded one of the private buses for a quick outing. The bus was thankfully not over stacked and did not have extended halts at stops to take in more commuters, which is a usual phenomenon! And the whole journey was performed in just over forty minutes.
I shall give you my observations on two of my fellow passengers. The first was a guy, seemingly in his mid 40s, who was occupying a two seater, close to the rear door, which I'd decided to share with him as I clambered on to the bus. He didn't seem to be quite enthused with my decision and began to 'spread' himself on the seat resulting in the need for great acrobatic movements on my part to avoid being edged out when the vehicle negotiated sharp bends and turns. He was oblivious(?) of my discomfort and I'd to tell him that I wouldn't tolerate his insensitivity any further and perhaps, we could even swap our seats to avoid further unpleasantness. Did I have a menace in my tone, I dunno, but it definitely had the desired effect and I realised that he could shrink himself remarkably well, given the circumstances!
While I was chastising my neighbour, I'd raised my voice for the sake of clarity which triggered an unwarranted, angry reaction from a passenger behind us who was in an extremely inebriated state and reeked of country liquor. In such cases, silence is the best reaction because he knew not what he was doing though the conductor and the other passengers asked him to be quiet, with the former going even a step further to apologise to me for the his misconduct.
I must say that it tested my patience to its limits as his vocabulary of 'the choicest in Malayalam' seemed to be an endless script! He'd got off the bus, a stop before me and as he gave me a parting look, I realised that he was scared. In his 30s, with an unkempt and tousled hair draped in crumpled and dirty clothes, he seemed to have a sob story, but will his unbridled drinking bring about an end to all that? And what was he scared of? Retribution from my side? Now, that's a laugh!
Tailpiece.
Social drinking is an acceptable thing and no one minds that so long as propriety and decorum are maintained. But when limits are exceeded, one's asking for trouble. I've often observed people imbibing the bubbly with the intention of getting drunk. What purpose it serves - the subsequent headaches and the awful feeling, notwithstanding - cannot be deciphered but it could be at the expense of one's health, that could at best be avoided! Not to talk of the harassment and possible exploitation later, by unscrupulous people!!
Am I sounding condescending? Hope not...
I shall give you my observations on two of my fellow passengers. The first was a guy, seemingly in his mid 40s, who was occupying a two seater, close to the rear door, which I'd decided to share with him as I clambered on to the bus. He didn't seem to be quite enthused with my decision and began to 'spread' himself on the seat resulting in the need for great acrobatic movements on my part to avoid being edged out when the vehicle negotiated sharp bends and turns. He was oblivious(?) of my discomfort and I'd to tell him that I wouldn't tolerate his insensitivity any further and perhaps, we could even swap our seats to avoid further unpleasantness. Did I have a menace in my tone, I dunno, but it definitely had the desired effect and I realised that he could shrink himself remarkably well, given the circumstances!
While I was chastising my neighbour, I'd raised my voice for the sake of clarity which triggered an unwarranted, angry reaction from a passenger behind us who was in an extremely inebriated state and reeked of country liquor. In such cases, silence is the best reaction because he knew not what he was doing though the conductor and the other passengers asked him to be quiet, with the former going even a step further to apologise to me for the his misconduct.
I must say that it tested my patience to its limits as his vocabulary of 'the choicest in Malayalam' seemed to be an endless script! He'd got off the bus, a stop before me and as he gave me a parting look, I realised that he was scared. In his 30s, with an unkempt and tousled hair draped in crumpled and dirty clothes, he seemed to have a sob story, but will his unbridled drinking bring about an end to all that? And what was he scared of? Retribution from my side? Now, that's a laugh!
Tailpiece.
Social drinking is an acceptable thing and no one minds that so long as propriety and decorum are maintained. But when limits are exceeded, one's asking for trouble. I've often observed people imbibing the bubbly with the intention of getting drunk. What purpose it serves - the subsequent headaches and the awful feeling, notwithstanding - cannot be deciphered but it could be at the expense of one's health, that could at best be avoided! Not to talk of the harassment and possible exploitation later, by unscrupulous people!!
Am I sounding condescending? Hope not...
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