Those were the days
when I used to stand in the bus stop waiting for my bus and almost
all buses used to be over flooded with people and you need to wait
for hours under sun and rain just to find some space in the bus. It may not be
so dramatic every day, but for someone who had always travelled in
college bus or scooty , taking three buses to reach the destination is
definitely a task . So those were the days I used to see these cars with only
one person driving which can actually carry another four people. It made me
think so much about the wastage of fuel and causes of traffic jams
and why don't they ever think of carpooling or at least help people
who are waiting in the bus stop to reach their destination ???????
Then after two years when I was driving all by
myself I thought I should be this responsible citizen and this was my only opportunity to help someone.
That’s when I have decided to do whatever I can to help people!!! I even love
to meet new people and spend some time which I can’t do every day because of my
busy life...
I decided to carpool only women and kids!!!So when
i was passing by my bus stop, I saw this girl standing in the bus stop ,she is
from the same apartment, so I knew where her college was ,so I stopped my car
and asked if she needed a lift ....she smiled came in and closed the door
......I felt I am a hero saving her from these romieos in the BUS, but
then she was bombarded with messages and calls and then she finally
requests me to stop the car and starts her story ......."actually i had
a fight with my boyfriend and that was the reason I took your help,
if not he drops me every day and now that he is sorry ,I want to get down
!!!! My first stint at
helping others was a disaster!!! Don’t even ask how I felt!!
And then next time ..........It was a rainy day and
it’s raining quite heavily and there was one lady accompanied by her kid on
road under a tree, I thought for a minute she is already wet and my car gets
wet too but looking at the kid I thought that’s ok and stopped the car and she
thanked me. She was almost on the same way and then she requested "Can you drop me until my home"!!! Side
effects of service starts!!! I am someone who
can’t say no easily :( and then to my surprise I have to take some 8
narrow turnings to reach her home and then I remembered how poor I am
with my routes, but to my good luck it was night :( and in those days I don’t
even know a perfect reverse too !! I cursed myself badly and then
when we reached her home, she got down quickly and jumped into her house as it
was raining!!! I said Thank You to myself and took another one hour to figure
out where I was and how to come out of that confusing route!!!
And there follows colleagues orders when to start and then where to pick up what irks me is that they don't want to walk even a bit and
want me to drop exactly where they want, irrespective of whether it’s a start
of a flyover or in middle of the road and they make me wait until
they come, the worst part being some of them invite me to treat because i can drop them!!! Can you beat
that????
I had it ALL!!!! I had experience with
an old lady who started shooting questions immediately about
my package , caste and even before I say that I am married she started
giving details about a marriage proposal ,two school kids who orders me what
song I need to play , people who start marketing their religion in that 30 minutes ,aunties who actually forget that I actually exist
in the car and continue with their gossip!!! a lady who
was in my car and when the car gave trouble, she gets upset with my car and immediately gets down to take
an auto , I came in terms with my ego by saying to myself---- may
be she is in a hurry !!! And some others who would suggest me on how I
could have taken another model and what kind of interiors I should have preferred and some others going ahead
and commenting about my driving skills!!!
My worst experience was when there was an Old
man requesting lift to every vehicle which passes by
and actually the route I travel by doesn't have frequent buses
,but my norms was not to let men get in ,but then i thought he was an
elderly person so I can relax my rules .He got in and first cursed all the RTC
busses and then his Son , I thought if I turn on AC he might feel better ...but
it turned even more worse ,he started asking questions about me , my marriage ,
my kids ,my caste and all. It didn’t stop with questions as he started advising
on how a woman should always stay at home and take care of children ....I
was in no mood to argue , and I didn't knew the worst
moment has yet to come .He got down at his
destiny and he gave me 20 bucks :( and even before I say I don't take money,
he continues to justify if it was in bus it just costs 10rs.But as he had
comfortable place to sit and even had AC he didn’t mind giving
me an extra 10rs and when I started explaining him that I don’t
want to take it, he gets furious and says he never takes help from
anyone and he is a self made man and all , I came in terms with my ego and took
the money .I felt I am a(Magnet) Goddess or Devil who attract only
these item pieces :(
Yea most of the time people made me feel like a cab
driver and even some times like an Angel but then I had my share of good experiences
during those worst Bandhs last year where there was almost no public transport
and I had this chance to help people .I remember always words of my hubby who
say never help anyone when they don't ask you as they can’t appreciate the
help and my brother words ...either don't help or if you
do, don't crib about whatever they do. I realised I am doing this
because I love to do and I should not expect gratitude in any form
and definitely should not expect people to be sweet, well mannered
and Rational !!!
But what all these experiences thought me
was "why those cars go empty and why all these proud car owners don't prefer
carpooling !!!" But no I didn't stop carpooling, but I
stopped being nice and learned to say NO when i have to say it
.................
