There are a lot of things that one comes across even during the course of daily life. There are a multitude of activities that one performs, some on a regular routine and some on a limited-time basis. This is about one such activity I have to perform on a limited-time basis. Oh! And, by the way, I’m Ramu a.k.a Ramanathan a.k.a MGR. I work as Business Analyst for Infytech Solutions Inc. My office is quite (in)convenitnely located in a huge campus on the Old Mamallapuram Road off Chennai. I live in this apartment in Adyar for the commuting advantage. I have just gotten promoted to Business Analyst and I will get a car soon. For now, I have my trusty 135cc baby, a Kinetic Nova 135. The problem with is that it just refuses to be as trusty as I expect it to be.
I’ve had a lot of problems with it in the last 2 days and I’ve finally garnered the energy to give it for a service at Renugambal Autos in Besant nagar. I am going to have to go down to my office using an alternative mode of transport today. As such, going to office everyday needs such a lot of motivation. This makes it all the more (un)interesting.
So here I am at the Thiruvanmiyur Bus Depot. The time is 8 45 AM now and I have to get to work well before 10 00 AM. The Thiruvanmiyur Bus Depot is one of the MTC’s (Metropolitian Transport Corporation) main operational hub. Located near the East Coast Road, this depot serves more than 20 thousand people everyday. Well, that was just a figurative statement. I’m not sure about the actual number. I don’t want any of you outside my apartment with exact figures showing conflicts with my statement!
Coming back to the Bus Depot, one can easily see how it is buzzing with activity all the time. Now, being the ’school’ time, I can see a lot of little school kids with heavy bags (that seem to pull them backward) running around to catch seats for themselves and their friends to go down to school together. All the Kaiyendhi Bhavans here have already started selling their entire spread to early morning customers. Big hotels like Saravana Bhavan have a lot of stiff competition from these road-side eateries solely because of their early opening and bargain rates! These road-side eateries are most suitable for the normal low income groups who can grab a quick meal here.
I have to go down to the Sholinganallur Bus Depot and walk from there to work. My workplace Infytech Park is located about a kilometer away. So, it’s not much of an issue. I have been waiting for almost 20 minutes. All the T51 buses seem to have left already. It’s a stunning fact that there are about 3 T51 buses for one other bus. The frequency is very very high and it matches the rush due to heavy human traffic towards places on the Old Mamallapuram Road. There are so many kinds of T51 buses. Normal torn down buses, vestibule buses, blue liner buses, gold liner buses, automatic door deluxe buses and what not?!
That is actually a good move by the MTC to have distributed the number of buses over multiple classes. People choose what kind of class they can afford and commute. For people like me, who travel by bus only once in a long while, the price of a ticket isn’t a big deal. But for the low income folks who are forced to commute by buses everyday, it is something substantial indeed.
A couple of T51’s are coming into the Depot. A blue liner and a vestibule. It is interesting to note that the vestibule bus has 2 conductors as against only one for the normal buses. Upon enquiry I am told that the blue liner has been parked off and will leave pretty late only. I’m not in the mood to wait for it to leave. And, I don’t mind if the ticket costs a bit more as well.
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I found a perfect window seat near the rear entrance of the bus. I always have this habit of searching for seats near the entrance/exit of the bus. In this case, the bus goes to Tambaram. So, it’s fine. There are buses which go to Sholinganallur alone. Even there my habit refuses to change. Ah well! let’s go to the conversations.
Me: Oru Sholinganallur kudunga anna. [Gimme one Sholinganallur ticket bro!]
Conductor: Anju rooba kudu ba. [Gimme 5 bucks mate!]
Me: Change illla anna. Pathu rooba note dhaan irukku. [I don't have the change! I've got this 10 buck note.]
Conductor: kudu kudu. [yeah right! gimme that atleast!]
He then hands me the change and the ticket. I sit in my seat and a celebrated drunkard comes and sits next to me! Yeah Right! Perfect day! Now my boss is going to think I’m high on alcohol! Where is the Axe Effect when you need it?!
Drunkard: Hello pa. Enna IT companyla vela pannariya? [Hello! You working for an IT Company?]
Me: Aamaam sir. Infytech Solutions. Neenga kooda kelvi pattiruppeengale? periya company. [Yes sir. I work for Infytech Solutions. I'm sure you would've heard of it. It's a big company]
Drunkard: Ada po paa. Ippo laam theruvukku oru IT companyum oru Engineering collegeum irukku. Yedha gnyaabagam vechikiradhu? [ ha! Now-a-days, for every street there is one IT company and one Engineering College. What to remember?!]
Me (Thinking): {Nice way to insult a USD 2 Billion company!}
Drunkard: Unga IT company culturenaala dhaan samudhaayam seer azhinji pochu pa. [It's only because of your IT culture the society has gone to the dogs.]
Me (Thinking): {Yeah! Look who’s talking! The Teetotaller who drinks alcohol the first thing in the morning. It’s only 9 05 AM and he’s high on alcohol!}
Drunkard: Seri pa. Yen stop vandhiruchi. Apparom paarpome. [Ok dude. My stop has come. Let's meetup sometime later.]
Then the drunkard got down along with a few other people. It was the Thoraipakkam stop. There were a few empty seats now and the rush had toned down. A fellow IT company employee stepped into the bus and sat next to me. He looks at my tag.
Employee: Neenga Infytech Solutions employee ah? [Are you an employee of Infytech Solutions?]
Me: Aamaam pa. Nee? [Yeah dude. And you?]
Employee: Naan CTSku vela pannaren. Yengaloda poti companyla vela paakaravangaloda naa epdi okkaradhu? Yennoda companyku viswaasamaa irukkanum! [I work for CTS. How can I sit next to a person from my company's prime competitor? I have to be loyal to my employer!]
He then shifts to the previous seat.
Me: Thambi, fresher aa? [Hey bro, you're a fresher?]
Employee: Aamaam. Epdi kandu pidicheenga? [Yeah. How do you know that?]
Me: Paathaale theriyardhu. Engineering aa? [You look that way. Are you from Engineering?]
Employee: Aamaam anna. Epdi takku takkunu kandupidikkareenga? [Yeah bro! How do you find things so fast?]
Me: Anna University aa? [You're from Anna University?]
Employee: Ada! Super anna neenga! Epdi ipdi kandupidikkareenga? [wow! You're superb! How do you find things so fast and accurately?]
Me: Ada paavi! Naan pass out aayi 4 varsham aardhu! Appo irundhaa maadhiriye ippovum irukkeengale?! Neenga laam maarave maatteengalaa da?! [To Hell! I passed out 4 years ago! You're still the same! Will you guys never change?!]
It’s almost time to get down, I think.
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I’m in Sholinganallur Bus Depot now and it’s only 9 30 AM. Pretty fast, I must say. The bus journey was pretty eventful. I’ll discuss that journey soon. For now, I’ve gotta grab a quick snack in the food court and head to my cubicle. I think I’ll settle for a Dosa from Sangeetha and a drink from Fruit Shop on Greams Road. I’ll get back to you later regarding the journey and the review of the new vestibule bus from the MTC.
Ciao!
~Ramu~
