Think about it!

Think of it this way. You wake up in the morning. You have to get to college. The alarm has been ringing since half an hour. You don't want to wake up! Finally, you jump out of your bed, looking at the clock, panicking. You have to get to the bus stop and catch a bus. The lecturer who takes the first class at 9 won't scold you for coming late but gives you a disgusted look which can make you want to die. You have been looking at that disgusted face for quite sometime but not enough time to get used to it and so you want to go on time at least this once.  There's a bus which reaches your university at exactly 9 AM.  It comes to the bus stop at 8.15 AM. It's 7.30 already! You rush to the bathroom. Do the necessary quickly. Stuff some food into your mouth while listening to your mother shout and complain about your lack of time sense.

You reach the bus stop at 8.15 exactly and before you can relieve your lungs of all the carbon-dioxide that has been accumulating in it, the bus arrives. It has stopped a few steps ahead of the spot you are and you run towards it. It's the rush hour. Everybody has to get to work or school and the bus stop is crowded. Before you reach the bus there are already people entering it and you lose your hope of getting a seat. You have to stand for about 40 minutes but you are willing to do that as you are desperate to avoid 'that' face. You find a place to stand a little inside the bus and you stand there, lost in your thoughts. Suddenly, you hear somebody shouting at you. It's the bus conductor. He's shouting real loud, asking you to take a ticket. You don't have a bus pass because you believe taking a ticket is cheaper. So you take out your wallet, fumble for change and give it to him. He hands you the ticket with a sullen expression on his face making you wonder if you are the reason for his expression.

The bus starts to move. More and more people climb at each stop. The weather's hot. It's suffocating and you're sweating profusely. Then, you hear a shout. Some lady who has gotten onto the bus is finding it difficult to move because your bag is in the way. You apologize and try to move your bag out of the way but with all those people around you, you're finding it difficult. But still you adjust. People are giving you disgusted looks. You hear some people murmuring why people with bags even get onto public buses. The bus conductor is shouting at everyone, trying to move, asking people to make way. A few people's stops have come but they are unable to get down because of the crowd at the entrance. The bus driver is shouting at the people in the entrance to get down once, allow passengers to alight and get in again. But the people refuse to budge. People inside the bus are squirming and trying to find a comfortable position. In this attempt, they start shouting at each other. They are yelling obscenities which you might not even have heard of. The driver gets angry at all the people and applies a sudden brake causing all the passengers to fall on one another. At least three fat ladies fall on you. The conductor yells at the driver and the driver at the conductor. Shouts and yells everywhere. One passenger yells at another. Some people are yelling at you. The conductor comes and yells at the people. In between all this you try to hide your pain. Try not to make it show on your face. Finally, your stop comes and you see the number of people between you and the entrance. You gear yourself up for the challenge and start making your way. People are cursing, yelling. You say 'excuse me' to a person ahead of you. She still doesn't move. The conductor starts shouting, asking you to get down soon and the driver says he hasn't got all day. You finally get to the entrance but there you are confronted with another challenge. There's another crowd at the entrance of the bus, trying to get in. You've got to push past them to get out. In this attempt your bag gets stuck in between the people. People again shout at you for getting a bag into a public bus. You get down and the fresh air hits you. You feel refreshed and start walking towards your classroom and then, all the pain creeps into your joints. You want to sleep. Take rest. One bus journey has rendered you inactive for the rest of the day. And it's only the morning!

Public bus travel could be really tedious. India is a country with an enormous amount of people. People everywhere! You can't even see the ground in some places. In the mornings everybody has to get to work. All the buses are crowded. Sure, all these problems might be a little difficult to solve. But there is one thing we could all do to make our bus journeys more pleasant. A very simple thing which won't even take much effort. We could all be a little pleasant and smile at each other. You might be running late for work and you get really irritated by the crowd in the bus. But the person beside you might also be in the same situation. I mean c'mon! waking up in the morning and going to work is definitely not something anyone would love to do! It would be so much better if all of us could form a queue and get into the bus, nicely, without pushing anyone. Everybody is in the same position as you. Empathize!

The next thing, bus drivers and conductors. Now, we all must admit that their job is a very tedious and challenging one . The conductor especially, has to stand all day, shouting for people to take tickets. They have such a tiring job and they don't rest for hours together. Hence, in my opinion, along with bus driving training and ticket issuing training (if there is such a thing :P) these people must also be trained on how to be more pleasant and smile more. Since, their jobs have everything to do with the public, they must be given special training. But maybe, they would be more pleasant if all of us start being nice ad friendly with each other. Maybe, our behavior is also a determining factor for their behavior. So, let us all try to make our mornings more pleasant for each other. A little empathy is all it takes.



P.S.: This post has gotten a little descriptive and long, but I couldn't help it. This is how my mornings were whenever I traveled in APSRTC (TSRTC now) buses and I just got so emotional that I couldn't get myself to stop typing.

Yummy yum!

Panipuri, Golgappa, Gupchup (I wonder why they call it that). Something us Indians can absolutely not live without. I mean have you ever seen anybody in this country hate it? I'm also sure if somebody from any other part of the world tasted it they'd love it and soon get addicted. Now I (a panipuri lover and addict), have always wondered what made this light brown, round thing filled with aaloo, bataani and masala water so special. Answers came rushing into my head. According to me, this is what makes panipuri irresistible.

First thing. The smell! The moment you pass a panipuri stall, the aroma of the hot curry wafts into the air and forms an invisible hand beckoning you (more like pulling you) to come to it and devour it. Once you pass that place, you're trapped! You can't get yourself to leave without having it. The smell is enough to make your mouth water. And that is what I call, the magnetic power of the smell.

The way one's mouth puffs up to accommodate the panipuri. When you see someone's mouth like that you can literally feel the panipuri breaking and all the pani flooding into your mouth. Makes you want to run like crazy and grab the panipuri from the panipuri waala bhaiyya and feel it for real in your mouth!

The anticipation and excitement you feel when you're the last person in the queue, when the queue is long that is, and the elation you feel when you are the first person in the queue. This is definitely an important contributing factor to the experience. Long queues are always the best. You get enough time to chew and swallow before another puri is given. Short queues are also nice. When there are only like two or three people or you are the only person in the queue, it becomes a very exciting and challenging race between you and the panipuri bhaiyya. You gotta finish the puri before he gives another one! This competition is always fun but one musn't get too ambitious and eat so fast that they either choke on the puri or forget to enjoy the experience.

The heavenly feeling you get when you feel that outer shell break in between your teeth and the water rushes into your mouth like water let out of  a dam. That feeling is indescribable. It can't be put down in words. And finally, the Burps! The best thing about the whole experience are the burps. They are even tastier and you'll surely find yourself trying to burp deliberately to feel that taste in your mouth. Your excitement starts waning slowly as the burps lose their taste and finally you start getting tasteless or mixed taste burps. That, marks the end of the whole experience. That, is also when you want to go and eat again! A vicious cycle. :P

Panipuri is something to be eaten messily. The more messier you eat, the more satisfaction you get. When a little pani escapes from your mouth and dribbles down your chin! That is the best thing that could happen as you can keep sweeping your tongue over that area to relive the taste even after you are done eating. I still wonder how people in other countries can live without knowing it's heavenly qualities. Well, in a way they're lucky to not be addicted.

All this writing is making my mouth water. Gotta go and have some immediately!


P.S. This entire thing was written assuming that people know about panipuri, the way it is served and eaten and all the other basic terminologies related to panipuri eating. So basic knowledge is mandatory or you wouldn't be able to appreciate this masterpiece. :P