Thursday, January 21, 2010

Bagamandala Diary - Part I

A trip to my native village Bagamandala (Coorg) was planned and off I was on a bus to Madikeri, from there hoping to catch the first bus to Bagamandala.

Bangalore to Madikeri
I walked into the bus, searched for my reserved seat; the bus looked quite empty and I hoped it would stay the same.
I bus slowly moved out of the bus station, street lights and vehicle headlights filled up the darkness, the sound of constant honking forced me to close the window. I looked around; in the front seat sat a young man hopelessly trying to explain his girl friend that his trip to visit his parents was a compulsion and not choice. A four-five year old kid lay sleep on her mother's lap in a seat behind my seat, the lady smiled and I replied with a short and warm smile. Across my seat to my right were a mostly newly married couple, sharing a single blanket and finding it hard to keep their hands off each other, an occasional kiss on his wife's lip made most of us around uncomfortable for reasons unknown to us. A sweet old man took the seat behind the couple, after noticing the collection of essays by R.K Narayan in my hand, he had requested if he could borrow the book for a few minutes. I readily gave it to him and turned my attention to 'My Days' R.K Narayan's autobiography.
An hour into the journey and a smile on my face growing was when the lights went off...

Embarrassing
I turned and tossed around in my seat, luckily the seat next to mine was vacant and I had the luxury to stretching my legs in all directions.
Sleep seem to have taken an off for me and I sat wide awake looking out of the window staring into the darkness.
The old man realising I was awake made his way to my seat and sat in the vacant seat. I was a little delighted to find some company, he introduced himself as Mr Ramanujam. We discussed in length about R.K Narayan and short stories, I told him with pride I write a few short stories too, and he replied with excitement
'I would love to read them'
A genuine moment of happiness engulfed me when the lights went on...
We turned around mechanically only to see the couple across our seat sleeping half naked; the husbands pants were down and the wife's blouse were not exactly covering what they were supposed to cover, the blanket which was supposed to shield them from us was lying on the bus floor.
Mr Ramanujam and the aunt behind me shouted out
'Switch off the lights'
Panic stricken driver turned off the lights and sent the conductor to check, the aunt sprang into action and ordered the surprised and embarrassed couple to dress up, she picked up the blanket and held it over their seat to ward off any lusty eyes.
The conductor ran back to tell the driver the tale, realising the bus had stopped near a shop and a small hotel we got down from the bus to give the couple a few moments of privacy.
I stood looking at the road with a disgusted expression on my face, while Mr Ramanujam relished on a tender coconut. I turned to him and said
'Such an embarrassing situation for all of us'
he pulled away from the coconut and replied with a chuckle 'They are newly married, they are in love. It is natural.'
'Can't they maintain some decency in public space' I countered raising my fist pointing towards the bus
'Are you in love with anyone?' he immediately asked
'No'
'So I am guessing you are not married'
'Obviously, if I am not in love I am not married, obviously'
'Need not be' he corrected me and continued
'See you will never understand their situation'
'I hope I don't'
He laughed out loud and said
'I hope I get to travel in the same bus as you when you are on your honeymoon.'
He put his arm around me and said
'Don't forget to give me a call the day you get yourself a girlfriend or a wife. I would love to hear, how wrong you are and how right I am'
I managed a smile as we walked back to the bus.
A soft sob had taken over the silence in the bus, the aunt and the husband tried to console the wife. Ramanujam uncle turned to me and whispered
'Poor girl, I pity the husband too. Their trip is ruined for sure'
Madikeri - 3:45 am
The driver sure could race for formaula 1, his speed and his technique in the curves were spectacular. The bus dropped us few at Madikeri and continued on it's way to Puttur.

Madikeri one of the most beautiful town I have ever seen, was now fast asleep. Located on top a hill Madikeri is home to some spectacular views of valleys and mountains surrounding the town. Though very small in size, Madikeri is the district head quarters of Coorg.
I walked up a step road to make my way to the local bus stand. The bus stand located at the centre has no compounds but is a part of the main road, a yellow street light stands tall at the centre of road that circles around and branches out in various directions.
There no sign of life anywhere near the bus stop, yellow light, sleepy buses and a strong cold wind were all I had for company to wait with me for three more hours for the first bus to Bagamandala.


No comments: