That girl at Agra bus station

I was at the transport nagar bus station in agra, waiting for a bus that would take me to my college. My college happened to be right in between the twin cities of Agra and Mathura (25 km from each). While Agra is known for its architecture of moghul period, Mathura is considered a holy city in India. A rickety bus (thats how most buses were in this part of India) came after about 10 min of wait. While i tried to get on the bus, the ticket conductor was trying to push out a girl from the bus. I stood out of the bus gate to wait for the girl to come down and watched was happening. Apparently the girl wanted to go to Mathura but maybe didn't have money to get a ticket. The ticket conductor therefore wanted her to leave the bus, as this was the last bus station in Agra. After this it was a 50 km ride to Mathura and no stoppages in between. The girl on the other hand was trying her best to hang on, pleading to conductor to allow her travel. As it was evening time, soon the night would fall one could understand the desperateness on her part to reach home. But one would understand the conductor's point as this girl could easily be a cheat and nothing more. Moreover if the bus is checked en route, the risks losing his job. I was thinking all this, when finally the girl gave up and came down the bus. I then went in and took a seat. All this hoollah booh had attracted the attention of all the passengers into the scene. i could hear all sorts of whispers in the background, some condemning the conductor and showing sympathy towards the girl, while some being more practical and supporting the conductor. When i took a close look at the girl, i saw she had no shoes/sandals, but she did have some jewelery. Also the girl was not wearing a chunri. A chunri is an add on which women wrap around their neck. Its an add on ok, but it is something which a female would necessarily wear in India. So seeing this female, it looked that things are not normal. Either something is wrong with her or something wrong has happened to her. Anyways, so i was sitting on seat, looking at the girl who was now standing on the road and staring at the bus in anger, and there were passengers looking at her out of the window. As the conductor signaled to the driver to move the bus, the driver asked him what was the matter. This driver was an old man, must be about to retire. The conductor explained to him the situation. The driver thought for a minute and then requested the conductor (more of a command), to allow the girl to travel. In Indian buses, the one who is elder usually commands more respect irrespective of what the job is. And so when the driver asked, the conductor readily accepted it and called the girl to come inside. Not only the conductor, but even some of the passengers signaled out of their windows to the girl to come in. It seemed they were all somewhere within wanting to not leave the poor girl like this, but were just taking a stand. It also seemed that even the conductor was regretting to push the girl out of bus, and was just waiting for someone to request him to change his mind. And so just as the driver made a request, a whole lot of people waved to the girl to come in. When the girl climbed in the bus, the driver signaled her to sit next to him on the bonnet of engine. Its a common practice for passengers in India to sit on the bonnet if a seat is not available. As the girl was trying to settle down, the driver tried to console her and as a sign of it put is hand on her head. India if an elderly puts his hand on somebody's head its regarded as a sign of well wishing or consolation. And just as he put his hand on her head the girl burst out in tears. It seems all this while she was trying to control her tears. It seems the tears were just about ready to come out. It happens with all of us. When we feel humiliated, we want to control our emotions. Not show to people how bad we are feeling inside.And we control them. But when somebody out of no where expresses some kind of solace, one just bursts out. One just lets go what all is within. Something similar i was experiencing that day, though from a distance. I'm sure even the conductor felt relieved that in the end he didn't had to leave her there. People are not bad, nor do they want to be but sometimes they are forced to be. And it must be a big relief if one is somehow saved of doing something bad.
The bus started and i got down at my college after 20 min.

Hyderabadi flavor

I've been in Hyderabad for over a month now, and i am getting to know the taste and names of south Indian food. All that i had in Delhi in the name of south Indian, was not south Indian but maybe a distant relative of the actual food. its difficult to describe in words, but each food has a different flavor than what i know or what i expect. Along with the taste, the names also change here. for example if you order a chapati, you will get a parantha. Alu barota would mean aloo parantha. the quantities which are served also change. As one travels from north to south, one can see the size of the tumbler reducing. In south the glass is almost half the size one would find in north. even the katori (bowl) is halved. I'm still trying to figure out the reason for this.
the hindi spoken here is also different, something not seen anywhere in the country. just like Mumbai which has its own distinct hindi ( with all the new words and slangs which one does not find in any hindi grammar book). Things seem more funny when you hear a sardar (a sikh gentleman) speaks like that. I m not used to hear sardars speak this kind of hindi. In delhi they speak of what would be a mix of hindi and punjabi in a punjabi accent, but here even the accent is Hyderabadi. I still cant help but smile when i remember that sardarji's hindi. I was lucky to have heard him from behind, otherwise i would have laughed onto his face.
The traffic situation in the city is like what it was in delhi a decade ago. while the traffic has increased, the road size remains the same. so if one is on road in the evening when most people leave their offices for home, one would find its faster to walk than drive. As the city is in the process of expanding, you can see its effects on the outskirts, in places where i live. One can see the trees being felled, lakes being filled and huge constructions being undertaken. Something similar must have happened in Delhi too, but i was not witness to that.As Dr. Sangal says, its always good to be a part of time which is seeing a change, because then one knows how things were before the change took place and one can always compare them. However if one is born after the change, then one assumes things to be like they are as they have always been the same.
The place i stay is about 12 km from the main city. It is still quite green in comparison to main city, and as a direct visible result, it rains here every evening, where as the city doesn't witness that. If it pours here, the city would have a mild drizzle. The pouring rain was something i missed in Delhi. I don't remember seeing such a rain on consistent basis in Delhi ever. And therefore its so much obvious for me to enjoy the rain ( jogging or walking in it), while the locals
may feel something is wrong with me. I guess I've been a deprived child when it comes to rain.