Travel

How many of you book tickets to your hometown in the last minute?
How many of you end up getting the last seat or the one on top of the tyre ?
Or worse no ticket at all?
Trust me You are not alone.
You are reading about one such individual who religiously books the tickets probably few hours before the journey or even better once I reach the bus station. The bus guys look at me as if I have stolen their kidneys when I say I need a “single Ladies seat” minutes from its departure. After glancing through their now updated internet account, they say “One seat ide madam , matra last seat".
Do I have an option? I curse my luck that the Tatkal train ticket is still in the waiting list .Checking one last time my PNR status , I board the bus with all the baggage .My first hurdle is resolved , at least I got a seat .But there are many more to come.

If you are wondering what other problems one can face, may I remind you that we ladies always love to carry extra baggage and I am not proving the statement wrong .I carry more than 2 bags most of the times, all thanks to my sweet lil grandma . She makes a point to obese my bag with all the “seasonal edibles” varying from salted mangoes, homemade puliyogare gojju ,chutney pudi and zillion other stuffs. I chant a silent prayer that my co-passenger is travelling light , but Murphy’s law has its say. I barely find a place to stuff half my luggage , the rest half I squeeze in someone else’s baggage space. After adjusting the bags and my jeans as its directly proportional to me bending , I park myself on the seat.

My joy is short lived ,
Courtesy : Bed bugs .
In the last one year I have travelled in every possible bus and trust me every bus has it.They don’t seem to have enough of us , they wait till you fall asleep and then start attacking you, They are like these ex-boyfriends who pester you during unearthy hours. And I have tried all sorts of remedy you can think of- different kinds of sprays , concoction of Neem leaves smeared on the body , odomos , you name it I have tried it. But these bed bugs seem to have become immune to all these remedies as much as we have to our parents nagging.
They simply don’t work!

I try to live with it through the night and force myself to sleep but as fate would have it the bad roads begin. Ask Frequent travelers to Mangalore they can go on the entire day. Something called as roads are non-existent. The Sakleshwar –Mangalore stretch has more potholes than the craters on moon. I try to divert my mind by looking around and I spot a guy staring at me. I immediately adjust my top and check if everything is alright .(A normal reaction of most we girls ) I pretend to look elsewhere, but the insides in me is itching to look back just to check if the guy is looking . So I glance from the corner of my eye and check, as you might guess he is doing the same. I gave that blank expression and immediately look away. I think that this guy is staring at me and for all you know he might think the same too.

The time passes by and the whole adventure so far gets me worn out . My eyes refuse to stay open any longer and when I finally fall asleep the conductor announces Mangalore banthu .Rubbing my eyes I force myself awake, I search for a mirror in my bag and as usual I don’t find it , so looking through the glass window I adjust my hair and rub the chapstick through my lips carefully so that the peeping tom doesn’t see me doing these antics. My stop comes and I have to get down , I gather all my bags and have one last look at that peeping tom (he is still sleeping).
I have reached my destination. Mom has come to receive me .
She asks “Journey kash jalle?” (How was the journey) ,
“ Bad as usual”.
“Ticket pude book korka asile” (You should have booked the ticket in advance).
“Maaa , now please don’t start…..”


Some things just don’t change .
And most of us endure the ordeal rather than be a little organized.
You can call it Aaj ka generation ,Youngistan , Today’s Youth…

It reminds a old saying-

“By the time you realize what your parents said was right , you will have your own kids who will think what you say is wrong”!

Regards
Neetha Acharya.