My daily ordeal on Bus number. 5

Everyday for going to my school, I travel by two buses. The first bus is synonymous to heaven: cushioned push-back seats and lovely bus mates to travel with. The second bus (yeah, bus no.5!) is the one which makes me uncomfortable and in a melancholic mood every time I travel…It takes me from downtown to my school in 10 minutes, but believe me, those ten minutes always seem like eons away..

I was thinking today why this bus makes me so depressed??? May be because of the kind of people who travel with me on that bus. ..or may be the air, the feel of it....or may be the uncomfortable thought process it forces me into…Who travels by Bus Number 5???? Well..it’s a heterogeneous mixture of all races; but they all have one thing is common…they all belong to the socially-deprived class of US of A….Somehow, being in the same place as them is taxing..

When I board the bus, I always feel the air has somehow changed. It acquires a strange, obnoxious smell of its own….I try to match the smell to something familiar …To my olfactory senses, it comes as a strange amalgamation of sweat, frustration, poverty, depression, anger and off course, the noisome smell you can associate with no cleansing act.

Today after submerging myself into that odour, I gingerly found a seat for me. I stopped chewing my gum…I am afraid that one day, I am going to catch some lethal virus in the process!! …I switched off my Ipod, put it inside my backpack (in case, somebody tries to snatch it from me..)…But there is no escape from the inevitable thoughts that clandestinely enter my mind.…

While I sit waiting for my stop anxiously, ambiguous thoughts intrigued me…. it is for real? Are these people inhabitants of mighty all- powerful The United States of America? I see a lady wearing torn jeans (for a change, not for fashion!).. men wearing soiled, smelly clothes…young girls wearing cheap excess makeup…Whatever happened to the common notion of America being an all-rich country…???!!! Common, I am not ready to face poverty in US!!!

The senile lady sitting next to me interrupted my thoughts; she started talking about her old boyfriend who died after suffering from AIDS!! Oh, this is not happening to me….I never imagined I would travel by such bus sitting next to a lady blabbering unconsciously about the incurable disease!! I couldn’t utter a single appropriate word …the air became suffocating…and thankfully, my stop came and I got down hurriedly …Relief sweeps my face and I breathe again…Today’s ordeal is done with!

New Series to begin: Parallelism

I am in US for more than 1 year now . I have observed numerous similarities and differences in both Indian and American culture, thinking, beliefs etc...So, before I myself forget/ignore these subtleties, I am going to write about it..mainly to give it a form...And I would name the series: "Parallelism"!!

हिंदी हमारी भाषा है!!!!

आज मैं बहुत खुश हूँ! बडे दिनों बाद आज मैं हिंदी में कुछ लिखने कि कोशिश कर रही हूँ, thanks to blogspot!! अब मैंने सोच लिया है कि अपनी हिंदी को अच्छा रखने के लिए मैं हिंदी ब्लोग शुरू करूंगी!! यिप्पी! :)

जय हिंद!!

Eyes Wide Open...

Being born of traditional, orthodox Brahmin parents, I have been exposed to myriad rituals, superstition in my lifetime: “don’t cross the road when a black cat crosses it…burning red chilies ward off evil eyes…don’t spill salt…and so on. However, neither did I believe in it nor was a part of it ever. Always recalling my science teacher’s words about questioning and rationalizing before believing in anything, I used to scoff at any ritual performed by my naïve mom. I always felt that its just us desis who follow all kinds of complex rituals for no reason. I always made effort to change my parents so that they stop believing in these silly rituals and become 'modern'. Considering me a rebel child, they never mind my mockery and ignored my objections.

After coming to US of A, I was exposed to different cultures from all across the world: American, Italian and Mexican...To my utter dismay, I found out that all these cultures have their own set of superstitions and beliefs. And believe me, they are equally ridiculous as India's: “throw salt over your shoulder every time you use salt; just for good luck…!”

It’s not that I was not expecting these so-called cultural superstitions. I have always ran away from such beliefs and mocked them. And today also, I do not believe in them. But after meeting people from different culture, I have realized that it’s these superstitions/rituals which make a major part of a culture. I had learnt this in B-school but as its said: seeing is believing! So, after seeing all kinds of rituals, I am in acceptance mode now.

Thus, now my mom would be relieved to meet me next time…I have decided that I am not going to make fun of her beliefs. I would let her perform her rituals and let her be happy..!!! :-)