I have always maintained that a boys' school bus is one of the most interesting places in the world.
A story of 13 years ago ... I was in class 3 that time. In the morning, on our way to school, we used to go over the Durgapur Bridge. Just beside the bridge, a group of young men (usually 5-7 of them) used to practise karate. For some weird reason, as we used to cross this group of young men, the whole bus would shout the word, "PANDU", and those men used to stare at us with surprise. Soon they began to expect it. Some would smile and some would look irritated. The pedestrians on the bridge were usually caught unawares and they must have wondered what caused the sudden uproar.
If on any of the days, those men were not there, we used to get pretty disappointed. The madness must have carried on for a few months, until one day, we found those men waiting for us at the end of the bridge. They stopped the bus and requested kakoo (meaning uncle ... we called the driver and his assistant "kakoo") to persuade us not to shout, because we disturbed their practise. Kakoo assured them that this madness would not be repeated and then he turned to us and said with a smile that we must have heard what those men had said.
Being pretty decent kids, we stopped the shouting business from the very next day. I must admit that I was quite disappointed. Passing over Durgapur Bridge is still a daily affair and I would be exaggerating if i said that every time I cross it, I remember this little tale. But definitely, at times the memories do flash and there is an instant smile on my face.
It remains a universal truth that life is made up of millions of small moments of happiness, which we usually fail to take note of, but then they do come back and help us muster a smile, even while we are not in the best of our moods. I am being reminded of these lines by Wordsworth :
"When oft upon my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood
They flash upon my inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude.
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils."
Note: Nowadays I cross that bridge in PWC bus and I wonder how it would feel if those men get back to practising karate and all the employees in the PWC bus shout "P A N D U"
A story of 13 years ago ... I was in class 3 that time. In the morning, on our way to school, we used to go over the Durgapur Bridge. Just beside the bridge, a group of young men (usually 5-7 of them) used to practise karate. For some weird reason, as we used to cross this group of young men, the whole bus would shout the word, "PANDU", and those men used to stare at us with surprise. Soon they began to expect it. Some would smile and some would look irritated. The pedestrians on the bridge were usually caught unawares and they must have wondered what caused the sudden uproar.
If on any of the days, those men were not there, we used to get pretty disappointed. The madness must have carried on for a few months, until one day, we found those men waiting for us at the end of the bridge. They stopped the bus and requested kakoo (meaning uncle ... we called the driver and his assistant "kakoo") to persuade us not to shout, because we disturbed their practise. Kakoo assured them that this madness would not be repeated and then he turned to us and said with a smile that we must have heard what those men had said.
Being pretty decent kids, we stopped the shouting business from the very next day. I must admit that I was quite disappointed. Passing over Durgapur Bridge is still a daily affair and I would be exaggerating if i said that every time I cross it, I remember this little tale. But definitely, at times the memories do flash and there is an instant smile on my face.
It remains a universal truth that life is made up of millions of small moments of happiness, which we usually fail to take note of, but then they do come back and help us muster a smile, even while we are not in the best of our moods. I am being reminded of these lines by Wordsworth :
"When oft upon my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood
They flash upon my inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude.
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils."
Note: Nowadays I cross that bridge in PWC bus and I wonder how it would feel if those men get back to practising karate and all the employees in the PWC bus shout "P A N D U"
2 comments:
HA HA HA !! I had totally forgotten about this, but instantly got reminded !!
hiii!!
Came in here via the bloggers comm in orkut!
i loved ur way of writing..pretty lucid and touching!
Hahaa!! loved this one!!..its true..lifes made up of small happiness an yes, in a pensive mood, thy give us yet another reason 2 smile!
Take care..keep postingg!!
Post a Comment