Being prejudiced

That day i got in the bus and saw it full...wished i had the magic of Harry and could turn myself thin like silk then probably i could pass through the crowd of men standing in the bus...somehow i managed to get the way by saying "excuse me" to all the men standing in my way...and found a little space to stand, a man and a woman sitting on the seat next to me.

I had hardly managed to stand and there came a man with a big belly, mustache, white half sleeve kurta and a plastic bag in his hand and stood in center. "Seems to be a bhaiya" I thought. Standing in the center he blocked the way. One man wanting to get down on next stop asked him to give him way and he shifted towards my side and was standing near me...."oohhh" I felt. I was struggling to balance myself and was uncomfortable with this man standing next to me with all that picture of a bhaiya i had in mind. I thought he was staring at me and i wondered what all he was thinking!

People kept coming in and my struggle to achieve balance became more difficult and i was pushed on the seat near me where the other man and woman were sitting. Seeing me struggling hard, the bhaiya asked the fellow sitting, "ladies ko baithne do". I was surprised !! The man stood up and gave me the place.

Sitting there i was thinking about the bhiaya. How quickly i had judged this man when he entered! My prejudice! I used to think that I don't tend to get prejudice, he proved me wrong. Prejudice leading to generalisation and judging. Our prejudices are so deep that we are not aware of it. This was one incidence and there are many like this where we get influenced by our prejudice. We jump to conclusion about people based on our prejudice and whats worse we don't accept that we are prejudiced! Try telling someone that you are being prejudice, they will not accept it and i don't think would be willing to give a thought to it. Many problems arise out of our prejudice and we don't realise it, if we do may be we would be able to avoid some of the problems if not all.

Overcrowded bus..

Traveling in BEST demands lot of patience and tolerance, especially if you are going towards on of the most popular suburb of Mumbai. The bus is filled to its capacity in the peak hours and unfortunately my travel timings coincide with that (like thousands of other people).


What makes it more uncomfortable is, no separate compartment for ladies… especially in a crowded bus. I am not going to complain about this....instead I found some things that make a crowded bus ride tolerable...especially for females.

• Man standing near you, but not falling over you - I must say mostly educated, well cultured men come in this category.
  
• A man offering you to sit, though its not the ladies' seat, and he prefers to stand - i guess they truly empathies with females and again the same category of guys here also.
  
• Senior citizen-male, getting up from the ladies seat immediately as he sees you standing to give you your comfort zone.
  
• A well mannered conductor who does not shout when someone pays him in 500 Rs for a 8 or 10 Rs fare.

Enough of praises for men :) now its women's turn:

• Women not making faces when they get a push from another woman. (sad but true they tend to make faces)
  
• Another one in favor of women, something I didn't expect: When I was standing near the ladies' seat, and the bus was very crowded, a lady offered me to keep my bag with her, on her lap, so that I can stand comfortably. Next time another lady also offered me, but that was because my bag was hurting her :D she wanted to make herself comfortable...fair enough.

I know such small things are not enough to reassure someone for a comfortable ride, but we have to find some relief in these things...makes it easier :)

stars shone in her eyes
as she heard his voice
she looked around
wait was getting longer
her patience was stronger
rain was accompanying her
memories flooding in her
giving a chill in her being
eyes on a book
heart on the route
just few minutes will end the wait
she tried to keep her straight
time started to fly
another day went by
on the table a lonely rose lie...