I don't travel by bus anymore. But the annual Mahalakshmi Saras exhibition is on at Bandra Reclamation (till 23rd) so decided to accompany mom there. For the fun of it we chose to go by bus from her place. The wait was a long one - a shade too long. But we didn't mind. Perched comfortably on the bench at the bus stop, we commented on the passers-by and caught up on a lot of subjects. As the buses came and went, thinning the crowd at the bus stop, I floated the idea of taking the cab. But mom would hear none of it. 'Absolutely not. We have decided to take the bus and we will take it - come hell or high water'. Of course, I had suggested the measure rather half-heartedly because being the chip off the old block, the idea of reversing the earlier decision wasn't appealing to me either.
One more bus appeared round the corner. The guy sitting next to us suddenly came to life and asked 'Which bus is that?'. At first, I thought he was asking someone else so didn't answer. He asked again and I looked closely to check if he was visually impaired. But he were that, he wouldn't have been able to see the bus. Maybe his eye-sight was weak. Whatever. I looked at the bus and said 'Looks like xyz to me'. At this, he jumped with joy and said 'My bus has arrived'. You won't believe me but he was actually grinning from ear to ear. I looked at him as if he was insane. Was he waiting for the bus since centuries? What's the matter with this guy? I don't remember the last time I was this insanely happy over such a trivial thing.
Absorbed as I was in my own thoughts, I must have missed what he said after 'Thank you madam'. After a minute or two, when I reconnected with the outside world, I commented to my mom 'Was that guy for real? What was there to be so happy about?'. My mom grinned and said 'Must be waiting since a long time for that bus'. Then she paused and said "In fact he was so happy that he said 'Bless you madam. May God grant all your wishes'". Now, it is true that this bus-stop is right outside one of Mumbai's famous temples and that could be the reason for his sudden outburst of - what looked, at least to me, as unnecessary - benevolence.
But I cannot remember the last time a total stranger had blessed me like this. And there is no denying that it felt good - whether God grants my wishes or not. :-)
One more bus appeared round the corner. The guy sitting next to us suddenly came to life and asked 'Which bus is that?'. At first, I thought he was asking someone else so didn't answer. He asked again and I looked closely to check if he was visually impaired. But he were that, he wouldn't have been able to see the bus. Maybe his eye-sight was weak. Whatever. I looked at the bus and said 'Looks like xyz to me'. At this, he jumped with joy and said 'My bus has arrived'. You won't believe me but he was actually grinning from ear to ear. I looked at him as if he was insane. Was he waiting for the bus since centuries? What's the matter with this guy? I don't remember the last time I was this insanely happy over such a trivial thing.
Absorbed as I was in my own thoughts, I must have missed what he said after 'Thank you madam'. After a minute or two, when I reconnected with the outside world, I commented to my mom 'Was that guy for real? What was there to be so happy about?'. My mom grinned and said 'Must be waiting since a long time for that bus'. Then she paused and said "In fact he was so happy that he said 'Bless you madam. May God grant all your wishes'". Now, it is true that this bus-stop is right outside one of Mumbai's famous temples and that could be the reason for his sudden outburst of - what looked, at least to me, as unnecessary - benevolence.
But I cannot remember the last time a total stranger had blessed me like this. And there is no denying that it felt good - whether God grants my wishes or not. :-)
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