14.6.07

Decibel drivers!

When I walked into bus no. 18 on my way to work today, I was a bit startled. The driver was yelling something and I unconsciously fought an urge to say "wasn't me!!". After some abstract filtering, I realised that this jolly guy was actually saying HI, HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY?! in an obnoxiously loud voice with a goofy grin! After an "err..fine thanks and yourself?" I settled down in my seat and observed this cheerful driver greet every single person who entered the bus in the same way! It was fun seeing them go through the same, Startle-err - who?-me?-oh-hi, to you too jig!!

Watching this exceptionally loud driver reminded me of a bus journey I had made a few years ago with my dad from a small town in Tamil Nadu called Gingee to an obscure little village. It was a shiny new bus; and when I say shiny, I MEAN IT! Multiple mirrors, glossy Rajinikanth standing near glossier autos, oh sheesh! The works! My eyes began hurting after a while! All was well, well, almost well, because this driver was so DAMN loud that along with my eyes- my ears were hurting too. Apart from obscenities aimed at fellow drivers and supposedly funny remarks meant for the audience (thats us, the passengers) he was humming the slickiest, sauciest, s@*&$~#iest songs composed in tamil film history!!

I knew it was coming - the irritation. I tried, I seriously did, to stop feeling that absolute rage which stems from some unknown eternal pit in the tummy(I was young and restless then!). And then as if he could read my mind, he went quiet. Dead quiet. The bus just ricketed down the typical kaccha roads we have studied about in geography. As the irritation slowly ebbed out, I actually found myself relaxing and enjoying the green rural scenery.

I should have known that this was just the 'calm before the storm'.

The damn driver didnt even give a warning so I could mentally prepare myself for it. A swish and a click. And in a voice as loud as his (accompanied by the driver's) the tape player bellowed" NA READYYYY, NEENGA READY AA??" OH MY GOD!! I was so absolutely shaken and shocked! You know what the best part was? The driver played that song over and over and over again till we reached our destination.

I was too exhausted to fight back. I just slumped in my seat and allowed that damn song, reveberating through the damn speakers, to smother the left life out of me. Come to think of it, the entire bus was a bit zombied off after that! Sheesh!

Oh India, India!

7 comments:

'Stung by the splendor of a sudden thought!' said...

lol!!.....am glad I wasn't there with u on that trip!!....I remember this 27D bus driver who used to sing all those age old 'almost' extinct Tamil songs!!...all the time! :o!!

Vadapoche said...

Hey,

When I was in school and college, bus journeys were so much fun. We did so much in the bus, sight adhichufying, fighting, singing, screaming, loud chatter, near limb breaking stunts and so many more.

Today when I see a bus and ponder the possibility of a bus journey, I think of all possible excuses to avoid it from its crowded, its cramped, hot, noisy, stinking, leaking in rains etc etc.

Eppadi iruntha naan, ippadi aiyutten!!!

Ashika said...

stung by..-ooh u sure should be glad! I rem a driver in our college, who looked quite old, so used to get extremely offended if we called him 'thaahta'!! He used to sing too and abuse as well!

jollyroger- during my college days, the only thing i remember doing in the bus is SLEEPING!! The hour long journey in old mahabalipuram road, with the bay of bengal wind to beat the heat with an excellent driver was a lullaby and every single person would be nodding zzzzzz!! There is a saying that you spend as much as you earn, thats why this aversion to buses and crowds and etc etc!!

Enigma said...

ur funnnnnnnyyy!!! only u can go tro all this!!! hehehehhe....pinkkkkk asshhhh!!!....wats pink????hmmmmm.....hehehe

Divia said...

talk abt the same song being played again and again! When i finished my tenth public exams my sis and i set out to coimbatore with my uncle in the car and we felt bored so we bought a film cassette (nowadays you have cds and dvds and pendrives to listen to music while your driving)

'Minsara Kanavu' the one only tamil song cassette that i bought, will tell you reason...
this was only cassette which played on for all the while we travelled(from chennai to salem-yercaud-coimbatore-to ooty-palakad-cbe-and back to chennai via oganaikal falls !)

epakooda kanna kattuthae :)

Ashika said...

@trinity
haha! I love minsara kanavu songs, but then, really, listening to it over and over and over again?!?! I might just end up hating them!! Like I couldnt hear another word of Dido after listening to her songs like a million times!

Aarthi said...

hahaha...naan ready..neenga ready a...from now on whenever i listen to ths..it will remind me you n ur travel for sure...funny

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