After
two months of eating and sleeping, today was the time to pack up things and get
back to my second home. Bus travels are hectic in Monday mornings as all the
office – goers and students tend to get back to their respective places after enjoying
the weekend. Luckily, this has never been a problem for me as dad, who always
accompanies me to the bus stand (courtesy the amount of luggage), is an expert
in climbing up the bus at the right time to get me a window seat mostly.
Since
it was early morning, the bus was going at a good speed due to less traffic.
Suddenly, the brakes screeched. Apparently, a cow or dog must have crossed the
road; it might have been a cyclist or a pedestrian, too. But then, grumbles
arose from the passengers. “You idiot, be responsible to your duty!” said one;
“Son of a *****, can’t you drive carefully?” yelled another; “Have you gone mad?
Why don’t you slow up a bit?” shouted a third fellow. Till now, it was okay.
The
next moment, everyone started discussing previous incidents which they’ve
witnessed, heard, or imagined, that had resulted in a disastrous note, in a
loud tone. The ultimate thing happened when a fellow passenger, on seeing me
sitting quite, said: “Thambi! Enna
amaidhiyaa ukkaandhurukinga? Unga pangukku naalu vaartha kaelunga…”
(Brother! Why do you stay calm? Utter some swearing words towards the driver)
He had told it very sharply as if I was to bid some amount in an auction but
this made me wonder what has happened to us.
This
attitude reflected quite a few flaws in the basic nature of individuals. First
of all, we’re not ready to stand against something on our own. We need the
company of someone. Secondly, we force the same kind of behavior into the
psychology of a stranger. As this chain goes on, there will be no one left with
courage and dare.
Now,
getting back to the incident, even I have been a severe critic of the
Government bus drivers (in particular) in the past, muttering words like, “Sena maadu! Katta vandi maadhiri oatraan?”
(Lazy buffalo, driving like a bullock cart!!) These swear words were constantly
coming out of my mouth in almost every bus journey, thanks to the slow driving
due to the ‘great’ road conditions of Tamil Nadu. Not after I met one of my
friends’ dad, a bus driver. Seeing him just once would reveal how much a driver
suffers to complete each and every trip; his eyes would show up the tiredness
due to extensive sleeplessness during nights; the rough palm of his hand would depict
the hardships of holding the steering for a long time; his occasional momentary
pauses at the college entrance to meet his son for a fraction of second would
convey how much he had missed his family owing to his job.
How
many of us know that there are inadequate drivers for the innumerable number of
buses available throughout the state? How many of us have ever thought of the
extra trips a driver is burdened with in order to compensate for the lack of
workforce? In addition, the supervising, administrative authorities are mostly
appointed by the direction of the local politicians. These irresponsible people
would willingly appoint the driver in a worst route; but in order to revert to
an easy bus route, he would have to pay a huge sum to the authority, which
would in turn be transferred to the coffers of that politician (What, according
to you, is the source of money that is given during elections to lure us? Dosh
earned through these kinds of illegal activities). There are instances of
drivers superior in terms of age being humiliated and abused by their senior
officials, who would be younger, with no appropriate reason.
A
bus driver is, in some way, Lord Paarthasaarathi
Himself. After all, Krishna became driver for just one person (Arjuna). But, a
bus driver is doing this Godly job for a comparatively less salary. He toils
day and night, overcomes back spasms, controls his emotions at times of abuses,
all these to earn his living. Moreover, the money he gets doesn’t justify the
incredible work he does. Have we not experienced awful situations due to the
strike organized statewide and nationwide in the recent times? Haven’t we been
at the mercy of them? So, please never complain. If a driver speeds up, do
understand that while it’s risky, the fault is not his. The system has to be
blamed. And as it is, from education to cricket, and media to transport,
politics has spread its evil roots everywhere.
Even
the Public Sector Employees and the Corporate Workers are being granted enough
days as holidays per month/year. The same is not guaranteed for a driver. He
has to work, he ought to work, he is forced to work. We’ve to be thankful
actually; if it can’t be done, at least don’t scold them. There is a 19 – year
– old (it’s me), who has already suffered from a strained spinal cord. There
are people complaining of not able to sit comfortably for two hours
continuously; there are bike riders, who feel inconvenient after driving some
25 kilometers at a stretch. Can we project us into the same situation as a bus
driver? Perhaps, that is the only way to show the greatness of the multiple
incarnations of Paarthasaarathi.
Similar
fate strikes scavengers, when they take leave for one or two days. After all,
the 50 or 100 bucks we give for their picking up garbage from all houses in a
region is not even worth 25% the service they do to make us exist in a clean
environment, free of dust and pollution. The healthy physical state of us is
not due to the eradication of 10 different kinds of diseases by the Hamam soap, but due to these poor
workers, in front of whom the White Collar Job Holders are literally nothing.
Please respect these noble workers by asking yourself, ‘Can we, or would we do their work?’
