We went to chennai last weekend. It seemed a usual trip, the two-day break from bangalore's hostilities to find solace in family and relations. My brother and I were preparing for our return on Sunday night when my brother's health decided to extend his stay and my work-pressure shrinking mine. So I was there in the sleeper bus yesterday night unaccompanied. The journey began smoothly, ontime.
Will the Chennai rains ruin tomorrow's match?Everything was peaceful. Lost in train of thoughts from different tracks, I fell fast asleep, waking up occassionally to the turns and jerks of the bus and shouts of our driver that unanimously proclaimed him to be the single soul alive out there. In between I felt the bus was not moving for sometime, but I was half awake then and couldnot even imagine why or for how long. My cellphone screamed to my preset alarm at 5.30am and I inquired on when the bus is reaching my stop, only to hear that we were 3 hours away.
A what? I looked at the cleaner in disbelief. "Mam, the bus was struck in a jam for almost 2-3 hours now." My mind quickly calculated it to be around 9am. Gosh!!
What am I to do till then? I was feeling hungry already. The best option was to sleep again, I decided. Hardly an hour would have passed when I heard screeching of tyres, crackling of front glasses, sparkling glass pieces forcefully thrown into the bus, and I found my entire weight forcing itself to balance on my operated foot.
Was everything okie? Is my foot fine? Will I be able to walk? I looked at my copassengers. Everybody were looking at eachother, absolutely confused and blank. People started getting down slowly. With my foot's condition uncertain, I sat there waiting for someone to give a clear instruction on backup plans. I heard the drivers of both the buses quarrel and people gathering around them, talking for and against both of them.
Minutes later, the driver called us out to vacate the bus and said there was another private bus waiting to pick us up. Fortunately I carried no luggage. I stepped into the driver's cabin to find the usual exit door completely jammed into the other bus's middle portion. I had to climb up the driver's seat and get down his way.
Did I see blood? Was the driver and his helper okie? What happened to the passengers in the other bus that made a T-joint with ours? Thanks to the compartment arrangement of seats, no body was hurt by the glasses atleast. Phew! Before I realize what was going on, I was on the road, heading towards the other bus.
I wended through the baggages and people in the new bus to find a single seat at the back row.
Thank God! I was looking out of the window still pulling myself together.
The morning sky, the just rained road, the soaked trees - plants, how beautiful! That was all the strength I could get then. The bus wouldnot have moved even an hour now, when it was standing on one side of the road and the driver talking to some people.
What now? A person, short and dark, in checked brown shirt and black pant, with a streak of sacred ash on his forehead came in, asking "Whose bag is this?" "Whose bag is that?" When he reached the back seat, we found there were 2 abandoned bags near my legs. Noone was ready to take ownership of them. He opened it and took out a big black polythene bag sealed properly. When he cut it open, we could see white powdery material within transparent polythene.
Is it some movie scene I'm imagining? Why am I going so wild suddenly? Where am I? He looked at me, "whose is this?" "I donot know sir, I donot have any luggages." He enquired people around too. The bag was seized. After a few minutes, again people started getting down. The person next to me and his companions in the front seat too got down. When they got in, the problematic bags returned to their previous place and an official in white and white followed. "Why did they put back the bags?", I asked my copassenger. He said "May be they dint have anything illegal in them." "Oh!?!"
The official in white & white called for the cleaner and inquired about the bag. The cleaner, poor chap, was not sure either. The officer started shouting "Will the driver be sitting and checking bags or is it your duty?" "Should I take you both to task?" *Silence* Passengers travelling in the same bus from the beginning said this bag had come in between. Poor cleaner was spared. "Okie, so who came in between?" I was one of them who changed buses in between. Realizing this, I started blinking! The person next to me was inquired and he said he was about to go to Malaysia tonite and hence his companions had come to see him off. They along with the bags were removed from the bus after quite a confusion and inquiry. The bus was started moving another half an hour.
Did I calculate 9.00am? Well, how about making it to 10.00? Huh!!
I was happy I found place to keep my foot up, comfortably.
Were they really criminals? Was I sitting so close to criminals? I haven't seen such people in life! How to judge such people? How did police find out? One of the three accused returned with a police officer searching for a third bag, to find one just behind my seat.
Was I sitting amidst packets of BrownSugar early in the morning? YIKES!! How did they find there were 3 bags in total? All three had that white packet sealed in a black polythene. Whoww!! Our police department is brilliant!At 10.30, I was at my home, safe and sound... bit limping, bit swaying and still recovering from the shock! Rains... road blocks... collision... damaged foot... brownsugar... police... one hell of an adventure that was!
