It was the first trip to India after our Return to India (R2I) was finalized and probably the last round trip. The next one hopefully is a one-way ticket to India. Though we visited India several times before, every trip gives a lot of different perspectives on the lifestyle there. The nosy but genuinely caring people; the scream, yell & love relations are always on my mind. Yet some incidents like the one below throw me off the boat. It may take sometime but when the waves settle down and the skies clear up, the soul always swims its way back into the boat.
We were traveling on a mofussil bus one afternoon. After a tiring few days of good food and fun, all of us dozed off as the bus started moving. A while later, maybe after I went into the deepest of deep sleeps, I was thrown forward from my seat due to a sudden brake. The brakes screeched loudly and the bus halted suddenly. A glass shattered into pieces. I woke up totally confused, shocked and hoping it was all a dream. But no it was real. The window in front of me had shattered into pieces when the bus hit a brake.
My son was sleeping on my lap with his head towards the window. Thank God we were all safe. The lady in the front had a minor bruise on her shoulder other than that everyone else were still solid. We quickly dusted off the glass pieces and moved away from the window. Meanwhile the driver continued driving amidst the noises as if the earth would stop spinning if he were to stop driving. Few passengers screamed and then he pulled over reluctantly by the road side. After seeing that no one was hurt he impatiently started the bus again. As the bus jerked through the bumpy road a few more sharp glass pieces that were dangling on the window fell down. One piece fell just two inches from my feet and the piece shattered into my sandals. Thank God we had moved away from the window by that time. Some passengers started to clean up by throwing out the glasses from the bus onto the street. Hopefully no one's tires blew out later that day. A motor cyclist wearing no helmet passed by a few seconds after one of the passengers threw out a big glass piece. Thank God his head was still one piece.
So much value for one's life! - SCARY. The driver, conductor or the passengers didn't show much reaction. Seemed like it was a day-to-day incident for them rather than a accident. Unfortunate accidents can happen anytime in any country but so much reluctance and carelessness among people is what scared me the most. Whether it was a incident or accident, it scared me so much that since my return to U.S I’ve kept myself busy. I guess that helps me keep myself still on the boat.
