A miracle called "LIFE'..

Chapter 3

                          THE WINDOW SEAT AND THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS

Boarding an almost empty  bus and settling contently in a window seat, I was humming the tune of 'Nila Kaigiradhu', an evergreen classical  melody by A.R.Rahman Sir, and the bus started with a jolt .

Every city has a beauty and charm of its own , Chennai with its beaches   Kerala with its lush green vegetation, Bangalore with its high energy and spirits.....Well, Madurai, needless to say has its highlights..It has so many names, The Temple City, Thoonga Nagaram ( City that never sleeps) and so many others... Surrounded by four majestic towers, Madurai boasts of its ancient Temples and Churches.... And yeah , true to the name , it is indeed a city that never sleeps..... One can find people literally everywhere, anytime!...  Oh, and yeah...Steaming hot Idlies (Rice Cakes) from the road side shops, with coconut chutney  at midnight are a real delicacy!

People started pouring in as the bus traveled a few distance. One interesting aspect in travelling in a government town bus, you can witness people from all walks of life, all stages of life, of almost all class, not the really rich ones though, since there is no reason they would prefer the crowded ,  noisy, "tilted over one side" buses over their comfortable Audis and Land Rovers...

A stout, forty ish woman, sweating all over her neck, jasmine flowers inserted awkwardly at her 'not so big' hair bun was struggling to pull her slippery toddler back on to her hip, while cursing the loopholes on the road, a middle aged clerk from some government office ( I am just guessing by his mundane expression and total lack of interest towards anything in particular) checking the time on his gold plated 'Titan'.... a bunch of school kids in their maroon and cream colored uniforms  giggling and hooting cheerfully... the bus conductor blowing the whistle with such vigor, that his alveolar membranes would have stretched taut!!!!.. And as usual , the bus stopped.. I mean , got stuck in the usual traffic, since it was late evening... the chattering in the bus did not stop though!!!

Somewhere from a distance the smell of hot bhajjis ( raw bananas covered with spicy batter and fried).. I inhaled deeply oh yeah , I could also smell fumes from the vehicles ... Looking out of the window, I could see vehicles all over the road.... vehicles at the side, at the front , at the back , below us (since we were on a bridge). The sun had almost set and people were beginning to turn their headlights on... It was kinda amusing to see them turn on one by one, slowly... the evening breeze gently touched my face, making some of my hair flutter.

A thousand vehicles, and inside of it another set of thousand people, each of them honking after one another so they could go home to their families..... Each one of them on the road , under the mild evening sky, with a purpose of their own .. a billion thoughts in total,running inside each ones heads. It was kind of funny to look at the people below the bridge, they looked like small round bugs, with helmets and dhotis (a traditional  garment for men in south India!!!). 

If ever the Gods lived on top the clouds like my elementary school teachers used to say, and if ever they were watching us from there, how would we all look like? Like a big army of irritated ants?Like a huge colony of wiggling bacteria? , I wondered...  I mean, how is it even possible for the Gods       ( by "Gods", I am not quoting any particular religion, it could be anything) to design perfect plans for all these individuals? Separate designs , destinies for every single person .. watching over every single person and listening to each ones prayers , pleas and complaints and carefully assigning  "karma" for every single person's deeds, both good and bad!!!! Being like, " Okay you saved a kitten from the road today ? So, that's plus one on your score board. Oh, and you (Some other person) bribed the official at the office? Yeah? So, that ll be a minus one" !!!! I mean how would any of us feel if we were given some room full of crazy hamsters and were asked to design and monitor every single aspect of their lives.. Well, I am pretty sure, I ll volunteer myself for a permanent residence at the nearest lunatic asylum!!! And yeah there is also the responsibility of sending new ones into the already brimming  population , and taking away, those whom the Gods feel,  they have experienced enough. Oh and I totally forgot that we are not the only ones, it starts from PORIFERA, COELENTRATA........and finally CHORDATA!!!! ( a total of a tiresome 11 categories and some fifty sub phylums under each of them !!!) and that's only with the animals.... There is a separate list for the PLANT KINGDOM!!!!! And so many others that we don't really know about... Phew , just thinking about it makes my head hurt. May be that's why they are the GODS!!!!

I was desperately wishing for the bus to move when I saw Vasantha Paati ( "Paati" , usually means grandmother in Tamil, but is used to address any old woman, casually ), with her 10 year old grand daughter Rani , who was sitting proudly on her lap sucking on a lollipop. I tried to catch her eye by smiling and waving at her , but Rani noticed me before she did..." Paati Paati...." she squealed, " look its Shravanthi Akka ( means 'sister' in Tamil)".. I beamed. I loved that kid!!!!!!