Inculcating Discipline

When standing in queue for bus I often get annoyed by the people who don’t follow rules and just barge in to get inside the bus. Are we fools standing in queue for long? Are they the kings who just make their own rule and make their way into the bus without standing in line waiting for their turn?

I hate, when discipline, that is set, is broken. It really gets to the nerves when people don’t follow the rules.

Last Friday an event surprised me even more. We all were standing in queue at the bus stop. A woman arrived with her kid who was not more than 5 years old. She gave one glance at the queue and made up her mind not to stand in the queue. She whispered to her kid that when the bus arrives just sneak in from between, get in the bus and make a seat for her too.

I pitied her, for the fact that, this is how discipline is inculcated. When no importance is given to rules and when mother herself asks her kid to break the rule the society would be no better. Mind you I m not blaming the whole society but just one part of it.

Btw due to the rain it seems my internet connection is down. Weekends have been boring when there is no gmail and orkuting around. So after may be one and half years or so I m surfing from the cyber café. The sticky keyboard, small monitor, tiny cubicle, ha ha ha, back again.

Quote:

Because of their size, parents may be difficult to discipline properly - P. J. O'Rourke.

Being a Cry baby

"... but the bee almost died, mommy!",
originally uploaded by hukes.

It was a crowded bus; absolutely jam packed, no place even to put a foot hold. I was standing along with rest, getting and giving a few pushes.

A lady in her mid-twenties with a kid not more than 2 years old somehow turned up besides me. It was hard for her, coz not only she had to hold her crying baby but also to maintain her balance in the speeding bus. As always is the case a good old kind man offered his seat to the lady(was a window seat and the lady argued with the other man who was sitting in the corner that she wanted the window seat for some fresh air).

The baby didn’t stop crying. The mother was at her wit's end trying to stop the kid from crying. She made faces, made strange noises to make the little one laugh, but in vain. She then tried to show him something through the window. He stopped crying for maybe 2 seconds or so, looking in the dark as far as his eyes could see. But then it didn’t interest him and he again started crying. May be he had seen enough imaginary things, that his mother had shown previous times, when he cried, that he knew now well of her tricks and wouldn’t fall for such bait.

He again continued to cry as if it was his duty. I was amazed by the kid's energy and determination to cry that long for no reason; it was more of a dry cry though, as his tears had mostly dried up and it was just the voice 'waaaaaaaaaaa' that was carrying on. He tried to kick and refused to stay in control, never minding that he would fall. I think the reason behind it would be, he was so confident that his mother would hold onto him tightly and wouldn’t let him fall no matter what.

At last they got down at their stop. How stubborn a child can be in his kiddy days? Adamant, obstinate, uncompromising, crying for toys, chocolates or for no damn reason as I had then witnessed. Being a child has its own advantage, don’t you agree?

Waiting for my Bus

Standing alone on roadside,
Watching never-ending traffic tide
The horns, the beeps, the smoke
Overshadowing the dusky eve.

Who has the time to see
Blue to red turning sky?
Busy street busy people
Rushing home in vehicle,

And there I stand and wait
Near malls lights so bright
My bus I am so eagerly looking
Soon along with all i'll be hiding.

Mad ride

7:15 pm standing at ‘Iskon bus stop’ waiting for the bus really pissed me off. Standing for 15 long minutes and seeing the crowd that was gathering for getting in the bus was increasing exponentially and also knowing the fact that yesterday it took nearly an hour (about 8:30pm may be) to get in the bus, I decided to venture out for a Shuttle Rickshaw. I thought i will somehow make it to ‘Lal Darwaza’ by rickshaw and from there I will have numerous options to reach home as Lal Darwaza is a major stop. Was it the right decision?

Well the rickshaw driver stuffed up 4 at the back and 2 at the front and I thought how's he gonna drive. For me it was lucky I got extreme end portion of the rickshaw although the other 3 who were super heavyweights squashed me up to pulp, it really didn’t matter as at least I got some air to breathe. And then the rickshaw took off. No traffic signals, no traffic rules, no DAMN DRIVING RULES from the book, it was just the hardcore driving that I had ever witnessed. A feeling like I was in some NFS car sitting and experiencing all those mad driving.

A corner came and it was time to turn to right. I was expecting a hand from driver to come out and signal other drivers coming from the back. Surprisingly it was a leg that popped out. I saw a destination for me - either Lal Darwaza or heaven (if god permitted me to allow in). Luckily for me two of the passengers got down in midway and that meant more space to me. In order to avoid traffic policemen, he was taking every unknown nooks and lanes. One of the passengers asked him if we were on right track. He smiled as if making fun and said leave it to him. After 5 minutes of unknown lane driving that made Ahmedabad look like a place full of pits, we came to an absolute dead end. So we had to turn back all the way where we had come, to a lane recognized by all of us and almost everyone shouted pointing the driver so loud that other commuters looked at our rickshaw as if it was filled up with a bunch of nerds.

Finally I reached Lal Darwaza and gleefully gave him 10 rupee note and happy at the fact that at least I made it.

Two things I want to tell you all guys "Patience is still a virtue". And if you think that rollercoaster rides don't provide you enough thrill then try commuting from Iskon to Lal Darwaza in a shuttle rickshaw on a nice crowded evening!!!