Time: 11:00 a.m.
"Mamma,please...I want to go by the BRTS bus service..Else when will I learn to travel without you.. Mamma Please..Even Ranju will be accompanying me mamma..Please.."
Well,one of my friends had recently met with a serious accident and had undergone a major knee surgery.She had been discharged just a day before and I and Ranju,her school friends decided to visit her.But the problem was her residential area is about 13-14 kms. from our house,so mamma wont let me take my vehicle till there and neither will Ranju's parents allow her. Mamma gave us various suggestions to get to her home but frankly speaking,we both wanted to travel in the famous BRTS road transport.We had heard a lot about it and wanted to experience this time.After about 1-2 hours of persuasion,she let us go with loads of warnings and precautions wrapped with it.
Time:4:15 p.m.
Whoa..Finally we were standing at the BRTS bus stand..Searching for the ticket window,wondering what do we do with the token like thing provided to us,how to enter the bus & the thoughts of how do we come to know that our station has arrived tickling our brains ..Unluckily the bus we boarded didn't have that announcement system!! :(
Time: 6:15 p.m.
It was the time when we were about to conclude that The BRTS ride was indeed an interesting one..that we got to learn a few things and now we can proudly tell our mom's that 'We can!' but things aren't sometimes as they appear.If the departure gave us some interesting memories then we yet had to experience the arrival ! First: We boarded a wrong bus..Half way we realized that the station names being announced sounded unfamiliar.The next station we got down and were waiting for the right bus that could take us to the intended destination. But each and every bus that came didn't have an inch of space for us to stand & we knew the frequency of buses is quite good so we preferred waiting in the serene bus stands..Finally there came one!Although it couldn't arrange for our sitting,we could easily stand and glance out of the windows enjoying the cloudy weather outside.. After all this is what public transportation is all about!
We were standing near the last seats of the bus and we knew we cannot expect chivalry from anybody..Well, that's okay..Even I would have given a second thought if I were a man! :P There came,at the next station, a good looking girl in her teenage with a bag,which seemed to me heavier than her,clung to her back.With her,came a group of men escorting with them the typical smell of the tobacco.The gold and the silver rings on almost all their fingers and the thick gold chains on their necks as if they are least affected by the rising gold prices!To me they didn't appear less then the rowdies!The pretty girl was standing all by herself at one of the corners holding the supports.Just a blink of my eye and I could see her perspiring very badly! The weather as I told wasn't at all that bad ! Then what had suddenly happened to her? Just then Ranju,who was standing right besides me said she noticed the man draped in gold placing his hand on her's !And as I told you,there was much space in the bus..no amount of brake jerk would force you do so!Next he started staring at her.. continuously!This continued for about 10 min. till the next station arrived where the girl-who couldn't then tolerate this worst behavior got down the bus!And the men? They started laughing as if they did some award winning job!Sheh!!
Then I start thinking of what a girl at her place should have done?
1: Stare back at them?
# They wont be at all affected by this! They will continue staring you back..And a situation will come where you'll back out! No!
2: Fight with them?
#That depends on the public sitting in the bus! Will they support you?
The truth is,even I used to believe,that why do we need people,why can't I alone fight? Well,it helps you when its 1 vs.1 ..If you can handle all of them together.. hats off!
3:Secretly click their photograph and then take it to the police!
# Who's gonna believe you?Do you know someone on the bus who will agree to be the witness for this eve teasing..I believe half of the Indians wont! After all who would like to be a regular visitor of courts and police stations until and unless the situation falls upon them!And even if the police gets hold of them,without these witnesses,why the hell will they confess?
4: Tell them to stop staring?
# Aah..as if it was going to work!
4: Do what that girl did?Climb down the bus?
# But then,the next question that bothers me is "Why?"
Imagining myself in that situation,why should I climb down the bus..? Doesn't it belong to me,being a citizen of India?A law abiding citizen who in spite of being damn lazy,prefers to walk 15 steps just to throw the burger wrapper in the nearest dustbin,who cannot stop telling the person who has spit his half eaten paan on the public road
"Uncle,Aapko U.S. yaa U.K. jaana hai?"
And if the reply ever comes Yess..
"Pehle,apne country ke public property ko to respect karna sikho uncle!" ,
one who has got more numbers of the animal welfare & chidline help in her cellphone contact list than her friends!
Doesn't that make me a worthy citizen who has got all the rights to use all the public transports whether its an auto rickshaw,a bus or a train? Should I , in spite of no mistake of mine,give a second thought before boarding these buses next time ?Or should I start supporting those countries which are against the 'burqa ban' ?
But then:
Will 'that' stop the country wide problem of eve teasing???
I want:
While surfing the net for the posters I found some helpline numbers for action against Women Harassment and eve-teasing:
Dial 1091
or
