Bangalore and Back - Day 3

 This was a chilled out day so we woke up late. Raja went out and bought some vada for breakfast - apparently the other tiffins were not ready yet! Strange are the ways of the Bangaloreans - in Hyderabad the full menu would be available at 7 am. Anyway I ate the vada and sat down to my work while Raja and Anjali and Prarthana did some Karaoke business.

Karaoke

The afternoon was to be Chef Prarthana's piece de resistance - chicken kheema biryani and she set about it with her usual love and diligence and soon the aromas were all over. I finished reading a biography of actor Sanjeev Kumar meanwhile in the last couple of days and started reading the one on GR Vishwanath, which began brilliantly (co authored by Kaushik, so I called him and congratulated him). The biryani was heavenly and it was but natural that we all crashed out for an afternoon snooze. Vandana had promised to join for lunch and she did as usual, late. By that time our nap was done and we sat with her with some karaoke in the background.

Book haul on display

Father - Daughter at JP Nagar Metro

Packed up and had to carry an extra bag for the books. Decided to take the Metro which was the most comfortable mode. Left at 730 pm and walked to JP Nagar station, took the Metro and got off at Majestic, asked our way about and found the Terminal 1 which was where we had got off when we came to Bangalore. Our bus was right in front of us and we hopped on. It took off before time.

AT Kempegowda Bus Terminal 1

The two drivers were squabbling a bit about some repair and stuff and we finally made our way. I could see that communication needed to be improved. For example when a customer asked where it would stop, the driver would blurt out a landmark with zero help in terms of coordinates - like it will stop on the highway or on the service road etc (which actually led to a delay). Or another customer who asked whether the bus would go to Secunderabad and the driver asked him which train he had to take. The customer had a tough time explaining he only needed to go to Secunderabad and not the station and it took five minutes to finally communicate that he had to get off at MGBS which was the closest to Secunderabad which was all he wanted to know. 

Inside Bus Service 8202, 3 and 4 again

Once the journey began I realised that the cleaner was not giving us water bottles like the previous one had - though they were there. The lady behind me had to stand precariously and ask for a bottle of water which they gave after ignoring her for a while. And then a young girl wanted to know where the bus would stop for a toilet break and the driver said after half an hour. It took longer than an hour and though he stopped at a decent place, I felt they could have been more considerate especially since its not as easy for women as it is for men who just hop off and stand in the bus headlights and pee in the spotlight (they did that - I wish I had a pic). Overall I felt there should be toilets at every toll booth, there are so many of them and the toll guys can maintain them and definitely it must be made mandatory to stop when passengers ask, especially women. I feel its a basic need and one that should be addressed by bringing in a rule - well maintained toilets at all toll booths and mandatory stops at the nearest toll booth (or every half hour) when the passenger needs. Would make bus journeys that much more bearable.

In auto on way back home - 230 bucks!

Anjali played some music and we both listened on her ear phones and then she fell asleep. I kept looking out and listening to the driver who spoke for over an hour on his ear phones while driving. The bus goes at crazy speeds and I am sure they are brilliant drivers but somehow I feel they should find a way to make them stop looking at the phone or talking - or make it easier to talk by giving them blue tooth headsets or something. Ideally not talk because we are all depending on him.

The bus had left Hebbal at 1030, Yelahanka at 11 and was at Shamshabad at 530 which makes is about 6 and a half hours! We traveled through the lunar landscapes full of craters after Aramgarh and after some more complicated conversations with passengers who wanted to know where it would stop etc, the bus finally made its way into MGBS. The Metro is right next to it and I was tempted to take it. We booked a Uber who cancelled. One guy asked me where I was going and I said I had booked an auto and he persisted so i told him where I was going and he said 250, and I said I already booked! Our communication is a regular comedy I realised. And then we took the regular auto - bargain, negotiate, kahan jaana hai, bahut door hai, gas ka daam badh gaya, sawari nahin milta and all that usual Hyderabadi stuff and finally made it back to home sweet home!

Thank you Nanna, said Anjali. Anytime for you A. And then she diligently went off to school toattend her first day of the tenth class while i caught up on sleep, without the droning voice of the driver discussing random things on the phone while making some nifty swerves. Job done!