"Bus?" "Excuse me!! It's too hot...Let's go by auto!!!"

As most of my friends know and love to comment to each other I usually take autos to where ever I need to go whenever possible. Of course, there are those instances when everybody else decides to go by bus (they outvote me) and I end up following the crowd. There are also those really rare instances when we are travelling long distance and have no train tickets. So bus is the only option.

So before you jump into any conclusion that I am a snob that travels only by auto, let me point out to you that I have no issues, absolutely none for travelling by bus. As long as I know the bus routes or the bus numbers, which ones to get into and where to get off, and of course a lot of time in my hand to wait for those buses, I am perfectly fine travelling by bus. But as a few of the above said conditions usually don't occur unless I am with my friends and we are travelling in huge groups. So there!!! I have said it outright and now don't you go and label me as a "auto-person".

But like I said earlier those instances that I travel by bus are few.

Hold your horses!!! Did I just say "are few". Let me correct that for you.

Those instances that I traveled by bus "were" few.

Now I am in Bangalore for my summer internship. Here at Bangalore I find that the instances in which I take an auto are really rare.

When I first came to Bangalore, I never felt that the auto charges were too high. After all, in those initial days my mom used to pay the auto fares. Then came one day, after she had gone, that I missed the bus to office. I caught a bus that took to one of the stops that connects to the route that goes to office. I waited there for sometime. That is when I realized that  I was getting late for my second day at office and that I did not know which bus would take me there. And, when an auto pulled by me, it was too much temptation for me to resist. So I caught an auto to office and finally reached there a bit late. That is when I noticed the fare on the meter!!!! My heart leapt into my mouth as I realized that it was no small amount that I had to pay.

I just couldn't digest the fact that I had spent that much on an auto. I pacified myself, "After all it was only my second day and I did have to reach on  a reasonable time. And the only reason I took the auto was because I didn't know which bus to take. And hey! It's wasn't as if I was going to miss the bus every single day. It happened once and it wouldn't  happen again." When I took all these into consideration the amount I spent didn't seem to be too bad. It was one of those 'couldn't have helped' circumstance that made me spend the money.

The week went by and luckily I never had to had to take another auto the entire week. That weekend I decided to visit my friends at Kempfort. The place was new to me and it was a alien land with a alien language. But I was determined to make this trip without a hitch and so I googled the routes and the bus numbers to Kempfort.

I set forth on the Saturday and reached Kempfort without much hitch. I had an absolutely great time that day and the next. The next day I decided to go back to my aunts place from Kempfort as I had to go to office the day after. But this time there was a small hitch.

Another friend of mine and I reached the Shivaji Nagar Bus stand to go to out respective places of stay. I waited at the bus stop for half an hour when I realized that only one bus went to Vidyaranyapura (thats where my aunts house was) and that was nowhere to be seen. The rosy picture suddenly turned bleak as I couldn't figure out what I should do. I turned things over in my head until I figured that I should just go the other major bus stop at Majestic. I was very sure that buses from Majestic did go to my aunts' place.

I started hunting for buses to majestic at Shivaji Nagar Bus stop when it finally dawned on me that even those buses where few. And as time passed, I realized that I had no choice but to take an auto to Majestic as I didn't know from where I could catch a bus to majestic.

And so my next adventure began!!! I got into an auto (trying to haggle and bring down the exorbitant sum he was charging me) and set forth to Majestic. The auto stopped "a few minutes" away from the Majestic. That auto fellow even showed me the place. He had to stop the vehicle as the brakes had snapped or so he said. After paying that guy off and walking for another 15 minutes I finally reached the Majestic Bus stand.

Feeling relieved I walked onto one of the platforms to locate my bus. But I couldn't find it there. And so I walked to another platform and then to another. But I still couldn't locate my bus. By then I was filled with frustration and despair.

Let me now break in  on the story and let you in on a little secret. My problem was I had this fear of going up to people and asking them for help or directions especially because they were strangers.

 And at Bangalore, all I knew was the name of one place. I didn't know what to ask and to whom to ask!!! What a predicament I was in. I contemplated catching another auto. Then I realized that I was being foolish and that it was not practical to take an auto for such a distance. I realized that my fear or dislike of asking around was not going to do me good. It would not get me anywhere.

Finally I gathered courage and strolled up to a juice counter and asked the man sitting there, "Vidyaranyapura?" Thats all I uttered, one single word. To my delight he told me a platform number and when I reached there I found my bus!!!!

I got into the bus and sat down as waves of relief flooded through me. I had made it and it was going to be smooth sailing now.

This major experience and a few others that showed me the costly nature of autos in Bangalore brought to me a few home truths.

Firstly, autos are way too costly as compared to a bus and if one could take a bus it is way better than an auto on the pocket.

Secondly, nobody is going to tell me the routes, the bus stops or the bus numbers unless I actually asked them. You see people aren't clairvoyant and they definitely don't know whats running in my mind.

Thirdly, it isn't too difficult to ask people. And if I ask they don't have any issues in telling me what I need to know.

And so after a month in Bangalore and a few home truths later I have no qualms in asking complete strangers for directions and the bus stops. In fact,  I travel quite frequently by bus as I need to travel for the project from the office.

And last but not the least, if you ask me now, "Auto?", my eyebrows will definitely shoot up and I'll tell you, "Auto??? Are you crazy??? Lets go by bus!!!!"

Au Revoir

First days at that place called BEL in Bangalore!!!

The train that should have reached at 6.30 just wasn’t reaching. I was on my way to Bangalore and I was thrilled to the core.

Finally I reached the station and I was on my way to my aunt’s house. I had never been to Bangalore before other than for two flying visits which could possibly not count. And here I was travelling through the area that belonged to that organization that I was going to be interning with, BEL. Never ending, the roads seemed to stretch on for forever and all I could do was drink in the sights of the roads and the buildings and the township that BEL had created in Nagvara.

I had my day off and was to join on the first of the month. I had been nervous the entire time I was in college and till the time I reached in Bangalore. But then after I reached Bangalore, I realised that something was surely wrong. My nervousness seemed to have disappeared. That surely wasn’t right!!! I needed to be nervous if the internship was to go fine and my not being nervous did not bode well.

Well the next morning came and luckily I did become nervous, so maybe things wouldn’t be too bad I figured. I went off to office with an uncle and got everything settled in quickly with the office giving me permission to use the office transportation. So in a happy go lucky mood I returned home to enjoy the three days of bliss – three days of hard-earned holidays!!!

At the end of those holidays I started going to office. I became a regular, just like any other employee. Mornings I would wait for the bus to take me to BEL, would go for lunch with the rest of the staff to the office canteen and return back after office to home.

And now it’s been three weeks here at BEL. In between I shifted to where my friends were staying and now we are four in this house, “our house”. It sure is a blast with us trying out our culinary skills and bravely eating it too, checking out all the malls available and hanging out at all possible places.

A toast to the wonderful days that I had till now and to those I expect for the rest of the time I am here!!!