We are heading towards our holidays. Santa is all buckled up for his ride from North Pole and we mere humans are planning for our eventful days with our Loved ones, with Family with Friends. These days are one of our most prized possessions. We will always cherish these moments shared with them. I call this environment of Family, Friends, Colleagues and Familiar Faces as our own ‘Social Ecosystem’. Let me tell you one of my boring stories :
Chapter - I
The excitement was uncontainable. Mind was juggling hard to maintain balance between the excitement and the anxiety before the upcoming long journey to my family. Usually the India trips are a yearly event, but this time it came in just 6 months. My father was getting retired after a long service in Indian Railways. This trip was to see my dad before settling here in Austin Texas, where I had moved recently from California.
Austin is not counted as the bigger cities like Dallas and Houston (in Texas). So its International airport caters to a very few Airline Options - Namely Lufthansa and British. And obviously the return trip to India will have dent on your credit card. To minimize that dent, I had planned to ride a bus to Houston from Austin and then get into a little less expensive flight. In pen and paper, the idea was perfect. Just 10 bucks for the 3 hour bus trip form Austin. And then just a shuttle to the airport and magically I would have saved a fortune. Pat on the back HM :)
Chapter - II
Dragging two large trolley in my two hands. Adjusting the bag-pack on the shoulder. Making sure my passport bag was wrapped in my waist and frequently enough gazing to my pocket for the wallet and keys. The feeling of good idea was getting some early challenges. I had checked in google, (when I was planning the whole trip) there was a direct bus form my drop-off location to the IAH airport. I saw a couple of city bus were
parked on the other side of the road. I thought, okay that was it. I had to cross the road and my ordeal with the luggages would come to an end. I somehow crossed the road and then dragged myself to the gate of the bus. The lady driver gave me a strange look. I asked whether this bus will go the International airport? She said come up, you have to change from Williams. I said What? I have to change the bus? But before I could gave more thought to that idea, I realized that I was blocking the way. I somehow took all my belongings and found my clipper card in the wallet, swiped it and dragged me to a nearby seat. The bag-pack was still on my shoulder, I was still holding my two trolleys with two hands. I was sitting uncomfortably. But somehow I was stable. Stable enough to have a glance around me. There was a lady sitting next to me. She was must be in her 60s. She was big. She was wearing a while shirt, which was not so clean. Her fingers were wrapped with bandages, hairs unclean dreadlocks, thick glasses. Before I could turn my face from her, the bus started rolling, and one of my trolly started skidding towards other side, and it touched the person in front of me. He a a teenage boy, wearing a flashy jeans of yellow color, and red T-Shirt. He was holding a basketball with two of his hands. And his thick bronze chain in the neckless was very conspicuous. I apologized to him and tried to hold back my bag. I looked around, there was a strange feeling gripping me. The bus was full of similar kind of people. My eyes and brain couldn’t distinguish one from other. Each one of them seemed so different but everyone seemed so unwelcoming (just my feeling). I could see people were staring towards me. The bus made its first stop. There was an elderly person in wheelchair. He seemed really sick. He was waiting for the driver to drop the sliding support for the wheelchair from the gate. He boarded the bus and placed his wheel chair just in-front of me. The old man in the wheel chair asked me - “Whats there in the bag?”. I looked at him in dismay. I didn’t know what to say. As if it was an out of syllabus question in a surprise test. I answered - ‘Clothes’. I could utter only that. I realized, till now I had forgotten at what stop I had to get down. This time the lady sitting next to me had a question to me - ‘Why am I carrying so many bags?’ I answered him that I am going to india. But based on her reaction, she was not convinced with my answer. I tried to hold two of my large trolleys with one hand and reached towards by phone. I opened google map and started typing IAH airport. Before I could complete typing, I could hear some-one shouting ‘STOP the bus, why ain’t you not stopping the bus? It’s my stop man’. Driver slammed the brake. The bus came to a halt. She shouted her back - ‘You goto request for stoppage man.’ The man shouted her back - ‘Just stop the God-dam bus’. I was uneasy with the conversation. But nobody gave a damn. The man got out and the driver rolled the bus in motion again. I knew I won’t be able to remember the stoppage she told me to get off and also I knew with this full packed bus I won’t be able to go and ask the driver about that and come back to my seat. I thought I will see the map the distance from the airport and after few mins I will go and stand in-front of the driver and ask her the direction for the next bus. But suddenly I saw, the man in the wheelchair had gone and there was a different man standing in-front. He was looking at me and said- ‘You have to adjust your bags man’. I didn’t know what to do. I assumed it’s not a good idea to travel in a city bus with so many luggages. I was nervous, my throat was dry, heart beat was little faster and was feeling uneasy with myriad emotions and vulnerabilities. I managed to tell him - ‘Yes, I am just getting off.’ In a true sense I felt I don’t belong there. In true sense I felt alien. I did not open the map in my phone, rather I kept it back in my pocket and stood up. Got hold of my belongings and requested for the next stop (pushing the button). I made my way to the door and when the bus stopped I got off the bus. I took my phone and opened the uber app. Booked a premium cab to airport. In 2 mins my cab came and got into it. The driver gave me a smile and asked me where am I heading from the airport? I took a deep breath, took out my water bottle, took a sip of water, and realized now I know the drill (the coming conversion with the cab driver) and told him India… And the expected conversations took me to the airport.
——O——
Most of the part of our day to day life is surrounded by expected activities. Our lingual jargons are so mundane that we don’t even realize that. We see familiar faces, we smile. We meet like minded people, we chat. We get expected tasks, we perform. But when we come across a different ecosystem within our society we feel so unguarded, vulnerable and shaky.
So, mundane is not always bad. Familiar faces are soothing and holidays are best time to rejuvenate the known ecosystem of yours and charge it with all the positivities and zeal. Hope everyone will have an awesome holidays ahead with your loved ones. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year in advance.. :)
H M Badruzzaman
