Bus No 132

Her face looked all red, her soft white skin, a little scorched amid the heat of the afternoon Sun and the Mumbai traffic. She climbed onto the bus, looked around as if a little lost, and found herself a seat somewhere behind me. Must have been in her mid 40's and offcourse a foreigner to Indian soil.  

The bus conductor came and she asked for a ticket, "Churchgate". With difficulty, the conductor managed to gather a few english words and said, "No... Churchgate... opposite" The lady understood that she had gotten in the right numbered bus but the opposite direction and immediately stood up and rushed towards the door.

And while all this was happening, it reminded me of my early days in France; when I was traveling. Umpteen times, I would end up getting into a bus going in the opposite direction, confused and lost. With hardly anyone understanding English, it would be all the more difficult to find out. Somehow they would convey that I was in the wrong direction. But the difficult part was yet to come. Where would the bus stop for the opposite direction be? With all the 'One ways', 'No entries' and alternate routes for buses in opposite directions, I hated that part the most... to find the bus stop.

I sensed the same, on her face. As she made her way towards the door, I interrupted and guided her as to where she would find that bus stop. The face that was tense till now, showed a small smile. Her expressions showed some kind of a relief as she said, "Thank You" and got off the bus. 

And I was wondering..... all that it took..... was just one sentence.... guiding her to find that bus stop.