The wrong time to pickup something

Every morning I have to travel in buses to go to work and it’s packed in such a way that you ask yourself, ‘Am I travelling in a bus or Winrar’s edition of human compression factory??

It’s very difficult and one of the unsaid rules which you have to follow when you are in a bus is: Never touch a girl, even by mistake; else you are beaten to pulp. I thought the Monday morning of 12^th November would be a normal one, but this day would bring me something I’d remember for a long time in my life.

I got onto the bus and it was packed as ever, I was pushed and pushed and pushed from the back till I reached the girls section of the bus in the front. Among the girls many were students who were on their way to college. I was behind a girl and I saw her hair, it looked beautiful and smelled like dove shampoo. At least some good things happen in bad times I thought. I tried to back away but the bus was very full and I continued to smell her hair, involuntarily, its then when I saw it.

I saw that her bag was open and something fell out from it. I let my hand slide from the bar I was holding above my head to pick it up. As I bent down I dint notice that the pin in my watch got stuck to her dupatta and slid down with my hand and to everyone else in the bus it seemed like I was pulling the dupatta forcefully from this girl’s shoulder.

‘STOP! STOP! WHAT ARE YOUR DOING??!!’ She screamed.

I looked up and said ‘What?’, totally clueless and then I saw what had happened. I was about to explain when I saw the conductor rush forward towards me.

The bus was stopped and every eye on the bus was locked on me like hungry cheetahs waiting to tear my flesh apart.

My brain analyzing the situation saw that there was no hope for me now and said ‘Dude, goodbye it was nice living inside of your head’ and shut itself off. That’s what brain does right?, shuts itself off in these kind of situations, especially mine.

The yelling began: ‘Hey, hey hey..’ said the conductor ‘Was it you who stripped the dupatta of this girl’ he asked

‘Yes, it was me’ I said confidently. I was surprised at the confidence in my voice.

‘Oho ho look at the audacity of this guy..’ The conductor said ‘..does such a dirty thing as pulling a girl of her respect’ he said addressing to her dupatta ‘and admits it too. Come let’s beat him up’.

‘WAIT!!’ I yelled. ‘I admit I did it and I’ll do it again if I have to’ I said.

(I am a good guy, believe me....)

There was a collective haan running through the bus, like this was the most disgraceful thing that they have ever heard. But what could I do!! With my brain asleep I was saying what I felt was right, but it was coming out all wrong.

The conductor came forward and held my collar, extending his arm out, ready to turn my face into a pizza base, when I screamed ‘But do you know why I did it?’

He was surprised at the tone of my voice; instead of apologizing I was arguing my cause. ‘No, we don’t want to know, I just want to bash your skull, join me in brothers’ the conductor roared. I think he had a vengeance against his wife who always used to beat him up, and he was trying to take it out on me.

‘It’s because of this’ I said holding a piece of paper, displaying it like the declaration of independence. It obviously was because it would guarantee my freedom from these guys.

It was a hall ticket for an examination the girl had to attend that day. She came forward and checked it and said ‘Oh, thank you so much but why did you pull my dupatta?’

‘It was because of this’ I brought my other hand into view. A pin was sticking out of my watch.

‘when I bent down to pick your hall ticket, your dupatta got stuck to my watch pin and followed its stride down, making me seem like a… you know who’ I said embarrassed.

Everybody understood that I was innocent and I saw the girl smiling towards me and then giggling when she understood her mistake.

‘Hug her’ my brain coming back from its slumber said. Oh lord, my brain.

Everybody sat down and I went up to the conductor and said. ‘Next time when you try to beat a guy black and blue, listen to what he has to say first. Not everyone is a pervert’ I said firmly.

He lowered his eyes and went back. I sat beside the same girl listening to her talk, it was nonstop. I smiled at what could have been my half-murder for sure. ‘Thank you’ I said to the god above and smiled at the memory made.

This post was written for the Indiblogger contest ‘Sets you on fire’

Disclaimer: All images have been taken from google. I have no right over any of them.