Strangers on a Bus.....

Yeah, so where was I, yes I was talking about this random person who had been sending me random messages, in case u don’t remember or what is more likely, haven’t read, refer back to ‘tharki and proud’, though I would strongly suggest doing something meaningful with your life, instead of wasting it reading this stupid blog. So a couple of days back I receive this message, by far one of the lamest one of the lot till then, but it strangely made a lot of sense. I was reminded of my last night in Bangalore. I had been travelling quite a bit during the vacation, a couple of days in Hyderabad, a couple in Bhubaneshwar( dads posted here, I feel sorry for him), a couple in Delhi, and a month in Bangalore. My ‘friends’, who were supposed to work with me in Bangalore unceremoniously ditched me, so I was kindof all alone. I used to leave for my lawyers chamber at around 8 in the morning, get back usually at around 9 30 at night, Saturday Sundays were off, which I spent comatose on my bed or drunk at Pecos. Wasn’t as bad as it sounds, there wasn’t much work, as any fellow 2nd year law intern would know. And at the end of the day it helped me kill time, and time I had plenty.
Strangers in a strange place make great friends, as I was soon to find out. On my way back from the chamber one day I bumped into this chap, who seeing my plight with bus routes, took pity and decided to intervene. He gave me a list of buses that I could take to my requisite terminus, from where I had to board another bus; turns out we took the same bus route. I bumped into him a couple of more times, and our circumstances acted as a catalyst, I overlooked the fact that he was a Delhite, and that he cracked lawyer liar jokes and we ended up being pretty good friends, over the course of four five such bus rides. His name was Tarik Feroz, he was from Noida, was a software engineer, who was presently looking for a job that would pay. From the looks of it he came from a very humble background. He was paying a firm to let him work there, in lieu of a certificate that would show his work experience to be a year while it was actually say 6 months, and maybe a job if they like his work. He had to get to office by 8 30, work till 9 at night on most days, the few days he got let off early he bumped into me. He works weekends, gets one sick leave and one casual leave every month, which he never took, for he wanted them to accumulate, for a trip home, and look for a job there. We sometimes take it for granted how privileged we are. Well I had the good fortune to bump into him on my last day at work. I had gotten kind of late; saying goodbye can be a rather long process. He was ending his shift a bit after 9 as usual. He seemed a bit disheartened at the news of my departure, as if he looked forward to our fortuitous bus stop encounters as much as I did. By the time his stop arrived it had gotten pretty late, but he didn’t get off and we kept on talking, quite a few stops afterwards, he looked at his watch and said, “ab chalta hu bhai, iske baad adha ghante se uper chalne mei lag jayega.”(I have gotta go now brother, any further and it will take me over half an hour to walk back.) I knew he wouldn’t get a bus back that late, I am certain he knew that too. Some how those few stops he lingered on for was one of the most touching gestures I have ever been subject to. People I have know for years now, people for whom I have done everything possible, reasonably and unreasonably, wouldn’t have done as much. No wonder the random message made so much sense. “Never get tired of doing little things for others, bcoz sumtimes those little things of urs may occupy the biggest part in their heart.”