Another incident involving me and a driver in the very comfortable red Volvo bus, but this time around, it cannot be tagged as being even remotely close to humorous.
I have been suffering from an allergy cold for the past year or so and am close to getting addicted to anti-allergens. The only therapy I have not yet tried for a cure is Ayurveda which I intend to explore during this year.
I woke up with an itchy nose this morning and knew that it would persist through the day. So, sneeze day saw me traveling to work in the first Volvo going towards my office. The worst mistake one can do during a "cold" day is to forget taking a handkerchief along. Guilty of sinning, I sat in the first seat sniffling and sneezing away to glory with a tissue which I consider useless in such times. All of a sudden, the driver turned back and addressed me - "AC band kar do agar nahin chahiye toh. Cold ke liye theek hoga". I responded with - "Illa sir, paravagilla", when I actually wanted to say, "Do not worry, the germs will not spread....grr" thinking that he was more bothered about getting infected than my tribulation. 20 minutes later when I got down from my seat in preparation to alighting at my stop, the driver spoke to me again, this time in Kannada - "AC ಯಾವಾಗಲು ಒಳ್ಳೇದಲ್ಲ. ನಮಿಗೆ ಕೂಡ adjust ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳೋದು ಕಷ್ಟ ಆಗುತೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ನಾವು seat ಮೇಲಿನ switch on ಮಾಡದೆ ಕಿಟಕಿ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳುಥೆವೆ. ಅದರಿಂದ ರೋಗಗಳು ಕಮ್ಮಿ."
This is when I realized that I was so wrong in assuming that his advice was anything but concern for a fellow human being. Cringing inwardly, I responded to him more courteously and thanked him before getting off at my stop.
There is hope for this world!!!
Friday, January 22, 2010
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Many months back I was riding near Ulsoor Lake at 10pm. It was a narrow road, I was right in the middle, and there were enough cars around and behind me to keep me there. Slowly a car came near me and I noticed through the corner of my eye that it slowed down and the driver was looking at me. I looked at him, and he slowed down to almost a stop and indicated to me in a sweet manner to overtake him and move to the left.
ReplyDeleteI was pleasantly surprised! Kindness on the roads of Bangalore, that too from a callcenter/BPO cab driver!
Yes I still have faith on humanity.