Two sides of a coin- the crowded bus

                  It was around 10 in the morning. People were rushing to work in various forms of transport. Rupa had missed several buses as they were are too crowded before she got into a 21 G that she thought was relatively less crowded. In that bus she at least had space to place her feet on the bus floor but the other buses that she missed had space just for her to float amidst the crowd. She had already received a call from her manager as there were production issues that were crowding her manager’s mail box; these issues needed her immediate attention and she was busy battling to find a small vacant space to place her hand on the holder. Two stops after where she had boarded the bus, a group got in making the bus more than what you call full. Rupa felt someone brushing against her on her back. She was too scared to turn to take a look at the person. She was sure that it was a guy. She ignored it at first but the brushing continued and she felt the intention was wrong; it wasn’t accidental. She had placed her right hand on the pipe over the seat in front of her and her left hand was gripping the railing above her head. This guy behind her placed his hand over Rupa’s and took unpardonable liberty in resting himself against her back. His right hand gripped her hip everytime the bus halted with a sudden break. Rupa tried to move but there was hardly any space to move; she was caught in the crowd. She made faces making it obvious for people seated that she was being disturbed. But the guy continued to casually do what he was doing without looking anywhere inside the bus.

She gathered her courage and turned to look at him. She clicked her tongue and gave him a disgusted look. He came close her ears and said ‘You look lovely. Thanks.’ Before she could react to it he rushed out of the bus before it came to a complete halt. Tears edged her eyes. She tried her best not to shed them, creating a scene inside the bus. She stood like a wooden plank till the bus reached her stop. Walking to her office, she shed those tears that she had frozen in fear of being questioned. She looked at the cars that were speeding on the street and regretted for being born into a lower middle class family. She can’t tell this to her parents who would not want her to work after knowing all these happening to her. She can’t slap the guy and create a scene as that might require her presence at the police station. Eventually her parents might get to know about this. She can’t come by any other means of transport as she can’t afford the luxurious and peaceful trips. All she had to do was to get used to the brushing, dirty abuses and being used in the most inappropriate ways by strangers. As soon as she reached office, she brought her laptop to life by hitting the power button and started to reply to the mails. Half an hour from then she was too much into the work to even think about what had happened that morning.

The next morning, Rupa waited for a less crowded bus until it was too late to start. Then she decided to take a relatively less crowded bus. Managed to stand among females as much as she could. A few days later, similar incident happened. She stood like a dead meat.

The other side of the same coin:

On the same day the first incident happened, Lekha, another girl, boarded the same crowded bus. She was standing at the other end of the bus. A guy was standing very close to Lekha, who stared at her making his intention obvious. Raghu, a fifty year old uncle, noticed this. He had two daughters, one of Lekha’s age. He gently pushed that guy aside and made a small space in front of him for the girl to hop in. A co-passenger wanted to get down and he reshuffled the crowd in the bus. Raghu, cleverly, asked the girl to stand in front of him in order to help her. Lekha, who was busy listening to songs, did not hear Raghu. He touched her shoulder with the tip of his index finger and gestured her to move in front of him. She moved not giving much attention to the details of what’s happening around. The driver of the bus pressed the break, suddenly. Due to inertia Raghu lost grip and his hand accidentally touched Lekha’s but. She looked at him. He smiled in a friendly way and apologized. She turned back. Again, the bus suddenly halted and he accidentally fell on her. He again apologized. It was obvious that he wasn’t doing it on purpose. She gave him a disgusted look and stared at him sharply. He understood that he was being mistaken. He did not know how to explain to her that she was of his daughter’s age and he did not touch her intestinally. He decided that he wouldn’t disturb her anymore. He stood as firmly as possible. He was aged and was suffering from join pains. He stood stiff though it pained. Even when the break was applied he was very cautious. The bus reached his stop and he got down with a heavy heart.

That day was pretty hectic for him. He wasn’t able to take a minute off from work. That night, he cried to his wife. The disgusted look the girl had given and the words her lips moved without any voice to it hurt him. He explained to her how he just wanted to protect the girl but was mistaken. His pain intensified as he had strained so much to stand stiff in the bus. More than the joints not being able to explain to the little girl, who was of his daughter’s age, pained him.

Note: 

The lower middle class use the bus because they can't afford a private vehicle for transport. Please don't take advantage of their financial status and inability to click a picture of you to post in social media. It's because of the few who do this non sense that even a gentle man has to be seen with a doubtful eyes. You are not only making it impossible for girls to travel in peace but also for the other men, who are actually men and not you. If you are reading this and you have done this (I hope not) feel ashamed of yourself. You are nothing but a layer of dirt.