In the air

I don’t travel frequently, so when I do take a trip I always hope to meet an interesting member of the opposite sex during the journey, who can at least uphold one end of a stimulating conversation. I’m always looking for the random stranger that I won’t soon forget (in a good way, not because she swiped my wallet).

Recently on a bus to Mumbai, hitherto Bombay, I found myself seated beside a pleasant lady. We weren’t both supposed to get on the 8:00 AM bus, since the travel company in its infinite wisdom had given me a ticket for 8:30 AM. I realized this error too late, however, as with most things in this country, it’s easy to wriggle your way into almost anywhere, provided you know the words. Long story short, I boarded the bus I wanted and ended up beside the same girl who travelled with me in the shuttle to the bus station.

Much like a ’92 Ford Escort on a wintry morning in Oxfordshire, she took a while to warm to me, choosing to ignore my icebreakers. After about half an hour of persistence, I finally elicited a response when I commented on her funky shoes. Apparently, they were quite popular with the girls up North, but I really think they could have found a name more feminine than ‘Gladiators’. She though, had a very pretty name (which I shall not reveal, for no particular reason) and was visiting from Jaipur to spend time with her sister and see the ‘big city’. While she described all the things she liked about Pune, I wondered to myself if this was the same city I lived in or if, being a tourist, she had access to an ocean of serenity hidden within the city, which was only revealed to visitors.

We chatted on for a while as she shared her snacks and slowly revealed more about herself without needing much prompting. It was slightly intimidating to learn that although she was younger than me, she was already Regional Service Manager at a bank, but heck it wasn’t like I’d ever see her again, so I told her I was a Director of Sales (no I didn’t).

It was a long, slow ride and eventually we both fell asleep. The shared arm-rest between our seats wasn’t wide enough, so our arms were up against each other. I suppose it would have been good manners to either let her have the entire arm-rest or move my elbow away so that it wasn’t touching her. Or she could have done the same, out of Bharatiya Nari modesty. But she didn’t, so I didn’t. For the rest of the journey, every time the bus lurched so that our arms moved away from each other, I (or she) readjusted and they would come together again and sleep continued unabated. When she finally awoke and began to settle her hair, the missing warmth on my arm woke me too. Our conversation didn’t resume and she was soon at her stop. Her casual goodbye simply involved inviting me to come up North ‘soon’ and then she was gone.

I’m not saying she’s the stranger I won’t soon forget and I don’t want to read too much into these sorts of casual meetings, but all the same, I think they’re special because for a short time you can be completely open with someone without worrying about being judged since in all probability you’ll never meet them again. Or you could lie, and they’d never know the difference.

Soylent Green is people!!

Robbie Williams – You Know Me

Animotion – Obsession