The Window Seat

As he looked through the window with his face almost touching the rods, the wind blew his hair flying.

The government buses were the only means for common people to commute with a lighter pocket. The Red buses were all packed and one had to run to reserve their seats. Sooner the bus stopped, people used to throw hand towels, or small bags through the windows to the empty seats which means, their seats were not to be touched by the rest. One could also spot, kids being shoved through the window and that kid had no choice but hold the seats for his peeps.

Within minutes, the seats were occupied and numerous others were standing jiggling to make themselves comfortable. There were two set of seats, three seater and two seaters. In between was the space to walk around. If a kid and  his parents occupied a three seater, people used to demand to move a bit. This seemed irritating for most of the parents. So, they would comfortably opt for a two seater.

The bus would start in minutes and the conductor jolted through the space amidst the crowd issuing tickets. He mostly twaddled asking for the exact change. Many wouldn’t oblige while the frequent commuters had it right.

The bus vroomed leaving the smoke behind. As Karthik, saw the trees speeding behind him, he was excited not because he was travelling but for the fact that he had the privilege of not going to school inspite it being a weekday. His dad had slid him through the window to reserve their seats. He was very  happy that he had got a comfortable window seat. He enjoyed the early morning breeze. His mom asked him if he would need a sweater, she Dint want him to catch cold. He rejected it immediately and continued looking outside. The paddy fields, the dried lake, the tall eucalyptus trees, ant hills, all these fascinated him.

He sang in happiness, what would a eight year old want?? The conductor had now finish issuing tickets to all and he sat in the rear seat besides the door. The intelligent little fellow occupying the conductors seat had to get up inspite of a huge box placed.  The affluent people who were seated were busy reading newspapers, few others snored to glory, few women were busy watching others, kids like him were just not bothered but to look out of the window.

An hour passed by, the greenery slowly shaped into buildings, the emptier roads were seen with vehicles, far across the road seemed to look like a factory. The frequency of people spotted to increase. From this, one could easily make out, they were approaching the city. His dad, seemed to finish his daily dose of news and looked towards the window and said, “another fifteen minutes”.

His joy of reaching the city was prodigious. He was so excited of the luxury he was to experience that day. The bus passed through the popular Majestic area. People were wide awake looking at the large hoardings, this was like a brainstorming session to be aware of the new happenings. After an hour and thirty minutes amongst the traffic, the bus halted at the city bus stand. People hurried down with their luggage rushing to cover those extra minutes took for the travel.

Karthik along with his parents got down and headed to a popular hotel still known for the savouries they serve. It was breakfast time, the fluffy Puri’s, the aromatic Sagu, the hot and smoky idly’s with mouth watering sambar, the crispy and elongated dosas with the ingegious potato Masala was indeed a sight to watch. As these approached the table, he couldn’t wait to dig in. It tasted perfect as ever. After which a filter coffee was exemplary for the taste buds.

They walked through the crowded streets, finishing the work meant for the day. The sun was scroching and his dad asked him if he wanted a cold drink. He agreed and within minutes they were having the most famous and the exorbident Badam milk. They slurpped through the drink. The gained energy was sufficient for the next few hours.

Next, they walked towards a huge complex, popular among the city crowd then equal to a mall shopping these days. The main attraction for the kids to go there was the escalator and they had fun playing up and down. Karthik’s face blew up with magnificance. He had come there quiet a few times and always wanted to come often. His dad said careful, while he placed his leg on the step approaching and looked very comfortable. While, the first timers were mostly scared. The complex had all kind of shops, clothing, shoes, toys, eateries, books, a one stop destination. His birthday was approaching and his dad got him few dresses, a red shoes which he always kept asking for. Although it was high on his dads pocket, he never complained.

It was noon by then, they had a full meal lunch at another popular hotel. The dessert was what he was waiting for. The scrumplicious peni was overwhelming. It was a thin stranded sweet with powdered sugar and milk. He couldn’t wait to finish.

After the heavy tummies, they rushed to finish the pending work before the bus arrived. Sooner, they were done with the days plan and were sitting on a bench outside a ice cream shop having a mouth watering gud bud ice cream. This was his favourite but his mother insisted on sharing, she Dint want him to miss another day of school catching a cold.

Immediately they rushed to the bus stop. Thank God, the bus hadn’t arrived. The bus arrived and the same process repeated for the seats. Few minutes later, they were lucky enough to be seated travelling back.

As he sat next to the window, he was no more interested in looking outside. He was sad that the day passed by quickly. The thought of attending school the next day was disheartening. The dusk had begun and as the bus covered the busy streets, the sky shut its light. He looked at the dark sky with silence, thinking when would he have this kind of a day. While his dad and mom were planning for the next days.

“Life moves around very fast,

If you Dont stop and look around,

Once in a while, You could MISS IT”

‘When the sun goes down, the stars come out’

LIFE IS INDEED BEAUTIFUL