One day, after attending lectures, I got into a bus to get home. Since, it was the school time the bus was jam packed. There were people here, there and everywhere. Kids, children, parents, teachers and other passengers such as me, were all there. I somehow managed to find a place more towards the front door, for me to stand. I was holding the bars of two seats. The conductor was busy screaming at people asking for change and making them get in as usual. The bus was moving at a very practical pace according to the time and the circumstance. The velocity should have been somewhere between 10-20 km/h. Traffic jammed.
Then a bunch of school girls got in to the bus carrying backpacks, which surely are heavier than themselves. Most of them, handed over their backpacks to the ones who were seated. Almost all of them looked as if they were 11 or 12. The bus was moving again. Even if it was moving, a man who walks at a decent pace can overtake the bus. Hot burning sun and traffic jam makes the sweat tickle out of the bodies of the passengers.
This is when I noticed one of those girls who were standing, has started falling asleep. Fair enough! After a day filled with lessons, teachers, friends, etc. at school, she must be feeling really tired. She is just two feet away from me. I felt really sorry for that poor little girl. I could have held her, but people might think something else. Hence, I stood there watching.
The girl was standing next to an aunty. She could hold the girl. But, wait! Why didn't she? Ohh.. Oops! She was stacked with 4 backpacks. She was helpless. So was the girl. The girl starts to lean towards the seat of that aunty. The aunty still did not notice the girl. She was too busy with those backpacks.
There came another stop. The girl wakes up. 2 of the 4 backpacks the aunty was holding were taken back from her. She was a bit relieved. The journey starts again. Now, the girl did not care about the bus, the crowd, the weather or the traffic jam. She goes back to her dreams again. Now, with the backpacks are cleared, the aunty can now notice the girl. And yes, she did. She starts holding the sleeping girl. And, oh! Within the next 5 minutes, the aunty was also asleep. Her hand starts to slide down from the girl, and she loses the grip. She was in her dreams.
The girl wakes up with a sudden jerk. And now she was awake. Wide awake. But, the aunty. She was fast asleep. The girl was awake and the aunty was asleep. I was so curious as to what will happen next. But unfortunately, I had to move since my stop was nearing. I rang the bell. The bus stopped. I got down with some difficulty. The girl, aunty and other passengers continued their journey.
This is just one chapter about the day to day life as a Sri Lankan. We are used to it. And we are proud of it. Aren't we?
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