Taking for granted!

We took a bus to the theatre yesterday so that we could discuss our plans as we got there rather than get irritated about the traffic. Yes, and I am trying to get myself to get used to living on a shoestring budget before I land another job. Not that I won't land one soon but you will see why if and as you read further. Since we started at a time when people were still at work, the buses were empty. But the bus fare caught me by surprise - 40 rupees till Tin Factory and it would still mean that we'd have to take another bus or walk to Gopalan Grand Mall. We could've taken the car and reached the theatre directly (there was no traffic) and it would not have costed me 80 rupees one way.

When it was time to get home, we were shocked by the numbers at Tin Factory. And the buses plying were few. It is one thing for BMTC to sign up with private companies to provide an easy commute to their already well-paid employees but not at the cost of the already haggard lower income groups. While we waited there, in spite of having Pras by my side, the following ran through my head

• I got home at 5:30pm while there are so many who get home past 8pm and may be earning a quarter of what I took home.
• 3 ladies in a car, sharing costs to get to and from work. It's the best thing. Safe, fun, cheap.
• I did not have to worry about some man bumping into me while I waited for the bus. I was scared with the kind of looks people pass while you stand at the bus stop.
• I did not have to worry about being the last and only woman on a bus. Yes, the delhi gang-rape case only worsens fears. Had I not been there on the bus last evening, the other lady would've been the only one aboard that bus surrounded by drunken men. Unimaginable!

And yet, we look forward to that hike!