a jolly good bus ride
have you ever wondered why we dodge glances while on a train or a bus? you will be staring hard at someone, maybe unconsciously and when that someone looks at you, you shift your gaze out of the window to say the railway track which all of a sudden looks very interesting!
i was taught in a personality development workshop to smile at people in an elevator. relax, let loose and even talk to them. you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. stop looking 'oh! so important' and 'oh! so in a hurry'. frankly, i havent been able to do this. i get very conscious in those close confines of an elevator and will be eager to rush out.
coming to the subject, it was a jolly good bus ride today. while i sat waiting for the bus, a young chinese looking guy speaking loud on his mobile came and sat next to me. usually i get put off by people speaking loud in public places. but today strangely this guy did not sound irritating. he was speaking in a kiddish manner and saying the same things over again. i somehow liked listening to him. i couldnt hide my curiosity any longer and stare at the 'oh! so interesting cars whizzing by' so i turned to look at him. i saw that he didnt have a mobile in his hand at all. he was talking to himself or probably someone imaginary. his english was not bad. i gathered that he must probably be challenged in some way. i see some such other people almost everyday on the bus. they hop on at the bus stop next to mine and usually talk among themselves, tease each other in a big group. i have heard that there is a workplace somewhere there which employs them.
soon enough our bus arrived. dear mr.chatter continued to talk. he spoke incessantly. he spoke about his work, about a jason, about leaving work ten minutes early today, about finishing some work and so on. a lady who boarded the bus from our stop engaged him in conversation for a while. she seemed to know him, probably his work mate. soon she got tired and stopped talking. dear mr.chatter continued. he turned and saw a baby on board. he said "i'll talk to the baby. i'll talk to the driver. babies cant drive. babies dont get licences. only adults get licences. a lady or a guy can drive. but babies cant drive".
he made us smile. he made us all look at him. he made us look at each other and we all smiled. the mood was happy. am sure everybody liked him instantly just like i liked him! i thank him for the jolly good bus ride.
i got reminded of Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. he won the well deserved oscar for his role as an autistic savant in 1998. he is so adorable, so lovely. you cant watch the movie and not love him. he haunts tom cruise with his routines and cravings and persistence akin to a child.
the bus ride got me to the train station. there the display read 1 minute to my train and i sure didnt want to wait for the next one. i ran up the stairs to the platform. the train arrived while i was still midway. i ran faster, reached the platform. the guard blew his whistle and i thought the doors will close in. but i had just a second more and i sprinted with full gusto. i made it past the door and in the next fraction it closed. it felt good. i dont remember when i ran last. it has been ages. i felt jubilant. thanks again dear mr.chatter! you did put a spring in my step today.
am thinking: these are boxer shorts. i dont wear boxer shorts. now I gotta go to K-Mart and buy my underwear. Yeah, buy my underwear. I buy my underwear at K-Mart, Cincinatti. Yeah. -- Dustin Hoffman to Tom Cruise in Rain Man when they have driven miles and miles away from Cincinatti!
i was taught in a personality development workshop to smile at people in an elevator. relax, let loose and even talk to them. you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. stop looking 'oh! so important' and 'oh! so in a hurry'. frankly, i havent been able to do this. i get very conscious in those close confines of an elevator and will be eager to rush out.
coming to the subject, it was a jolly good bus ride today. while i sat waiting for the bus, a young chinese looking guy speaking loud on his mobile came and sat next to me. usually i get put off by people speaking loud in public places. but today strangely this guy did not sound irritating. he was speaking in a kiddish manner and saying the same things over again. i somehow liked listening to him. i couldnt hide my curiosity any longer and stare at the 'oh! so interesting cars whizzing by' so i turned to look at him. i saw that he didnt have a mobile in his hand at all. he was talking to himself or probably someone imaginary. his english was not bad. i gathered that he must probably be challenged in some way. i see some such other people almost everyday on the bus. they hop on at the bus stop next to mine and usually talk among themselves, tease each other in a big group. i have heard that there is a workplace somewhere there which employs them.
soon enough our bus arrived. dear mr.chatter continued to talk. he spoke incessantly. he spoke about his work, about a jason, about leaving work ten minutes early today, about finishing some work and so on. a lady who boarded the bus from our stop engaged him in conversation for a while. she seemed to know him, probably his work mate. soon she got tired and stopped talking. dear mr.chatter continued. he turned and saw a baby on board. he said "i'll talk to the baby. i'll talk to the driver. babies cant drive. babies dont get licences. only adults get licences. a lady or a guy can drive. but babies cant drive".
he made us smile. he made us all look at him. he made us look at each other and we all smiled. the mood was happy. am sure everybody liked him instantly just like i liked him! i thank him for the jolly good bus ride.
i got reminded of Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. he won the well deserved oscar for his role as an autistic savant in 1998. he is so adorable, so lovely. you cant watch the movie and not love him. he haunts tom cruise with his routines and cravings and persistence akin to a child.
the bus ride got me to the train station. there the display read 1 minute to my train and i sure didnt want to wait for the next one. i ran up the stairs to the platform. the train arrived while i was still midway. i ran faster, reached the platform. the guard blew his whistle and i thought the doors will close in. but i had just a second more and i sprinted with full gusto. i made it past the door and in the next fraction it closed. it felt good. i dont remember when i ran last. it has been ages. i felt jubilant. thanks again dear mr.chatter! you did put a spring in my step today.
am thinking: these are boxer shorts. i dont wear boxer shorts. now I gotta go to K-Mart and buy my underwear. Yeah, buy my underwear. I buy my underwear at K-Mart, Cincinatti. Yeah. -- Dustin Hoffman to Tom Cruise in Rain Man when they have driven miles and miles away from Cincinatti!
am singing: tujhse naaraz nahi zindagi hairan hoon main -- Masoom
posted by Shubha @ 10:10 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
:). Your post brought a smile onto my face right in the morning. Looks like I'm going to have a spring in my step too :).
it actually reminded me of forest gump in which tom hanks is sitting on a bench and is talking aloud, as people come and go.
we are so much conditioned in our thinking and actions that we can't look beyond the societal norms. aren't we?
I love Rainman and I love Dustin Hoffman. Nice post! And that Masoom song is one of my all time favorites too. :)
Btw, are you Vishnu's sister? I was his classmate in VHS and then NCJ. I vaguely remember you. Man! That was such a long time ago!
>>deeps, way to go! keep smiling :)
>>shiv, agree, forrest gump is a brilliant movie. yup! conditioned is what we are...but i was so happy to see the way mr.chatter was accepted and appreciated in this australian society. back at home, somebody like him would've have to face so much rejection and ridicule.
>>truth fairy, thanx for stopping by. bingo! vishnu's sis. am bewildered...how did u guess?? are u in touch with him?
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