A normal Sunday evening. A bit less crowded but still didn’t get seat to sit. Well.. in a city like Mumbai you have to learn how to be more comfortable standing than seated. And in last 2.5 years, this is also a part of learning that this city has given me.
So,I was just standing near back door of BEST(The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking) bus and suddenly a passenger holding his kid in his arms slapped the bus conductor. And it was so loud that it brought everything to pin drop silence.
Now the issue was that the passenger wanted to get down at some stop but from back door of bus. But if you want to travel in Mumbai local bus you have to board it from back and get down from front. And driver doesn’t stop the bus at a stop where no one is standing at bus stop to board or on the front door to get down.
So the passenger missed his stop which led to a fight and a tight slap at the end. Thanks to the police nearby that it sorted out finally.
This very small incident made me think if this the way we treat a person who does his job nicely? A person who follow rules gets what.. a slap in front of 50 odd people?? And then we say the government is corrupt. Isn’t the common man more corrupt who tries to bend every single rule according to his comfort??
I think the day we would be able to understand this small thing. We will never have to raise fingers on anyone else.
No comments :P
ReplyDeleteDude,it is a one off case of one individual bending the law! though i agree it does happen once too often.
ReplyDeleteAgain,this whole ethics/moral policing is a vicious circle.The guy who slapped the conducter no doubt lacked ethics for sure.For anything, he had no right to slap someone for doing their job.However, i have had similar experiences and beleive me given the crowd, it can be a struggle reaching the front door :P
intresting !
ReplyDeleteA very nice attempt Sharad.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you on this part that, WE are the ones who break laws and rules and then blame government and it's workers for it, WE need to change ourselves first.
I would have loved your blog more if you would have slapped that man in an answer to this. LOL - Jokes apart, the person who slapped the bus conductor doesn't only slapped him in front of 50 odd ppl but he has given a completely wrong msg to the kid in his arm. The kid would always remember this incident and might repeat his father's mistakes too in future. Which is saddnening!
Is this is what we are teaching our childrens? To behave with someone like a bus conductor who's working hard day and night to protect us? The arguement was for his own safety, but that man was not mature enough to understand this, I guess. :-)
A very nice and thought provoking blog.
Keep up the good work Sharad. :-)
Good post... :) simple and short
ReplyDeleteDont want to say anything.. common man is now king in current mumbai..he did not remmeber that another one is same like him.
ReplyDeleteI think the Guy who slapped was right. Its not about bending the rules according to common man. The conductor should have been courteous enough to stop the bus for the man with the KID in hand. Just Humanity and courtesy for the man travelling with the kid. :) #MyOpinion
ReplyDeleteCourtesy sake he could have done !! But think if every starts expecting the same from him.
ReplyDeleteThe point I am trying to make is that in every such situation a common man tries to take the way he is comfortable with. Rules hardly matters to him.
although i don't have much idea about the bus system in India, but definitely that poor guy didn't deserve such a response..
ReplyDeleteit's the way Bob Marley puts it. " Before you go pointing out fingers at me, make sure your hands are clean."
@shagufta .. egjactly !! :)
ReplyDelete