[Points: Introduction—travelling a hazard—crowd—the conductor and the driver—condition inside the bus—misery of the passengers—a bitter experience—conclusion.]
Travelling in buses is a hazard nowadays. They are always overcrowded with people hanging precariously, or standing on the footboard. It is not that the people are doing so for pleasure or for fun of it; in most cases they are forced to travel that way. The other day I boarded a crowded bus while going to school,
As usual the bus was jampacked and people were hanging dangerously on the footboard. The conductor checked the tickets of the dis embarking passengers. Then in a shrill voice he asked the driver to proceed. I managed to hold the door handle and gradually pulled myself in. Inside, it was really suffocating and passengers were packed like sardines. The misery of the commuters specially of the women and the children, knew no bounds. The lucky ones, who were seated, were a bit better off. The rest could hardly stand properly.
It was stuffy inside and I was sweating like a stream. Those who wanted to get down had to literary fight to make their ways. I was standing virtually on one leg, clinging to the overhead rod. Sud denly a child started crying and the mother tried desperately to pacify him. Whenever a seat fell vacant, there was always a scramble for it. To make matters worse the conductor was pushing us inside to make room for the new passengers. Occasionally, he was stretching his sweaty hands to collect fares. It was very difficult to stand properly because of the jostle inside. To add fuel to the fire, there was a cons tant chatter of the passengers-God knew about what. The driver was also very liberal to use the electric horn-it was ear-splitting. Furthermore very often he was liberal to apply brakes sharply, and the passengers were thrown off their balance. They were swearing at the driver and advised him to drive carefully. Suddenly there was a cry, "Pick pocket, pick pocket" at the rear gate. I looked back immediately and saw a young man jumping out from the moving bus. The bus, however, did not halt. There was a bit commotion which gradually died down. By that time I felt exhausted.
At last, the bus reached my destination, and with a sigh of great relief I managed to squeeze through the crowd to get down. Indeed, it was the most gruesome and boring journey I had ever undertaken.
