(Image courtesy: Citizenmatters)

Blame it on the Environment day or my active conscience pricking me; for the last few days I have been travelling by bus from office to home. So far it had been great, the bus service is more frequent than auto rickshaws in my route and there are several new Volvo buses, BIG 10 and JNNURM sponsored sleek ones. My bus experience has been pleasant, similar to bus travel in the Western countries.

Yesterday, however, it was a different tale. Waiting for nearly 10 minutes, I couldn’t find any new buses that could take me home. So I caught the next bus that came along with a sign board that said ‘Yelahanka’. The bus seemed empty. Unluckily when my turn came to board the bus, I could not spot any vacant seat. I bought a ticket and stood silently behind the driver seat, in front of the motor. So far, so good. More people came in and left the bus at next few stops but, alas, no place to sit.

At the Hebbal bus stop, several people rushed in through the front door. The bus was suddenly very crowded and I could hardly stand. It then dawned to me that it was a Doddaballapur bound bus & hence the rush.

It must have been a regular commuting time for them & they were waiting for this very bus.

A little boy stood beside me, stamping my foot whenever he lost balance. A lady kindly elbowed me when she had to find the right change for the ticket. Another girl, although tall, had to hold the bar in front me so that I could smell her armpit. I amused myself by comparing her oscillating hand to a car windshield’s wipers. After a few minutes of braving it, I gathered enough courage to request her to hold the rod above my head; she obliged to my request by moving a quarter of an inch.

So there I was, standing on one and a half feet, trying to keep my nose away from the moving hand, avoiding elbows and generally looking at the roof which was the only sparsely occupied space in the bus. It was then I spotted the Kannada translation for ‘LADIES’ label above the first seat. It said ‘LADIES’ & ‘Angavikalarige’ (for handicapped). Very true. We were handicapped for space in the bus. Oh, the painter must have been an enlightened soul!

The old Hyderabad area, the shopping centre around Charminar is a photographer’s paradise(apart from being a shoppers’ dream). The busy market area, the colour, the vibrancy will make a photographer go into a clicking frenzy, especially with a weather more pleasant than Bangalore(this was post monsoon time in 2009).

But with a cranky 3 year old, I could just take a few shots from a flying auto(still have to get used to hyderabad’s rickshaws) that raced through the area.

I have uploaded some photos of the area. In case you call them bad, try clicking snaps crouched in the back of an auto with a eager infant wanting to click some on his own.

The colourful Market Square.

I like the bright orange dress.

Charminar, a first glimpse.

I wonder how the area looked like when this structure first came up. Did the market sprout around the structure or the other way round?

A Bollywood message or a simple design on the auto?