Pleasure of an occasional public bus ride..

However busy and successful we are in life, can we afford to ignore and forget how a common man, gets through his daily chores and lives ? Can we forget how during our younger days we enjoyed a public bus ride ?

We are so busy with our lives now, we rarely get to enjoy life, from one activity to the next, in search of that great goal in life to be happy, secure, healthy, contented and make money for the family. 

One of the simple pleasures of life is to take a public bus ride, overcoming some difficulties in life, to find out how the common man leads his life. Most of the educated people I know are so busy with their life, they have not taken a public bus ride within the city of Bangalore for ages. 

Inside the bus firstly it helps to puncture our bloated ego, how and what we feel of ourselves. In the company of a common Indian, I find how small we are and how small the world is. We understand the common psyche, what motivates them and gets themselves going in their daily lives. Understanding the basic motivation of life of the common man is a very peaceful enlightening experience.  What are the simple aspirations in life of an ordinary Indian, how carefree they are and so on. 

It also gives us an opportunity to gauge where we stand in terms of personal environmental sustainability initiatives,  how one can contribute to the environmental sustainability in a better way and so on. 

During the Covid time, exactly two years after the virus turned killer in China in March 20, presently I find about 40% of the public travelling not adhering to wearing mask and maintaining social distancing. The Bangalore roads are full of vehicles these days, choc-a-bloc, and people are all out on the roads. Thankfully the public services are fully and efficiently functional in Bangalore 

The other reason why I love public transport is the fact that Bangalore BMTC buses are not crowded, like in Kerala or Mumbai. All of us are waiting for Metro rail to reach major parts of the city. The other reason is that one is forced to walk to and from the bus stand to our home, which is a cool 2 km in my case. A refreshing walk and a bonus to keep oneself fit.

One can learn more by interacting with our environment and surroundings,  the common man and the nature, it makes one go in search of our roots, find the meaning of life and our existence on earth. Another more important reason for taking occasional public bus rides is to escape from the traffic congestion on Bangalore roads.

Do go out, interact with the common man and use public facilities , it is an interesting and great teacher in our life.

When not identifying with the common man, I travel in a simple Tata Nano and enjoy the experience.. Living simple is really a lovable and enjoyable experience..

George