"Lights on...Kamera...Action"

It was just another weekend, when people were thronging at the bus stand. We, me and my cousin, who were off to our hometown, were wondering why even private travel agencies did not seem to maintain punctuality, while waiting for the bus for nearly an hour.

With the amount of people squeezing into Chennai every day, tickets got sold out, a month ahead the long weekend of Independence Day. Trains, government buses and travel agencies were chock-full.

This time, we had to shed out a huge 900 bucks to acquire two seats in a private bus. My cousin, an IT professional missed to book the tickets early, because of sheer work load and busy. However, he managed to get two tickets through recommendation, in a bus that takes to a place that is 70 km from our home town.

At last, the bus arrived. Oh, please wait; it was not a bus, but a maxi cab. A CAB!! Is that all you get for 450 rs ? The agency excused saying that there was no bus left and that it had arranged two cabs to take the passengers. The passengers acquiesced and took their seats. We took the second one behind the driver’s seat. The seats did not have a push back and there was not enough space to stretch the legs. Not even the space that MTC buses have.

I looked around at my fellow passengers- their luxurious bags, Camera mobile phones and an ‘I don’t care’ look. They were all youths, who did not appear to have crossed 30 years. They were busy with their mobiles, either messaging or chatting, or occupied with their walk-man and eyes closed.

I looked at my cousin. “It’s a recommended seat and I cannot reject now, which will hurt my friend. We need to go home, someway or the other.
No use protesting. Your argument with the agency will not bring others to back up, but only two others to grab your seat, if you reject. It is better we accept, at least in the present situation. Am sorry to say this”, he said.

I just tried to concentrate in the book and looked through the window, lost in thought.

Obviously, the agency was making the most out of the situation. It would have already known about the shortage of buses. Either it should have informed the passengers that tickets were not available or about the availability of only cabs and should have reduced the cost. The demand being more, the agency was sure that people would badly need something, a bus or a cab or a cart. They are ready to pay, what else a travel agency needs. The practice will continue, for sure.

And what was I doing, the so called aspiring journalist? What stopped me from shouting (actually arguing) at the agency in front of others – My zeal to go home? Or my fear of ending up a lone protester? My thought of being considered indecent if I argued? I gave to myself these excuses, lame excuses, to console my mind that felt guilty.

None protested, including me. I wonder if the situation would have been the same in a government bus, where most of the passengers belong to the middle-class. Will they protest against the in-justice? At least, one person, who values his /her hard earned money, will raise his/her voice.

Are we becoming passive to injustice?

By ‘we’, here I mean the youths who belong to the green pasture of the society. A good beginning in one of the best schools in the city, engineering or an MBA degree or a degree that fetch an equally good job and a salary not less than 15,000.

I fear the probability is more for a ‘YES’.