A Bus Ticket

South Delhi’s Sharma household was in a state of anxiousness. Their daughter Mihika had always had a sheltered life and today was going to be her first day in college. She had never moved around the city alone and now she would have to commute all the way from home to North Campus on her own. Both the parents were worried if she would manage to reach her destination and back, safe and sound.

Mihika on the other hand was full of excitement. In a few minutes she was going to make a foray into a new world. It was going to be goodbye school and welcome independence. No wonder she couldn't even finish one aloo ka paratha for breakfast which normally she would have happily devoured.

The clock was showing 7.45 am and the U-special would be arriving in 15 minutes time. Mihika quickly washed her hands, grabbed her bag and had one last look at herself in the mirror. She was wearing her lucky kurta today. In addition just before leaving she took two teaspoons of dahi-shakkar from her mother's hands exactly the way she used to before going for every exam in school.

As she left the threshold of her home Mihika could feel the spring in her step and the thumping of her heart, the two playing a jugalbandi. She met quite a few "couples" on the way to the bus stop. Mr. and Mrs. Khanna, Mr. and Mrs. Ghosh and Mr. and Mrs. Rao were all returning from their regular morning walks in the nearby garden. They were neighbors of many years who had seen her grow up since she was a toddler. She quickly shared her excitement with them and they in turn wished her the very best.

She managed to reach the bus stop with still a few minutes to spare. Mihika was relieved to see some college going type youngsters standing there. So obviously her bus was yet to come. Comforted by the sight she gave in to the many imaginings of the life ahead swirling in her mind. She was merrily lost in her world when she heard a boy ask her,

"Don't you want to take the U-special? Haven't you been waiting for it?"

"What? Yeah. Where is it?" asked Mihika, "I can't see it!!"

"Well. It’s right there in front of you!!!"

"THAT... THAT HORRIBLE DELAPIDATED D.T.C.?"

"What were you expecting… a luxury liner?"

Recovering from her shock Mihika hurriedly got inside the bus. She bought a ticket and took a seat. Initially she felt hot under the skin as her stupidity dawned on her. But within seconds she burst out laughing. She looked at her bus ticket with shining eyes sighing,

"I have a long way to go. A long way."

"Yeah. About another 30 more minutes."

Without realizing she started clarifying herself, "I meant something else." Apparently that same boy, who had brought her out of her reverie earlier on, had been sitting next to her all this while and had heard her mutterings. Not wanting to talk to a stranger she directed her gaze to the ticket and silence prevailed for the next few minutes.

"You seem to be holding that as if it is some kind of a treasure. And may I ask what was that something else?" There was a genuine curiosity in the boy's voice. Torn apart between the decision of speaking or not speaking, Mihika took her time to eventually shyly and slowly answer,

"This bus ticket is very special to me. It symbolizes what I am capable of."

"THIS PLAIN TICKET?"

"Yeah. You see I’ve always been rather dependent on Mummy and Daddy for everything. But I decided from today I would change this. I insisted on them not dropping me to college even on the first day. They were so stressed out all morning.

So the fact that in spite of their apprehensiveness I managed to buy this plain ticket shows that I am not afraid to speak up, that I am not afraid of stepping into the unknown, that I am not afraid of trying things on my own and that I can do things on my own even when others may think I can't.

You know what… I am going to keep this ticket with me forever. And whenever I will have misgivings or doubts about myself I will look at it and regain my lost confidence.”

Much to the boy’s surprise these words didn’t sound like some boring lecture. There was an infectious earnestness in Mihika's voice. But he couldn’t bring himself to agree with her and so remarked,

“You make it sound too simple. But life is not like that. It is not a smooth ride. There will be many ups and downs. Your mistakes won’t always be as silly like the stupid notion you were carrying of the U-special being a Volvo bus. Some will be much more severe.”

“I know. That’s why I said that I have a long way to go. But I also know that if I believe in the magic of my first bus ticket then its effect will never wear out." Seeing his irresolute looks she said grinning, “I can make out that you are not convinced. In that case there is only one thing I can do and that is in time to prove you wrong.”

“I would have prolonged this discussion but I need to take your leave now. The next stop is mine. So I got to go. Bbye.” With this Umesh Tandon got up from his seat, hurried towards the front of the bus and was off the bus as it came to a halt. Reeling under the effect of his unusual bus ride he realized that he was actually smiling for the first time in many days.

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For the concluding part of this story see the next post.

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