Blog 6 - School bus

Our school-bus trips everyday were no less eventful than a day at the school. The last seat of the bus was a long seat, and usually the 5^th standard kids (“seniors”) sat there. Us minions in 2^nd or 3^rd standard would sit in the middle or rear end of the bus, on either side, but would never be allowed to sit in the last row.

Specifically, we would fight for the seat that was right above the back-tire as it would have an extra bounce every time the bus went over a speed-breaker or into a pothole. The LKG and UKG kids would usually be seated in the front rows so the conductor (I think his name was Kumar), a sweet chap, could comfort them as some of them would cry as soon as they were put in the bus and had to say bye to their parents. Kumar anna would also patiently clean up kids’ vomit, as some of them would have motion sickness. I remember, as soon as a kid puked, the driver would stop the bus. Kumar would take the kid out, and wash him, his uniform etc. and then find some sand to bring and cover the vomit. He would never scold any child for vomiting. Sometimes when a child was too sick or cried uncontrollably, they would stop at an STD booth, and call the parent (Kumar had a diary with numbers of all parents) who would come and pick the kid and take them home.

For us older kids, bus rides were fun. Since our school was in Korattur, the bus would come to Padi and via (the now) 100 feet road, come to Reteri, and through Kolathur main road, come via Periyar and Jawahar Nagar respectively, picking up kids. The bus would then proceed to Perambur, Jamalia, Otteri, ICF and eventually back to Padi and then Korattur. Some late-comers who would miss the bus at Kolathur or Perambur, would come with their parent on two-wheeler and get into the bus at ICF or Padi!

In the mornings, as soon as we got into the bus, my friend P and I would catch up with each other and make sure we had finished our home-work. Next, we would see what we both have for lunch and if it was anything exciting, we would finish eating half of it in the bus itself :P Sometimes we would get a vegetable or item that one of us liked and the other one disliked. We would quickly exchange our food so neither of our mothers would be disappointed while checking our lunch box and finding an unfinished lunch. If it was an item we both liked, we would share and eat half each. We also used to have an emergency fund of Rs.10, to eat lunch in the school-canteen if our lunch got spoiled due to the heat. So, there was never a question of going hungry during lunch time. In general, we were both kids that liked vegetables and did not fuss when it came to food, so our mothers did not get grief from us in that area.

Apart from that, we would catch up with the latest movie songs. Since I had a bedtime of 9pm, I would never get to watch ‘Superhit muqabla’, a countdown show on DD (pre-cable TV), that ranked songs from 10 to 1 and I think every week, they even showed a pop song. Those were the days of Alisha Chinai, Baba Sehgal, Anaida and the likes. P would watch the show every Sunday night and on Monday morning, she would tell me in sequence (song 10 to 1), what song was aired, which movie it belonged to, even sing some lines etc. We would then have a detailed comparative discussion of each song, where it ranked now, what rank it had the previous week etc. Of course, the discussion about the pop song would be about the video, what was shown, what kind of clothes the singer wore, hairstyle etc. Now in the era of youtube, spotify etc. I can’t believe that we had to actually wait for an entire week to watch the songs we liked. Also, P’s family would go for movies more than we did and she would narrate the entire movie to me, scene by scene so I did not miss out on anything.

Sometimes, a movie or a TV show on Sunday meant P would not have completed her homework, and so she would have to do it in the bus. I remember we would wait for the bus to stop every time, so she could write quickly as she didn’t want her handwriting to be spoiled while trying to write in the moving bus or the teacher to find out that we did “home” work in the bus. This meant I had to look out of the window and tell her every time there was an upcoming speed breaker or a signal, so she could pause or write accordingly. When the situation reversed, she would do the same for me 😊

In the evenings when there would be no home-work related tension, we would happily play Antakshari, as the bus went on a wide, bumpy, mud road full of potholes (today it is the 100 ft road between Padi-Reteri). We would also look out for big buildings under construction (mostly around ICF and Padi signal) and call dibs on them, “This is my building”! Then, everyday we would look out at each of ‘our’ buildings, to check on the progress of construction! Specially after summer vacation, it would be most exciting to us to see most of ‘my’ buildings or ‘her’ buildings completed! 😊

I think for a year or two, my sister also joined the same school and although she was in UKG, I would make her sit with me in the seats reserved for ‘older’ kids. P did not have a sibling so would be happy to let my sister sit between us. P would be greatly amused and entertained by sister’s nonstop chatter. Impressed with my sister, P once demanded a sibling at home but her request was quashed immediately, and she came back quite heart-broken. I then had to talk her out of the idea and convince her it wasn’t that great to have a sibling. I think she dropped the idea after I said one had to share all toys with their sibling 😉

Apart from us, there were so many other kids on the bus. I remember all the heated discussions after every cricket match, all the fights between Sachin fans and Dravid fans on who was a better batsman. In the 1996 cricket world cup, Britannia started giving out player cards with biscuit packets; which we all collected and traded amongst ourselves in the school-bus, to send back to Britannia in exchange for some gifts. It was a world-cup that I will never forget. After a lot of excitement throughout the season, I remember there was pin-drop silence (as our teachers would call it) the day after the infamous 1996 world cup match between India and Sri Lanka, where many of us were nursing a broken heart and in great despair, we wondered if India would ever win a world cup!

I remember a sibling duo who had joined well late into the academic year, as their father was transferred from the north I think. They lived in a huge apartment complex at Jamalia and the bus would stop right in front of their building to pick them up. Everyday, their father would bring the kids, a girl and a boy, to their building’s entrance gate, next to which there was also a small provision shop. Everyday, he would buy the kids their choice of chocolates and chips, and then kiss them both and get them into the bus. No surprise that all the other kids were very eager to become their friends and used to treat them very well, trying to get their attention as soon as they got into the bus!

At Otteri, there was another family whose 3 kids used to study in our school. The youngest of the three was a boy and very young (he must have been in UKG or so) and the girls in 3^rd and 7^th standard respectively. They would always be late! The bus would arrive, and the driver would honk nonstop. First, the eldest, R, would rush out with her school-bag and 3 lunch bags (hers and her siblings’) and tell the driver to wait, as her sister was searching for her school shoes or their brother was still eating! The driver would continue to honk to irritate the mother, who would rush out grabbing a towel or a dupatta on her way out (she was always in a nighty), and then tell him to stop honking as their neighbors were getting annoyed. Then, the second sister would come with her school-bag. As the bus stop was on the other side of the road, the eldest would place all their bags in the bus, helped by Kumar anna, and then go back to carefully bring her younger sister, instructing her to look on either side of the road before crossing. Next, the mother would carry her youngest, the son, with his socks and shoes in another plastic cover! She would then thank the driver for waiting, apologize for delay and chide him for honking nonstop! He would just laugh at her and say it was all in good fun. Once inside the bus, R’s duty was to make her brother wear socks and shoes (which he kept throwing away) before we reached school. These siblings were always late, but the driver was never angry with them or their mother. I think he also had 3 or more siblings/ kids!

Once, when I was absent from school (away for some competition in another school), a bully irritated my sister and threw her hairband out of the window. Naturally, it infuriated me. The next day, I went and caught him by his collar (not my proudest moment) and threatened the life out of him. The next day, his grandmother came into the bus with him. I thought for a few seconds that she would scold me. But, she apologized for his actions, made him say sorry to my sister and even gave us ten rupees to buy a new hairband! 😊

Whenever I think of my school-bus rides, I remember the driver reversing the bus in our school ground with Kumar anna shouting from the back, “varalaam, varalaam, varalaam…. right, hold it!”, in sync with him whistling to indicate to the driver to reverse/stop. We would all come to the bus after a long day at school, Kumar anna would ask each of us how our day was, if we finished our lunch, if we won any prize etc. 😊 I wonder where he is today, because if I ever meet him I would just want to say thank you, for taking such good care of all of us and for all the wonderful memories!