KIRAN

I got down from Rajdhani express at Bangalore city railway station. I took my two luggages with me avoiding looking at coolie. After 5 minutes walk I reached at platform no 15 of Majestic bus terminal. I sat on a window site seat of bus number 356 to go Electonic city. After few minutes bus was almost full with few seats remaining.
When bus started moving slowly, a young lady of short stature entered the bus. She looked for any vacant seat and from three available options, she preferred to seat beside me. I was puzzled and looked above the window whether I sat on a seat "reserved for woman". I was lucky, the seat was not reserved for woman otherwise I had to stand.
The young and beautiful lady wore a blue jeans and light yellow color top. She was fair with long hair. She opened her hair and started to comb it. I feel uncomfortable with ladies.That time I felt more uncomfortable as a beautiful lady was sitting beside me and her hair was touching me! Voluntarily, I avoid sitting near girls in canteen, cinema hall, class room etc. But that day situation was different as that time all the seats of bus were occupied and many people were standing. I avoided standing in the bus as there were chances of pick pocket and there were news of growing number of mobile phone thieves. There was another problem! As`she was beautiful, I wanted to see her but I did not want to make her uneasy by staring at her. Fortunately I got a solution. I realized that I can see her through opaque glass of window. "What an intelligent I am?" I told to myself and started smiling with joy. That time she looked at me and I had to stop smiling to proof that I was innocent. It is always wrong when a young man smiles at a beautiful young woman! She started coloring her two lips with pink lipstick while looking at a small round mirror, then she painted her nail with nail polish of similar color. I observed that she was wearing similar color ear rings and a stol. "Why girls are particular about wearing matching combination?" I thought. May be that was secret about their beauty and I never wanted to tamper that secret by asking question related to this secret.

After completing beautifying her, the lady opened her vanity bag and took her phone and talked “Hi, Jyoti, I am Kiran speaking. Good morning. How are you? …I am fine. My project would be over within 1 months and then I can complete my M.Sc. I got selected by University of Singapore and Oxford university. … No, it is not for Ph.D.. I had applied for intellectual property right related courses. Every body asked me why I am nor applying for Ph.D. even if I am topper in M.Sc.? But, you know! I can’t work in wet lab and innovative ideas does not come to my mind so easily. I had applied for scholarship and if I get scholarship than I would join any one of the University. I do not want to take loan from bank and even banks are hesitating to grant loan because of recession. Who knows if I don’t get job, then how to repay 20 lakhs rupees? I had asked to all leading actor and actress through e-mail for helping me financially. ….Why they should not help? Can you realize how much money they have? Do you know what are the price of hand bag of Kiran Rao and watch of Shahrukh Khan?

I was partly happy knowing that I was sitting beside an intelligent girl and partly amused after listening to some of her funny talk.

Kiran spoke “Yes, I am still working with NGOs. Few days ago I had been to Delhi and saved some girl from the red light area. These girls were from poorer states of India. It is very difficult to find a good police officer among many corrupt. Here also in Bangalore I am working with an NGO that has taken up teaching of orphans and kids found at traffic signal. I have made friendship with kids found at traffic signal. They are very naughty and would prefer eating pani puri than bread”.

It seems Jyoti was listening carefully what Kiran was speaking, even I was interested to listen what Kiran was speaking.

Kiran continued “Now-a-days I am in Bangalore for my M.Sc. project. Life is little tough here. Room mates in PG are morons. They would come late from work and start gossiping till late night and that disturbs my study. One girl is suffering from cough and do not cover her face while coughing! I am so scared for swine flu. There are not enough swine flu screening hospitals and Tamiflu tablets are only available in government hospitals. Who will teach this girl courtesy? I feel like throwing her down from balcony or put her inside a barrel full of concentrated Sulfuric acid”.
I was little bit scared and thought a dangerous girl was sitting beside me.

After listening quietly what Jyoti was speaking over phone, Kiran started talking again. “Marriage? Why parent think girl is a burden for them? They married late but now putting pressure on me for marriage. What is my age? Only 22. Is it a problem to any body if I enjoy my life for some time? I want to earn and take my parent for a world tour. My mother is trying to find out a groom in every party that she is attending now-a-days. She got a IITian for me. She showed my photo to that boy and he is interested to marry me. What a shameless person? How he can decide to marry me without meeting and talking to me? Yesterday he called me and I told that I am not interested to marry now. He was asking me whether I am interested for friendship. Crab! Then my mother searched an IIM guy. Do you know? All of them are ugly!”

After some time, I could know that Ms. Kiran has a boy friend. May be for that reason some of the boys are shameless and others are ugly.

Kiran said bye to Jyoti because two persons started quarreling. One local, Kannada speaking person was arguing to a Hindi speaking person to speak in local language. Hate wave flowing in some part of India in the year 2009. In Mumbai, members of a local political party had attacked persons from UP and Bihar. Few youths had beaten up girls in a pub at Mangalore. Kiran interfered between the two persons and tried to convince that Hindi being national language can be spoken anywhere. The Kannada speaking person get down at one stop before electronic city. I did not know whether he was defeated so he left or he had some work there.

Kiran got down at Electronic city. Being sited on that seat I was recalling all incidents that happened within that last one hour when a fellow passenger shook me and reminded me to get down.