I was on my way back home from Coimbatore. It was holiday season and the bus was packed with students and other people, all going home for the holidays.
It was just before the engine let out its first grunt that she got into the bus. She would be one of those unlucky students who belonged to the private colleges of Tamil nadu. None of the seats were vacant and she had to position herself near a vertical holding bar.
She was too thin for her age and the large backpack she carried seemed too heavy for her. Her eyes were sunken and had dark circles around them. Her hair looked like an overused broomstick.
Tiredness was showing on her face. Often she dozed off on to the vertical bar she was holding. She looked around after each stop of the bus for an empty seat but in vain. Only few were getting down and their seats were being occupied even before they got up.
The bus was silent except for the noise produced by an exhausted engine and the sound of metal body craning against the chassis. The hot humid Palghat wind had wiped away all the energy of the passengers.
I was feeling dizzy and was dozing off when the silence was broke. A tamil lady was shouting at the girl and she was apologizing. She had dozed off and hit the lady.
I was feeling sorry for the girl that I felt like giving my seat to her. But I wasn’t sure if she would accept it as I was sitting with two men. I didn’t want to be embarrassed.
It was Palghat bus stand and one and a half hour since Coimbatore when she finally spotted a seat. She moved towards the seat,pity, only to find it being occupied by another lady.
It took another one and half hour to reach Thrissur. While getting down I looked for the girl. She was leaning against the side of a seat and the lady in the seat was widening her shoulders and elbowing the girl away from the seat.
