New mornings…as autumn bids goodbye and paves way for a cold and damp winter in this part of the world, every morning is a new revelation. There’s something to look forward to, there’s something that has changed from what it was like yesterday. Leading a new life in a new place with some new dreams and new goals… And the unfamiliarity of it all…that’s new too.
I board the bus, the same bus everyday, to work. I swipe my bus pass and say my hello to the driver who warmly welcomes me on board. The bus takes off. Unfamiliar sights surround me. The fields, the roads, the buildings, the snow – everything is unfamiliar. Or is it?
The man with two small dogs boards the bus with me. His dogs whine when it is too cold for them and he cuddles them and makes them comfortable.
The little girl boards the bus with me too. Her mother only accompanies her for two stops. The girl proceeds alone for four more stops until she has to get down near her school I presume. She says hello to everyone on the way to her seat. She even walks and greets the two small dogs that are owned by the other man. Her thick brown curly hair is adorable and so is her smile.
A few stops later, a couple board hand in hand. Though it is the man who flashes the bus pass for both of them, the woman waits by his side, holding his hand until he is done. They usually find seats together but when they can’t they wait for someone to get down so they can sit together. They are old, have grey hair and wrinkled skins. They still smile at each other like they might have when they got married.
The guy with red hair walks into the bus after this couple on most days. He doesn’t take this bus everyday though. But on the days he does, he smiles at everyone as he finds his seat. Then he settles down, put on his earphones, listens to music and ENJOYS his bus ride.
The two construction workers get on the bus at some point but they only talk to themselves.
The woman with pink hair gets on the bus too, different days, different stops. She, however, is always on the phone scrolling on the screen and checking her social media feed I would think.
The man who looks like he must work in some firm, dressed in formals and holding a briefcase, has his breakfast on the bus each day. He eats his sandwich and reads the newspaper. He rarely looks up from the newspaper but he always knows when to get down.
*****
I know the people who get down at various stops before mine, I know the people who read on the bus, I know the people who smile and those who frown…How is it still an unfamiliar place?
“It is strange that what seems at first alien becomes second nature in the blink of an eye.” – Sara Sheridan, The Secret Mandarin
It is true what Sara says…and it is bound to happen to me…but until then…
Hi Aisharya! Good to hear from you….Yes! Will take a little time…then all will be familiar. Keep warm in good old Eddy! 😉 Hugs! ❤
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Eddy has turned quite cold! Frost, snow… The first time I saw hilltops covered in snow I got super excited and unfamiliarity made it that exciting 🙂 I suppose there are some good things that come due to unfamiliarity 😀 I hope you have been well Bushka. Where do you stay and how is the weather these days?
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Yes! Can be snowy up north. Keep Warm! I’mw ay down south….on the southern most end of the British Isles….On your map….west of Brighton….Weather always milder down here…. 😉 Hugs! ❤
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Ah the milder weather is definitely more welcome. The damp cold winters here are a bit too much to take! West of Brighton sounds lovely. I will be somewhere there for Christmas 🙂
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Good! Enjoy your visit here….Sadly I shall be miles away in Africa….Hugs! ❤
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At least you’ll have a nice warm Christmas 😉 do you have family in Africa?
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Indeed! You must wrap up warmly. Hugs! ❤
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You are so observant & have such a way wit words!
Change is hard. Moving is hard. Both together are really hard, but in time, they become your new normal.
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Thank you so much for stopping by Judy. It’s lovely to hear from you and I’m so glad that you still made it a point come here and say hello though I’ve not been posting much these days!
And thank you for your lovely compliment too. 🙂 How has life been treating you?
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Oh, life has been incredibly busy with both good & not so good, which is the story of 2016.
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Oh that has been the story of every year hasn’t it! It comes, it goes…and what happens in between is always a huge mystery, a mystery enough to let me smile and sigh all at once.
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I love this observant piece on boarding the bus. I too like observing people on public transport. People always look so lost in their own worlds, like the guy with the headphones and the businessman eating a sandwich. Maybe they are very driven and know what they want. Or perhaps they are caught up in the routine rat race 😊 I’m the kind who likes to listen to music and don’t like anyone disturbing me on public transport 😊
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Thanks Mabel for visiting me 🙂
Yes public transport can have very many wonderful stories to share if we just keep our eyes and ears open. I love chatting up with strangers on buses and trains and knowing their stories about life. But these days I suppose being glued to phones is the new way of the world 😉
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Excellent narration. I can imagine myself. Hope you’re enjoying the weather, people, etc etc around you. Continue writing.
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Thank you ma for stopping by 🙂 everything here is beautiful but the ‘unfamiliarity’ 😉
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It didnt feel like I was actually reading your post but felt like I was there with you in the bus, perhaps invisible to the rest. It is amazing how a life’s journey can change between two stops.
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Thank you so much Vinodini for saying such beautiful things about the post. I really am grateful for your comment but more for the fact that you relentlessly stop by my page every time I write something. 🙂
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I enjoyed this bus ride! 🙂
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Thank you for hopping onto the bus with me 🙂 I hope you have been well.
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Well and busy Aishwarya! 🙂
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Busy is good, busy is the way to be 🙂
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Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
A short story in the best tradition! It seems to be saying that the familiar–his buss and the people who ride it–may have changed circumstances at any moment.. Am I cliose?
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Hadn’t actually visited much before, myself. Thanks for inviting me! You are wise—for doing all your observing and then forming a possible conclusion. EXCELLENT STUFF MY FRIEND! write when you can…not before. Why turn a joy into a begrudging job? 🙂
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Thank you so much for stopping by 🙂 and for thinking my post worth a reblog. I’m glad you found some joy in visiting this page and I agree with what you have to say about writing when I can 🙂
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Good deal! 🙂
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There’s something strangely melancholic about this, maybe it’s the way my mind is conjuring up the image? But it’s a wonderfully vivid. Lovely writing
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Thank you so much for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts on the post. And yes, when I was writing about it, I was part happy part sad. Maybe that reflected in my writing…
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Very well written Aish. You have such great powers of observation. I would be one of those guys lost in his/her own world in the bus. I’m sure you will get used to all the unfamiliarity prettier soon. It is strange that what seems alien at first becomes second nature in the blink of an eye. Keep writing more often. You are such a positivity dispersing medium !
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Thanks J for your kind comments. I hope you had a lovely Christmas. Cheers.
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Interesting how we fall into routines, but only a few of us pay attention to all the others. This writing helps me to look out instead of just staying in. The persons on our respective “buses” are unique, loved by someone and especially by God (I believe), and worthy of some kind of reverence. Your noticing and respecting them in thought-words is important. You are staying alive in the midst of an easily deadening routine. Good on you! (And on me, fortunate as I am to have paid attention to this post)
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Oh thank you for your very kind comment Albert. Lovely to have met you here, hope you had a wonderful Christmas.
I haven’t written anything for a couple months I suppose and I am afraid I gave into the compelling routines. But I have managed to pull myself together and you will read a lot more of my experiences soon. Cheers.
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Lucky You. I’m just waiting to go see the world. Learn to love all the unfamiliar good things, talk to various types of people.
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I wish you get to explore the world soon my dear. Good luck to you 🙂
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A good observant post. 🙂
If I was in your bus then I might had also been one of the characters in this post of yours. 😉 Cause most of the times I stay by myself doing my things than observing my around while travelling.
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Buses are such amazing microcosms! I love looking at the various people around and observing them. I’m sure I have been a character in many people’s diaries as they wondered what I’m UpTo on these buses..haha. thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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You surely must have been! 😉
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excellent , great thoughts .
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You should update the bio as, “A beautiful heart, with an extra-ordinary blogging ability.” 🙂
Nice post! Aishwarya. 🙂
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That is extremely kind Ankit, thank you for stopping by. I haven’t posted anything here in a while but I am now ready with new ideas and posts. Do come back to this space for more. Cheers.
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