BEST (Bombay Electric Supply & Transport) is the lifeline of traveling in Bombay. Though the most economical and more popular way of traveling in Bombay are the suburban trains, popularly known in Bombay as 'LOCALS,' BEST however are the second best. With a network plying to each and every corner of the city and its suburbs they tend to be every Bombaites easy and economical travel means.
The other thing best about BEST to a routine traveler is its family like atmosphere. You have the same people at the same hour waiting for the same bus running on those same routes day after day. It would be just a few days of traveling and you would recognize the faces that own the body that travels with you.
With a busy routine life in Bombay nobody has time for even a small talk with these fellow travelers. Even if one has time on hand, the lifestyle does not permit one to break into a conversation - it would be considered as 'being nosey'. But then, being nosey is not all, people in Bombay are generally not interested in other people's life - and then most are mean and selfish in a certain way. You would hardly find somebody saying a sorry if they happen to push you when you board a bus or unbalance you in their mad rush to take a window seat. You would hardly find a gentleman offering his seat to a lady, but then he would certainly be ogling at her fallen pallu (the end of a sari that covers the bosom and the head) or dhupatta (a long scarf worn with the two piece pajama like suit called Shalwar Kameez). Hence what I am about to narrate is one of those rare incidence that would come as a surprise to many of the readers, especially from Bombay.
It all happened one fine morning while I was traveling for work. As usual I was at the bus stop waiting in a long queue that had miraculously started to move at snail-speed. But when it was my turn to board the bus, it was nearly full. Like the few gentlemen ahead of me, I opted out to take the next bus and waited in the queue.
Nearly another fifteen minutes later another bus arrived and I got in and took a window seat. Within minutes the bus was full and it took off the stop, driving a few turns it arrived at the usual traffic signal. As usual at the signal there was a rush of people who got into the bus inspite of the conductor who stood like a barricade before them. Among that rush of people was a lady with heavy 'jhambils' (cloth shopping bags) in hand. After a little argument and pleaded appeal the conductor let the lady in while the men were asked to get off the footboard.
The lady with those heavy shopping bags pushed her way into the mass of standees and reached inside to stand adjacent to my seat. Though it had been eight months now that I had been traveling on this route, I had never seen that lady before. She was wrapped in a chiffon sari that hugged her well-formed and finely contoured figure. Her fine flesh of her upper back, visible from the blouse low back cut was covered in a film of perspiration. She bought a ticket to the same destination as mine and as she slipped the ticket on her wristwatch band, she turned her wholesome body towards me and her eyes caught my mine. I looked into those beautiful eyes and found myself lost in an ocean of deep blue sea. She had beautiful blue eyes.
As if under a trance I got up and offered the lady my seat. The person sitting next to me shifted to the window seat while the lady thanking me slipped on the now empty seat. It was then that I realized that the lady was a married woman. I saw traces of sindoor (vermilon powder applied in the parting of the hair by married Indian women to signify their married status) in her hair and a mangalsutra (an ornamental adornment, necklace, made of gold and black beads, worn by Indian women to signify their married status), which endowed her bosom. She may have been my own age or a year or two older than me. I also realized that the lady was very beautiful, she had those almond shaped eyes, a sharp nose, and flawless smooth facial skin. Her hair was black but she had probably been applying henna, giving it that brownish-red tinge.
I stood by her side all the way admiring such a beautiful creation of God and thinking about that lucky man who had the ownership to this beautiful body. I could not help myself but my thoughts did wander to how her husband would be enjoying her youthfulness and her fantastic body every night. I imagined of a man who would be as handsome as she was beautiful. But then, he would certainly be having bags around his eyes - caused due to lack of sleep - I could not imagine of a 'real' man who would be able to sleep with such a beautiful woman by his side. As my thoughts wandered on this, my eyes fell on the bags (jhambils) that lay now by her side, it contained some of the most expensive consumable commodity, potatoes and onions. This was just enough reason for me to break the ice, "Oh onions and potatoes," I said.
She looked up towards me with a sly smile, "Yeah," she replied.
"Expensive stuff you carrying mam," said I.
"Yeah, we don't get good stuff here inspite of overpaying, hence I go to the main market and get the stuff," she replied.
Just then our conversation was cut short as the bus approached our destination and she prepared to get up from the seat. I offered to carry one of the bags off the bus and grabbed the bag before she would object. Once off the bus, I offered her that I would carry the bags to her home and she immediately declined to my offer suggesting that it was part of her work and grabbed the bag from my hand.
I did not want to let go of the opportunity to spend some more time and talk some more with her; it was like her beauty had already possessed my senses. I did not let go off the bag and told her that I would consider it a pleasure to help her. She helplessly looked at me and then said, "Fine, I would not mind you may carrying it for me, but I have some more shopping to be done from here itself and I would be wasting your time."
"Well Madame, I am at your service as long as you desire," I joked.
She laughed at this and said, "fine then, follow me."
We went to a nearby grocery shop and she gave a prewritten list to the shopkeeper and told him that he could deliver the goods by afternoon. However before leaving the shop, she picked up a packet of those 'two minute noodles' and a pack of sliced bread, which she put in her bag.