Things Observed While Riding the Bus (and other Indian musings)

Four days a week I have the pleasure of riding a Pune Public Transit bus to work at our site on the outskirts of town. Yes, I did say pleasure, although, if you had talked to me two weeks ago I would have said otherwise. There are definite advantages to riding the bus and once we get going it is usually quite pleasant and a great way to experience 'The Real India'. 

This page will hopefully provide a humourous and insightful account of my experiences on this near daily adventure and I hope to update it frequently.  It certainly is quite the ride...

  • Tues, Jan. 31.  Two men wheeling a flat bed cart, with many rolled up rugs on it, past our bus stop outside Sangam.  "Carpet, Madam?"  Uhm, no...clearly I'm waiting for the bus.
  • Thurs, Feb. 2 at Kate Vashti after waiting over an hour for a bus home. A small car, filled with a family that literally slowed down to a crawl, stared at the strange white people (us) as they drove past, and then quickly sped up again.  At least this is better than the men on motorbikes who stare and point. :)
  • Friday, Feb. 3 while passing through Wadi, the neighbourhood just past Sangam. A tank with presumably Armed Forces men sitting on top with scarves covering their faces.  The whole scarf-covering-face thing is quite common in India because of the dust and stuff that come into your lungs when on a fast moving vehicle, but it's considerably more frightening when they are on a massive tank.
  • Also that day. An old man with crazy ear hair sitting on the seat in front of me horking a loogie out the window every five minutes.  The constant spitting is not something I like here. :S
  • Lately, we've been able to get on the same bus in the morning with the same conductor who knows us and knows where we're going. That's pretty cool.
  • The roadside veg and fruit stands are springing up everywhere and the selection of produce is amazing. I wish it was easy to just stop and buy something, but it would require waiting for another bus..
  • The road along which our bus goes is the pilgrimage route to Alandi, a nearby town where a Hindu saint died. The other day a parade of pilgrims with drums, insence, and other things such as fresh coconuts for the puja (offering) were making their way down the road in their orange, red, yellow and white splendour; blocking traffic, naturally. :)