Life's Little Surprises...

Fact 1: My parents stay in Hyderabad.
Fact 2: I'm put up in Bangalore.
Fact 3: I visit my parents every once in a while.
Fact 4: The bus is my preferred mode of transport.

If from the four facts above, you've managed to conclude that I absolutely love pizza, you deserve to win a Nobel prize and have no business reading this stupid post any further, but if the facts have led you to conclude that I travel between Hyderabad and Bangalore by bus every once in a while, you have proven yourself to be an intelligent human being and an outstanding citizen whose life will be enriched beyond imagination by reading this post to its conclusion. So read on....

In my opinion there are few experiences more trying (Ok.. driving on the mean Streets of Bangalore comes pretty close too) than being forced to sit through an incredibly mind-numbing movie in a language you only half-understand.. And if you're really, really unlucky, being forced to sit through two incredibly mind-numbing movies in a language you only half-understand, back to back. And believe you me, the scenario mentioned above is a very real and terrifying possibililty when you decide to travel on one of the infinite number of buses plying between Bangalore and Hyderabad. Almost every bus on the Blr-Hyd circuit is fitted with one of those inexpensive TV+DVD combo sets as a matter of principle, causing untold aggravation to folks like me who don't ask to be entertained as they are transported from source to destination.

Here's how the scene typically plays out...
I board the bus with a silent prayer, hoping that either the TV set is broken or that among the passengers are some with serious anger-management issues, who will not hesitate to inflict physical violence upon those that seek to switch on the TV set. A few minutes into the journey the "bus-boy" drifts into view with the air of a Santa Claus whose goal it is to deliver the latest regional language feature presentation unto the entertainment-starved passengers seated in uncomfortable seats. He fiddles with the TV set for a few moments and the screen flickers to life... At this point I make an astute observation: The TV set is not broken!! I frantically look around to see if I can spot any angry-looking dudes on the verge of losing it. There are none... The prospect of physical violence being inflicted on the bus-boy appears quite remote. Tears welling up in eyes, I brace myself for some 3 odd hours of drivel interrupted only by a painfully short dinner break. After a fitful night's sleep, constantly interrupted by nightmares of the bus-boy dude grinning maniacally as he turns on the TV set, I reach my destination the next morning a broken man, who has just discovered that very little in his life is in his control...

Given my numerous and singularly uniform experiences over the years, I wasn't expecting anything significantly different when I boarded a bus to Bangalore during my latest visit to Hyderabad. And events unfolded on expected lines... the smug bus-boy switched the TV set on, the screen flickered to life indicating the TV was not broken and a cursory assessment of fellow passengers suggested that there was no one interested in forcing their point of view down the bus-boy's throat. I sighed and sank into my seat, prepared to be "entertained".

I noted, more out of curiosity than interest, that the movie playing was a new-age Hinglish-types called "The Angrez". The fact that the movie was playing in a combination of languages (Hyderabadi Urdu and English) that I could fully comprehend lifted the cloud over my head somewhat and I decided that I might as well try to watch the movie for a bit. I discovered, much to my surprise, that the movie wasn't half bad. I mean, it's neither a piece of work that'll move critics to tears nor one to set the box office registers ringing... Heck, it doesn't even have much of a story to speak of and the acting is almost uniformly poor and over-the-top, but the movie still entertains greatly in parts. I would recommend the movie unreservedly to anyone who has stayed in Hyderabad for any duration of time exceeding a week....

So, there you have it... You think you have life all figured out and along comes an experience like this to blow your time-tested theories right out of water. Now I have no idea about what to wish for when I board a bus plying between Hyderabad and Bangalore!! Until later... cheers... 8-)