The little things
One fine morning I went to the central bus stand.It was a marriage date and so most of the buses were fully packed with passengers.After sometime, I rushed to catch a bus.The bus was going to Thanjavur.When I reached the step of the bus,a farmer couple pushed me aside and stepped into the bus.Any how ,I managed and went inside the bus and occupied a seat in front.The farmer who pushed me, roamed here and there inside the bus . He searched two seats for him and his wife.Two seats are not available.At last he came and sat near my seat.He asked his wife to sit a seat which was two seats behind us.But he was not comfortable.He asked me to go and sit in his wife's seat.But I refused to do so because it was a women's seat.In the mean time, the conductor had come and asked the farmer to buy a ticket.He bought two tickets for Nidamangalam.The conductor had given two tickets for the said town.Then I borrowed a ticket to Thanjavur new bus stand.After a while, the wife of the farmer asked him' Did he get the tickets?'.The farmer replied that he had bought two tickets for Nidamangalam.Immediately the farmer's wife told that they were going to Koradacherry only.The farmer shocked and rushed towards the conductor who was ticketing the last passengers seats of the bus.The conductor replied that he would not change the tickets unless there were two passengers for Koradacherry.The farmer argued against the bus conductor.But the conductor refused vehemently.The farmer's wife shouted her husband loudly.Most of the passengers turned back and saw the quarrel.The bus driver stopped the bus immediately.All the passengers shouted against the farmer.Then the farmer kept quiet .The bus moved again.At the next stop, two passengers were got down from the bus near the conductor's seat.The farmer called his wife and occupied those seats.Once again he asked the conductor to exchange the tickets.His wife took an invitation from her bag and showed it to the conductor as an evidence of the place.But the conductor refused.The drama was continued for some time.In the mean time,at the next stop, two passengers got into the bus and they asked the conductor to give two tickets for Koradacherry.After hearing those words, the farmer and his wife were very happy.The farmer requested the conductor to exchange the tickets then.The conductor accepted his demand and exchanged the tickets without any argument.He had given the balance amount of the tickets too.The farmer and his wife were very much satisfied.The farmer breathed comfortably and became very quite.When the town had come, the farmer couple got down from the bus and disappeared.Most of the passengers got down from the bus one by one and went away.At last, the conductor had come and sat near me.He told me that many of the passengers were coming into the bus like the farmer who argued against me.Some of them left their things and reported to the transport department.Some times they had given complaints against the conductors also.More over ,the conductors were not able to work happily.I replied him that most of the passengers were entered into the bus with stress nowadays and the people like the conductors should treat them like a psychotic doctors.And the conductors were the government servant and they must work for the satisfaction of the public.Finally I advised him not to take the little things seriously.When I got down from the bus, the bus conductor nodded his head as a mark of respect.I felt like George Gardiner who wrote the book The Little Things.
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