Get on the bus despite the vehicle!

Get on the bus despite the vehicle!

The purpose of owning a vehicle is to get it moving faster and thereby save time. We have three two-wheelers in our house. These three vehicles are enough for the whole family to go.

The final decision on out-of-town trips will be made by my father. He closes his eyes for a moment and then says something like 'Get in the car, or get on the bus' as the astrological benefits say. That is the final decision.

Recently my wife and I had to go to Nachiyarkoil near Kumbakonam. If you take a two-wheeler from our town to Koradacheri, Kudavasal, you can reach Nachiyarkoil in an hour and a half. The itinerary ended to my father deciding to go on a two-wheeler.

My father who closed his eyes for five minutes at a time said get on the bus. That decision threw me off in frustration. If we travel by two wheeler to Nachiyarkoil an hour and a half to go there, an hour and a half to return from there is needed. If we travel by bus to Nachiyarkoil, three and a half hours is needed. A full day is needed to go and return.

I explain my request to go by two wheeler to my father. I also explain the detail of the bus fare was more than the cost of two people on a two-wheeler with unnecessary time wastage if going by bus.

My father didn’t seem to change from his decision. He was very determined to get on the bus. What to do next? My wife and I left at 7:30 in the morning and waited for the bus. The bus arrived casually at eight o'clock. We got on it and got off at the old bus stand in Thiruvarur and caught another bus to the new bus stand.

Then we caught the Kumbakonam bus from the Thiruvarur new bus stand. Is it because the buses from Thiruvarur to Kumbakonam go so slowly? Even the maximum curves on the Thiruvarur-Kumbakonam road may be a factor. By the time we got off at Nachiyarkoil, the bus was only about a quarter of an hour away.

After completing our inquiries at Nachiyarkoil, we caught the return bus to Thiruvarur in half an hour. The time that we caught the bus that goes around via Enkan following the gateway. It took an hour and a half to reach Thiruvarur. It was as if dirty water was dripping down on us in the intermittent rain. Most government buses are maintained with dust and debris to the extent that the water on the way inside becomes dirty water. It is a mystery why it rains only inside this government bus when it is raining.

On the way we came to the new bus stand in Thiruvarur and from there we came to the old bus stand and waited for our village bus and reached home at 4.30 pm. If we had left in a two-wheeler by the time we left in the morning we would have returned home by noon. Put a hundred rupees in petrol and the travel matter is done. The bus fare for both of us was two and a half times i.e. Rs. 240/-. The trip was a waste of time and money also.

My father was so glad to get on the bus travel. Both of us were a little sad on this trip as we came to town waiting for the bus here and there. However the unhealthy experiences available on the bus and the time available to talk give it a different travel experience. And there is no chance for talk of speed on the bus journey. Not to mention that it is also a government bus. I will write in another column about my experiences on the bus.

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