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Genuine arguments also can lead to regional disputes

  • Writing by Rajveer
  • On December 4th, 2009 at 11:13 pm

Over the last 2 and half years of my tremendous experience, being in Bangalore got little detrimental this morning. I thought I should share my experience because it can help anyone of us to avoid such situation.

Before I begin, I would like to tell something. I am not a man who takes pride in his Religion, Cast, or Region more than humanity and living a sensible/practical life. I belong to the pink city of India. I speak Hindi, and English. I like all other languages spoken around me, rather I would say I feel no difference when people talk in other language but share the same emotions. Every city I have lived into, I have been living how a man lives in his own city – at most being concerned about the traffic, pollution, and city’s greenery. On the other side I am an easygoing fun loving person, but at times aggressive too – like what happened today!

I used to take my office [ThoughtWorks] cab for daily up and down from home to office. Due to various reasons I started realizing that taking monthly bus pass will be much more sensible – Considering the fact about efficiency of bus service in Bangalore which I have been availing quite often. Finally on the last evening I said bye-bye to the office cab and purchased a monthly Volvo bus pass. On the very first day as a pass holder I learned a bitter, but worthwhile lesson.

Early morning I got in a Volvo bus full of passengers without any available seat due to the office rush. Bus conductor came asking for tickets and I showed him my buss pass, at which he gave a glance just for a second and got busy with other passengers asking for tickets. All this while when he was doing it, I was thinking if he was supposed to give me a ticket or not? Before I could react to that, we kept going further and ended up gone in the other side of bus. As soon as he came back to my seat after a while I asked him “are you suppose to give tickets to pass holders or not” – the bus conductor showed me a blank face in response. So I asked him the same question in Hindi. I thought he understood because immediately he asked me to check my pocket and bag reacting as he already had given me a ticket, and then he kept repeating it. I got a wrong impression about him on such reaction, and I raised my voice again said loudly to him, “You have not given me any ticket”. He started checking his ticket printing logs on the device buy then I again took my pass out of pocket and showed to him.

After seeing the pass he suddenly started shouting at me. A gentleman from the seat near by said that it’s not mandatory for him to give me a ticket. By then a young boy started asking me in if I have ever used a pass before. He did not believe me when I said I have taken it a day before for the first time. Then he said why did I not tell the bus conductor that I showed him a pass. Which I guess he asked because he did not listen to my initial conversation with the conductor. But again he did not pay attention to what I told him: that was the question I asked why this whole conversation started. Afterward that young boy just started picking on me and bus conductor accompanied him talking in Kannada language. I kept quite all that while and then conductor walked looking at me, and said: “no Kannada” in English and then continued picking on me in Kannada language.

I got a little angry with conductor and responded: Kannada has nothing to do with it – it is my right to ask for ticket and your job is to respond patiently. I did not realize how much blunder that first sentence i said could create. Another passenger just came to me and started blasting as in I disrespected the people who speak Kannada and I was behaving badly with bus conductor. By then every passenger in the bus was looking at me in the wrong spot. I was trying to talk to that man but situation already went out of the topic and took a shape of regional dispute. The man started asking me which region I belong, what if he goes there and talk to a bus conductor in Kannada – how would people react there? He also said to me, we respect you and you should also respect to people of this city. Before I could realize what went wrong, my office stop came and I rushed to the gate. But I remember that man telling me in the end “no hard feelings!” – which touched my heart but it was too late. I got down form the bus with guilt. If I would have been more sensible at that time and tried thinking with broader mind. I would have done this:

  • I should have realized that there is a communication gap between me and bus conductor.
  • I should have requested a third person to help the conductor know about the concern I had.
  • I should have thought from bus conductor’s perspective that he forgot about I showed him a bus pass. He did not understand what I said. May be he was thinking that I paid him cash and then I was asking for the ticket which he already gave to me and I was forgetting about that.
  • Even when things were going wrong, I should have just kept quite and polite.

It was definitely not about proving anyone right or wrong, which I guess everyone in the end tried to do (including me). There would have been no guilt if I had done those things mentioned above. I mean it, that is why I am posting it on my blog for forever. I am sure I will always try to keep this lesson learned in future to avoid such situation. Suggesting you also to remember – being human!

One Response

  1. Galeel Bhasha December 5th, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    Good lesson learnt rajveer…
    Usually, I took extra care when i talk about kannada in public places…

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