Monday, May 31, 2010

Why bus travel makes me jump with joy

Waiting for a bus seems a harmless enough thing to do. I just have to simply ignore the men looking me up and down, sizing my body up. Visually raping me just because I have something that they don't. Oh, but of course I can't say anything. Because I'm public property after all. It gets worse when I step into the bus. Men brushing against me casually as if their birth right. The funny thing is though the bus has an equal number of men and women, the women don't fall onto the women or the wolves nor do the men fall onto the other men. It's as if we are all a magnet for testosterone. I'm not even that pretty for anyone to give me more than three seconds worth,but it's simply that I'm different in subtle ways.The conductor takes forever to hand over the change resting his hands for however long he pleases.
Then there are things which are so simple but hold the same levels of irritation. I'm not asking that the honourable species who rest their asses to behave like gentlemen and give up their seats for the minority clan. But hell, even though 33% reservation hasn't been fully carried out in buses, 4 seats are reserved for us. You aren't worthy enough to sit there and when I tell you to get up, I don't expect you to look me in the eye and talk like a smart ass. I don't care if you've slogged the whole day. A lot of us have too and its nice to claim the little of the territory that belongs to us. But hey, I'm following the rules. So I must be put behind bars. Frankly, my voice has faded. All I want to do is to castrate you and feed you to the street dogs. Because this land is forbidden. But of course you can't understand that. The logic is too complicated to feed into your pea-sized brain.
I don't want to hear an irritating tune being hummed from your whiskey covered lips, that too when you sit and I'm holding on to dear life. You must at least have the fucking courtesy to get up when a pregnant woman or a grand mother stands near you, instead of pointedly staring at your phone and showing off your worthless ring tones. You shouldn't expect us to ask it, because you're not the bloody king.
Maybe, just maybe if I cover myself up totally, roll myself on excrement and get onto a bus, I could repel the blue bloods. But it's a big maybe. Well, anyway I'm treated like shit, so I thought this would help. Excuses. For being like this. It's not my fault I was born a women, but hey, I didn't ask to make it your business either.
I accept I'm cowardly to not stand up and fight for my voice to be heard. But when I do,you shout me down and no one comes to continue the thread and you're a man after all. And apart from the insults, I'm also given advice. I'm supposedly too forward and too outgoing to make comments like this in public. So I'm asked to shut up and behave a "woman". Whatever the hell that means.
These incidents have at least made me realize the meaning of the expression "be a man". Yes loser, because its so humiliating to be a woman. Its one of the worst insults you can hand out to a man. Because only his manliness makes up his personality. Just like being fair and voluptuous and having smooth skin makes up a woman. Forget about character and other things that old men talked about. Totally not important. I'm truly sorry if I've ever used it in the past.

So to all of you suckers out there, please get a life and don't forget to get lost.

33 comments:

  1. yo madhu!!!...a big thumbs-up to you and a bigger you-know-which-finger-up to each and every loser who failed to "be a man"

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  2. totally.. i dont know how a mind can be so twisted..

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  3. Now thats how a writer should create an impact! m impressed! :)

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  4. Whoa!! Whoa!! felt like a speaker fitted to our minds.. Couldn't stop my self from noddin to every statement!! go gal!!!

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  5. i can only guess it'll be worse in a metro..sad

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  6. awesome gal...!! never knew u were so good:)first article i read:) loved it...

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  7. well put..I like all the sarcasms..they deserve all of it.. your obviously very pissed, u never swear.. this post should give u joy of kicking their butts :)

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  8. Hey, really hard-hitting. I guess I should say this and run away quickly, since this seems to be sorta a no-guy zone ;)

    Loved the post because it really brought out the frustration and resignation that I've heard from a lot of people. Biting sarcasm, two thumbs up :)

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  9. Hello there :-) I've never spoken to you, so it feels great that you've read my blog! thanks a lot, I just hope I can make people realize the hard truth..

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  10. great work madhu :)
    you've projected the true situation faced while travelling in a bus. i really liked it.

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  11. yesterday, i thought, whoa.. intense
    now.. you are so totally right..
    had the experience all over again today :|

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  12. I think posts like this deserve a comment! :)
    In any case guess I'm reading your Blog quite late! Just realized mine's on your Blogroll! So talk or no talk, feel welcome to go over and comment whenever! :)

    And about the hard truth - well the sad part is everyone knows what happens...they just think it's OK since nobody says anything, its almost like, as your said, girls are supposed to put up with it...

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  13. Exactly exactly.. deep down they know of course we're not cool about it, but we've not said enough to make it an issue so it's fine

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  14. Great post!! Very impressive! And kudos on standing up for the fairer sex through your blog! :)

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  15. wow.. mad gr8.. n true story???! neways literary wise could feel ur slap on all screwed up mens face.. n last line was super punch!! gr8.. n i don understand the character part explain t later!!! i should say not all girls r bein a girl nowadays.. they r startin to talk .. but still this kinda thing s needed :-).. great work

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  16. Yo diwa.. thanks da! That character thing, I just meant that a person should be liked or disliked based on his/her character and personality and not on gender and all the above mentioned stuff..
    and yes girls are talking out, that is just so cool and thanks again for the support :-)

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  17. Impressive d! Chanceless. It's just exactly reflective. I have been wanting to write about this for a long long time. The bus journeys from home to college. It's half reluctance, and half not having the guts. At the piece of writing,
    *takes a bow*.
    Keep writing buddy!

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  18. Oh my god ! Wat s al this about??! Nice but Brutal ! Dint know gals go through all this !!

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  19. @Jrmma: I have felt pathetic, being a witness of such incidents...I believe it is more worse to be a spectator to such ills,than being a victim of such prejudiced mindsets of the society because it amounts to endorsing such foolery...The worst part is that many a time the affected party does not voice out her concern...Very realistic and true article:)..Keep writing and fighting :)...

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  20. whoa!! expressive very impressive indeed...

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  21. theres a lot of sarcasm in this post!! not always true..!!this is quite generalized.. not all are like that!!

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  22. Nice post...don't want to substantiate anything which would really look stupid for you....appreciate your right to speak...continue blogging..

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  23. @vkay: dude, i never said men are bad.. i was only talking abt the crap women face in a bus.. if u dinno that sorry i guess u have to be born as one to know wat it feels like

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  24. @yuva: I don't quite get wat u mean.. do substantiate :)

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  25. Bloody BRILLIANT!! :-D loved every bit of it :-)
    and its irritating when such things happen to women, i have personally had fights in bus stops when such things happened to my female frens :) next fight, il use a couple of lines from ur blog ;)

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